Security is No Joke

Even before arriving in Israel, I knew that the security situation here is super tight, but I didn't realize just how tight until I had arrived. Because I wasn't sure how long I would need to go through customs and immigration at the airport, I did not book a flight down to Eilat. However, the last flight I could find online was at 4:20pm and my flight to Tel Aviv arrived at 2pm. I though I might be able to buy a ticket at the airport and if all else failed, I could go down to Eilat by bus.

Getting through immigration and customs proved not an issue, although a German told me he was stuck for 2 hours there. When I tried to buy a flight down to Eilat, I could not buy a ticket in time for the 4:20pm flight. But there was a later flight at 5:30pm with a different airline. I tried to buy a ticket, but the ticket agent refused to sell me a ticket until I passed security in case I didn't pass or in case the security check took too long. The first security man asked me questions about my intentions in Israel and after 10 min a second security man asked me the same questions and then asked about my previous trip to Egypt, who I knew in Egypt, if I had stayed with any locals, etc. He questioned why I had so few things in my backpack, wondered why I chose to start my vacation in Eilat and so on. After about another 10 min, I moved on to the bag screening. Two women removed everything from my backpack and wiped things down to check for explosive residues. All my possessions were laid out in the middle of the airport for all to see. I felt so exposed. Certain items in my backpack required questioning of their purpose including a waterproof money case. One of the women took my iPad for further inspection to a back room and I was later joined with it for the X-ray screening. I had to prove that my iPad made sounds and was functional. After passing that test, I returned back to my backpack, which was repacked in a haphazard way. Because I had formally passed their 40 min security screen (thank goodness I was the only tourist in line), one of the security women followed me around until I reached the boarding gate. She told me that if she left my side at any point, I would have to restart the security check, which I had no intention of doing. At least I passed and made it safely down to Eilat.

On the way home, I was told that all non-domestic flights are required to stay seated for 30 minutes, the time it takes for the plane to be out of Israeli air space. Even the airline staff is not walking around at this time due to the Israeli government regulations. I met an American who works in Israel and he goes back to the US to decompress from the high tensions in the country and all the security concerns.

Due to the high security risk throughout the country, every mall and large public gathering place has required metal scanners and bag checks just to get in. There are often lines to get into malls because of these checks. For some reason though, the Musluim Dome of the Rock and the Jewish Western Wall have major security checks, but the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre does not. I guess being Christian in Jerusalem is not as much of an issue.

In addition to the security checks, major walkways and all hostels have security cameras. It's very Big Brother here and rightfully so based on all the violence previously seen in the country.

Moreover, buses make mandatory stops at the end of their routes and ask all the passengers to get off the bus. They then perform a bomb check for any packages left on the us. I got on one bus and watched as a passenger brought an unidentified bag to the driver. She seemed pretty scared that someone had left it on the bus, and thankfully, the rightful owner came running back to the bus in time to retrieve it.

This is the way of life in Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces are often seen toting their large guns around as they get on and off public transportation. A local told me that I don't ever have to worry about walking around late at night in Tel Aviv because of all the security cameras and because no one wants to mess with another person for fear of getting shot since many people carry their own firearms and have been trained in the Israeli army. At least in Tel Aviv, I have felt quite safe here.

Kindness of Strangers

One of the best parts of traveling alone is the opportunity to interact with locals. I actually didn't think that I would have much success in Israel because I figured I would receive the same sort of response as in Western Europe, the "yet another tourist" response. However, I was mistaken. The tremendous hospitality and generosity that I have received here has exceeded any expectations I might have had.

In Masada, I met a whole school of kids on a field trip along with their school teachers and tour guides. I had dinner with them and they gave me such a wealth of information on the history of Israel. I mentioned that I was driving north to Rosh HaniQuira to see the sea caves and Sara immediately invited me to stay with her. I later decided to take her up on her offer, but I got lost getting there and ended up at a Dutch house at the kibbutz where she lived. Eventually, I made it to her house and was overwhelmed with the spectacular views from her guesthouse and the luxurious surroundings. Her guesthouse is nicer than my apartment and nicer than anywhere I've stayed while traveling. Sara even took me out to dinner against my strong protests. She refused to let me pay. We had Lebanese food as she confessed that she doesn't restrict herself to the kosher food rules. We had such a lovely conversation as I learned about her life. What an amazing, strong and kind woman. I'm so blessed to have met her and I hope she finds a way out to San Francisco so that I may repay the kindness.

