Jerusalem & Haifa

On Monday I headed to the Dead Sea to spend the day at a spa; which ended up being quite the generous word for this place. Inside were two locker rooms, each with small pools, a food area, and a gift shop with Dead Sea products. There was a large pool area outside, and then a shuttle took you to the shore of the Dead Sea, which was about half a mile away. I spent about 20-30 minutes at the shore, floating for about ten of those. You can’t stay in too long because the water is so, so salty. It was extremely warm – like bath water – and just as buoyant as everyone says; at one point I stood up and realized I’d drifted into water just a foot deep without realizing. Leaving the sea I accidentally splashed my face and my nostril burned with the salt until I was able to get to the fresh water shower. It was over 100 degrees at the Dead Sea, it being the lowest point on earth, so it was a fairly hot and exhausting day.

On Tuesday I ended up on a West Bank tour for the entire day. We went to Ramallah (the political capital of Palestine), Jericho (one of the oldest cities in the world and home to Mount Temptation), the Jordan River (where Jesus was baptized) and Bethlehem (I think we all know why that’s important…).

Our tour guide was Palestinian, and did not have a permit to enter Israel, so we met him in the West Bank once we’d crossed over on the bus. Driving into Palestine, I could immediately see the differences from the Jerusalem area. It’s much dirtier, and underdeveloped in comparison with the rest of Israel – so it looked more like Amman to me than Israel, which I suppose makes sense since the West Bank used to be part of Jordan. Signs on stores retuned to Arabic instead of Hebrew; and I will be honest it was somewhat comforting to be surrounded by Arabic once again, a language I am now somewhat familiar with, unlike Hebrew.

Our first stop was just outside Ramallah at the main checkpoint for Palestinians to leave the West Bank. Our guide told us that it takes about 4 hours to cross over; he has a friend who leaves at 3am to make it to work in Tel Aviv by 9. In Ramallah we made stops at a couple different cafes, and visited Yasser Arafat’s grave, which is buried in the compound that was under siege for the three months before he died. His face is still plastered and graffitied all over Palestine. In Jericho we went up to Mount Temptation where there is a gorgeous Greek Orthodox Monastery built into the side of the mountain; I could have stayed there all day. Next we drove to the Jordan River to the place where Jesus was baptized. This has only been open on the Israeli side since 2010, I think due to all the landmines on the boarder (the entire area is a strict military zone and there are high fences and warning signs on either side of the road leading to the river). Before lunch in Bethlehem we visited one of the pieces by Banksy, a graffiti artist from England who is extremely well-known who has done work all over Palestine that have now become symbols of the Palestinian resistance movement.

As we drove, our guide would point out Israeli settlements along the road, all with one important thing in common – they all were surrounded by high, wired fences, which just had me thinking, what’s the point? What’s the point if you are that scared to live there?

Lunch was a Palestinian dish of chicken, cauliflower, potatoes and rice, all cooked in one big pot, and it was delicious. After lunch we toured the Nativity Church, and I touched the place where Jesus was born; which I was not even aware was something you could do. The last stop on the tour was a visit to the wall in Bethlehem, dividing the West Bank from Israel. This wall is over 700 kilometers long and was put up after the second intifada in the early 2000’s. We spent about ten minutes walking along the length of the wall, and it was one of the most moving parts of the whole tour. This area is where many clashes with the Israeli soldiers take place; tear gas hung in the air and broken glass crunched under our shoes as we walked. The art on the wall was incredible. Most of the graffiti I saw in Palestine was political (‘their artillery can’t kill our roots,’ ‘one voice Palestine,’ ‘end the occupation,’ ‘to exist is to resist’), but on the wall it was even more explicit, and included drawings and murals as well. The entire wall was a burst of color and powerful phrases, ranging from peaceful, to violent, to religious. This day remains my favorite in Israel so far; I am extremely glad that I got to experience both sides of this complicated place in the world.

