Israel - 16 April 06

It is 4:26 pm in Tel Aviv. I sit in the Ben Gurion 2000 wing of the Ben Gurion airport. The 2000 wing was supposed to be opened in 2000, but actually has only been open for a year. Airport construction, it seems, is the same in every country—expensive, slow, and delayed.

Friday – we took off early for Jerusalem. We are Guy, me, four Israelis, and four Kiwis. Our guide was a Kiwi who has lived in Israel for something like eight years. He knew a lot about Israel. He took us on a walk to see the major sites of Christian and Jewish interest. We saw a lot. It seemed as though the historical places were stacked on top of each other. On that day, Good Friday, I visited or saw the Mercy Gate, Gethsemane, the burial place of Mary, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Condemnation, some of the stations on the Way of the Cross, the Holy Church of the Sepulcher, in which I saw where Jesus was crucified, wrapped in cloths, and placed in his tomb from where he ascended to Heaven. I also saw the West Wall, the Tower of David, and some of the Armenian Quarter. There are quarters in the Old City for the Armenians, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We saw the Dome of the Rock from where, it is said, Mohammed ascended to Heaven with the Angel Gabriel. We didn’t go inside.

What I remember about the Muslim Quarter is a plethora of shops. I almost bought a shirt with an F-16 on it. Above and below the jet were printed the words: Don’t worry America, Israel is behind you. I thought this was particularly sad, but funny as well.

I stayed up later that night than Guy because he didn’t get home the night before until 4:30 am. For only getting three hours of sleep the night before he did really well.

Saturday – we didn’t leave as early as yesterday, but we did just as much. We drove through Jerusalem, past Ramallah, to Jericho and the Dead Sea. We went to Masada first. It was hot and very clear. I hiked up, but most of the group took the tram. The hike was a workout and I could feel my lack of cardiovascular strength. My performance during the hike was exceptionally sad given that I started the climb at -412m altitude, the lowest point in the world. The top was awesome. We took a lot of pictures. I will never forget the view of the desert plateau sweeping down to the Dead Sea and seeing Jordan on the horizon. I hiked down as well. We went to the sea and I rubbed mineral mud on my skin and went into the water. The mud and the water made my skin so smooth. You can float in nearly any position. I didn’t get a picture of me floating, but I have a great one of Guy and me with mud on each other right before we went in.

We had a big meal at the house of some women from the States, but they had been living in Jericho for a number of years now. They had even learned Hebrew. I was freaking impressed. Other than that, it was a weird feeling being there at the house. I was trying to figure out what they were doing in Jericho the whole time I was there. They are really a couple of hippies. It took two hours to get home last night.

This morning Guy went to work. I slept in. Guy’s mom cooked for me. We talked some. I checked email and wrote some. Guy dropped me off here a couple hours ago. I got groped, felt up, and searched multiple times by El Al again. I board my flight in 40 minutes to start my long, cramped and arduous journey back to Colorado. Let the travel begin.

*Given the length of this entry I will have to write any reactions to it in another blog.