We have completed our final border crossing and are in Egypt! We spent just under a week in Israel, and probably couldn't have afforded to spend much more. It is by far the most expensive place we've visited, and the value is quite low for what you pay. We started out in Jerusalem and were able to stay within the walls of the Old City in a lively part of town. We spent a few days seeing some of the holy sights for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, including the Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, the places they think Jesus may have been killed, the Mount of Olives, and some beautiful churches. We also saw a few cemeteries, including Oskar Schindler's grave. It was fascinating to see how the different religions interacted (or clashed) through the city, each having its own section.
We happened to be there on the day of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday celebrating the day God gave the Torah to the Israelites. We went to the Wailing Wall that evening and the whole area was packed with Jewish men (and some women) in traditional dress singing, dancing, and praying at the wall. It was amazing to see!! We took a lot of pictures that are posted, and a video that we will try to post at some point. Our last stop in Jerusalem was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. As you can imagine it was very thorough and an excellent exhibit--we spent 5 hours there and could have spent more! It included multiple memorials including a unique and haunting children's memorial, and also had a comprehensive history museum about the Holocaust. It was certainly interesting to see it from the Jewish perspective as opposed to an outside view...there were a few subtle differences.
After Jerusalem we rented a car for 3 days to see the rest of Israel. We drove north and spent a night at the Sea of Galilee, then drove through the Golan Heights and saw the borders with Syria and Lebanon. We also drove through Nazareth, which is actually the largest Muslim city in Israel. The Golan Heights was a beautiful area, but we could definitely see remnants of wars there, including bombed out buildings and large areas with warnings of land mines. We also drove to Tel Aviv which was quite different from the rest of Israel. Renting the car helped save us money because we slept in it for a few nights, but gas was $9/gallon! I suppose that's what happens when you are surrounded by countries full of oil that don't like you. We ended our time in Israel by driving all the way south to the Egyptian border at Eilat. We could actually see Aqaba in Jordan from where we were, and we had been there a few weeks ago. The two sides are very different!
The day before we entered Israel, Noam Chomsky was denied entry at the border we went through. When we were there we actually got to see an interview with him on an Israeli newsstation, and it was fascinating. It gave a bit of insight into the Israeli mindset and why they have been unable to achieve peace in the region. The reporter interviewing him was a young and passionate woman who asked Chomsky why he put Israel and Palestine at the top of his agenda when there are worse human rights violations occuring in Darfur and Afghanistan. She actually asked him where Israel ranked with those, and which country was worse. I couldn't believe she even put Israel in the same field as those! Clearly if that's the case Israel needs to step back and look at what they're doing to the Palestinians. She mentioned Israeli security many times which is a big concern, but it just seems so obvious that by reconciling with the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese, their security would improve tremendously. We heard that talks are supposed to being again in July...I'm skeptical based on the slow progress made over the last 60 years, but perhaps these will at least lead to and end of violations of the Palestinian's rights. It will also be interesting to see what direction the US takes in its involvement in the situation, and whether we will continue to support and fund the Israelis as heavily as we are now.
So now we are in Egypt! We had planned to head straight to Cairo, but got side tracked at the beach in the Sinai peninsula. We are staying at a lovely hotel with a loft that is right on the beach. We considered staying today as well, but unfortunately need to get moving. We are catching the late bus to Cairo and will spend the end of our trip exploring Egyptian ruins at Abu Simbel, Luxor, and Cairo. And in 10 days we will be home! We are both a bit sad the trip is ending, but so excited to get home! We have talked about how much we appreciate the U.S. and that even though there are many things we disagree with, we wouldn't want to be from anywhere else! There's my "I love America" statement in honor of Memorial Day :) Check out the Israel pictures in the link on the right, and we'll try to update again before heading home!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Getting Petra-fied
Wow, it's been awhile since we updated this!
Last update was in Oman. Since that time we've done a good amount of moving around. We first spent 3 days in Dubai, which was great. It was rich, semi-modern (ultra-modern in some parts, ultra-not in others) and overall a lot of fun to be in. We ate Taco Bell 4 times in 3 days, visited the top of the world's largest building, saw the world's fanciest hotel, walked around in the 1st and 2nd largest malls on Earth, watched the world's largest fountain show, and swam in our rooftop hotel pool; overall not a bad way to spend 3 days. The pictures are a far better way to see what I'm talking about, so just check out the U.A.E. Pictures if you'd like.
After Dubai we flew to Amman, the capital of Jordan. This place is the center of the Middle East geographically, and is a world away from the Gulf States we had been in previously. Culturally, it's much more in line with the traditional view of the Mideast, and after dealing with 100 degree heat in Oman and Dubai for awhile, we were pleasantly surprised to get off the plane and find that it was 66 degrees. Amman has a Euro-tinted feel to it... it’s distinctly Middle Eastern, but the layout feels like a European town (meaning there isn't really a layout), the police cars are all Audi A6's and it feels quite safe. Police officers and soldiers carrying heavy weaponry are omnipresent due to the Palestinian situation just to the west, but they are professional, friendly, and in no way imposing (as opposed to India, where the soldiers seemed like gun-toting buffoons.