On the way back to Jerusalem, we passed a city bus, and one of the girls on my tour pointed out how all the Orthodox Jews were sitting in the front, and the Muslims were sitting in the back. And it was not the first time that it hit me how history seems to be repeating itself here in Israel – there is a wall, permits, and possible bus segregation (though I’m not aware that’s an actual law, it might only be socially), it almost seems like I’m walking back in time to Germany, South Africa and the American South. It’s only recently that I’m noticing how this is our generation’s social movement – or at least it should be.

I do feel that I was able to see both sides with the two tours I did while staying in Jerusalem – both were obviously biased, which I think is the best way to understand a conflict such as this. I can’t help noticing the irony in the fact that Israelis and Palestinians seem to have so much in common – their languages are embedded in their faiths, they have a strong devotion to their faith (both of which are rooted in Abraham), Orthodox Jewish women and Muslim women wear very similar clothing (modesty), and both have experienced oppression and persecution. But I suppose that is all easily overlooked when rockets are flying.

I was walking down the street in Jerusalem one afternoon when I saw two girls on a corner, yelling across the street at their friends and laughing; just being loud, obnoxious teenagers. As I began to walk past them they turned around and walked down the street in front of me and I was taken aback to see that both of them had handguns strapped to the back of their belts. This is not the first time such a thing has startled me; near the boarder of Jordan and Israel I saw a man walking on the side of the road with a gun stuck in the back of his pants, and I also saw a well-dressed man in Jerusalem who had a gun on his back. I never realized how hidden America’s security is from its citizens. Never would you see soldiers walking around carrying their massive guns, here it’s an everyday occurrence, and at times the soldiers are in plainclothes, looking like normal citizens aside from the gun slung over their shoulder. I do think that conscription is a genius aspect of the state of Israel, at least in terms of maintaining a strong military presence and the status quo among their citizens. These young adults are still practically children when they enter at 18, and therefore still very impressionable. They are put in a situation where the ‘enemy’ is clearly defined – probably Palestinian or Arab. Not all positions are combat positions, but it’s the mentality behind the military that’s important. Plus it also means you have an entire population that knows how to use a gun, and could technically be involved in armed combat at any moment. No wonder the entire Middle East is afraid of them. They could probably give ISIS a run for its money, too bad that will never happen.

My last morning in Jerusalem I did a quick guided tour of the Old City to see the most important sites. I do feel that there was so much more to do, I’d have like a couple extra days there, but I’ll just have to go back. I managed to find a friend of my professor who has a jewelry store in the shuk in the Old City. I bought earrings and a scarf from him, and chatted about his family, who own the building (they live upstairs), and have been making jewelry for over 300 years.

Getting to Haifa, in the north of Israel closer to Lebanon, was fairly easy; though at the bus terminal I got on the local bus in the wrong direction and it took me 20 minutes to realize I was leaving, not entering Haifa. The main attraction here is the Baha’i Gardens, which is the headquarters for the Baha’i religion (which, quite honestly, is the religion I identify with most, if I had to choose). The gardens start at the top of the hill in Haifa, and are terraced all the way down to the bottom, with a golden dome in the middle where the remains of their last prophet are buried.

Since I’m traveling alone, I have met some interesting people and had some interesting conversations that might not have happened if I were with a friend. There were two Australian girls on my West Bank tour who I chatted with the whole day. An older Israeli man in my Jerusalem hostel talked to me over breakfast one morning, and in response to me telling him how long I was staying, he told me, “A week isn’t long enough to find a husband!” After I laughed he followed up with, “Of course, it’s only natural.” Glad to know I’m unnatural. In Haifa I had drinks with a Canadian and a Brazilian who were sitting near me at the bar I had dinner at. We ended up making friends with two Israelis (one of whom was born in Ethiopia, and the other who was from the USSR), and had us quite the international evening.

Tomorrow I leave in the morning for my last stop – Tel Aviv – before heading back to America on Monday. Looking forward to lots of beach time, and swimming in my third sea of the trip (the Mediterranean)!