After Amman we went south to the Gulf of Aqaba. We spent about 3 days in a hotel there because there was nothing to do; the resorts all charged ridiculous sums for using their beach and the public beach was so full of locals you could barely get to the water. That's OK though, because after that we visited Petra, which has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of the entire trip. Petra is a large city that was literally carved into the side of cliffs starting in about 300 BCE. I’m not talking about carvings like the Native Americans did in New Mexico or Colorado. The Nabateans (the people who lived in Petra) carved massive, incredibly intricate designs upwards of 150ft in the cliff sides. Equally impressive, there isn’t much rain in the area, so in an effort to control the drought/flash flood tendencies of the canyons they created some of the first large scale dams and water channel systems in the world. This allowed them to successfully guide water from the surrounding hills down a few miles into reservoirs and to keep floods from wiping out their homes. We found it ironic that 2000 years ago the Nabateans were the first real hydrological engineers, and their modern descendants in nearby Wadi Musa can’t seem to put the drain in the bathroom floor in the right spot (hint: it’s not the highest point of the floor).
But again, the pictures are a better illustration of what I’m talking about (Petra, not the drain). The landscape itself looks very similar to our beloved southern Utah, so seeing something so unique done to it was really an experience, and we enjoyed all 3 days of it.
For now, we’re back in Amman. It’s cheap, the internet is convenient, we just found a place with fried chicken around the corner (score!) and we’re waiting to try and link our schedule with a friend of mine in Israel. Eran and I met in Nicaragua a couple years ago and have been in touch since then, so hopefully we’ll be able to solidify a meeting before Michelle and I make the journey across the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) and into Jerusalem. There isn’t much time on this trip left, but we’re definitely going to make the most of it.
All pictures are updated- have a look!
Last update was in Oman. Since that time we've done a good amount of moving around. We first spent 3 days in Dubai, which was great. It was rich, semi-modern (ultra-modern in some parts, ultra-not in others) and overall a lot of fun to be in. We ate Taco Bell 4 times in 3 days, visited the top of the world's largest building, saw the world's fanciest hotel, walked around in the 1st and 2nd largest malls on Earth, watched the world's largest fountain show, and swam in our rooftop hotel pool; overall not a bad way to spend 3 days. The pictures are a far better way to see what I'm talking about, so just check out the U.A.E. Pictures if you'd like.
After Dubai we flew to Amman, the capital of Jordan. This place is the center of the Middle East geographically, and is a world away from the Gulf States we had been in previously. Culturally, it's much more in line with the traditional view of the Mideast, and after dealing with 100 degree heat in Oman and Dubai for awhile, we were pleasantly surprised to get off the plane and find that it was 66 degrees. Amman has a Euro-tinted feel to it... it’s distinctly Middle Eastern, but the layout feels like a European town (meaning there isn't really a layout), the police cars are all Audi A6's and it feels quite safe. Police officers and soldiers carrying heavy weaponry are omnipresent due to the Palestinian situation just to the west, but they are professional, friendly, and in no way imposing (as opposed to India, where the soldiers seemed like gun-toting buffoons.
After Amman we went south to the Gulf of Aqaba. We spent about 3 days in a hotel there because there was nothing to do; the resorts all charged ridiculous sums for using their beach and the public beach was so full of locals you could barely get to the water. That's OK though, because after that we visited Petra, which has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of the entire trip. Petra is a large city that was literally carved into the side of cliffs starting in about 300 BCE. I’m not talking about carvings like the Native Americans did in New Mexico or Colorado. The Nabateans (the people who lived in Petra) carved massive, incredibly intricate designs upwards of 150ft in the cliff sides. Equally impressive, there isn’t much rain in the area, so in an effort to control the drought/flash flood tendencies of the canyons they created some of the first large scale dams and water channel systems in the world. This allowed them to successfully guide water from the surrounding hills down a few miles into reservoirs and to keep floods from wiping out their homes. We found it ironic that 2000 years ago the Nabateans were the first real hydrological engineers, and their modern descendants in nearby Wadi Musa can’t seem to put the drain in the bathroom floor in the right spot (hint: it’s not the highest point of the floor).
But again, the pictures are a better illustration of what I’m talking about (Petra, not the drain). The landscape itself looks very similar to our beloved southern Utah, so seeing something so unique done to it was really an experience, and we enjoyed all 3 days of it.
For now, we’re back in Amman. It’s cheap, the internet is convenient, we just found a place with fried chicken around the corner (score!) and we’re waiting to try and link our schedule with a friend of mine in Israel. Eran and I met in Nicaragua a couple years ago and have been in touch since then, so hopefully we’ll be able to solidify a meeting before Michelle and I make the journey across the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) and into Jerusalem. There isn’t much time on this trip left, but we’re definitely going to make the most of it.
All pictures are updated- have a look!
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