While in Bethlehem, I had difficulty finding a spot to sit in a busy restaurant and a Palestinian grandmother let me sit at her table with her granddaughter. She gave me her leftover hummus and falafel, which I thought was so sweet. I sat with them and played charades with the grandmother and tried some English with the 12 year old granddaughter. This time though, I was able to pay for the food and we hung out for the day. She showed me around and introduced me to random people. She seemed to know everyone in the city. After a few hours of charades, I was exhausted and we parted our separate ways.

In the Golan region, I showed up at a hostel expecting it to be empty and sadly it was totally booked out for the night. Unfortunately, there were no other hostels in the area. I drove around a bit and found a hotel and they wanted $150 for the night and so I drove on. I found a kibbutz that the hotel and hostel suggested I check out. Unfortunately, the reception was not available, but in the process of finding a room there, I met Shir, a 22 year old student, who graciously offered me a place to sleep in her one room studio. I had nowhere else to go and had planned to sleep in my car, but decided that her futon would be more comfortable. She and her next door neighbor, Tom, were cooking dinner and invited me to join them. They cooked kosher and we ate a wonderful vegetarian meal of hummus soup, eggplant, mixed grains, cheese, and potatoes. Ou pr dinner conversation centered around Shabbat, the military, general life in Israel. Such a wonderful cultural learning experience. Again, I was overwhelmed by the level of kindness in this country. The next day, I took Tom out to sightsee.

In Tel Aviv, I tried to drive to my hostel in the Florentine area and as usual, got lost driving in the city. I drove around for an hour trying to find my way around and found a guy on a motorcycle who offered to help me find the place. He was my scout. I followed his motorcycle around the city until we arrived at my hostel. I could not believe how much effort he put into helping me find the place.

This entire trip has been one of pleasant surprises from random strangers. I'm so impressed with the people of Israel and Bethlehem and hope to keep in touch with the friends I have made here.

Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

Christmas Eve in Bethlehem must be the holiest place to spend Christmas, I originally thought when I first booked my trip. It is the birthplace of Jesus and where thousands of missionaries flock all year long to pay homage. Little did I realize that it would be something entirely different.

If there's such a thing as a West Bank Night Out, last night would have typified it. The entire West Bank showed up to party with all the Christians. Everyone seemed in good cheer regardless of religion. The presence of the Palestinian President somehow ruined that cheerful mood for me. For security, the entire Palestinian army arrived in waves and with their big guns in tow. I felt like I had entered a war zone. Snipers scoured the rooftops, red maroon beret guys manned the entry points, men in camouflage controlled the crowd, black beret men arranged the logistics and men in full commando gear arrived in jeeps with their guns ready. The president arrived in one of the 12 cars that sped through the entry way. The first car almost ran over pedestrians as it cleared the path for the other cars. I'm not really sure which car the president was actually in, but I'm sure he wasn't in one of the vans open with commando geared men fully armed watching the crowds. I guess it was too risky to actually let him get out of the car. When the cars arrived, the closest maroon beret guy took off his safety lock from his gun and I suddenly was a a little scared of what might happen. Maybe it's all those Middle East stories of suicide bombers, demonstrations ending violence, or my own imagination of the worst that could happen that overcame me with fear. Thankfully, nothing horrible happened and the Palestinian's display of might and power never came to full fruition.


Getting into Midnight Mass proved difficult mainly because of all the overly pushy and aggressive Christians who wanted a good seat. Not exactly the Christmas cheer. I thought I might get squashed going through the security line, which I had to do twice since the president was going to be present. Once inside, I enjoyed hearing the service in many different languages, but when the president arrived, all the camera clicked and distracted everyone from the service. The same occurred when he left.



Earlier in the day, I attended the afternoon prayer held by the Latin Patriarch, the guy in the purple hat.



During the day, a parade of bagpipers, a tradition the Palestinians picked up during the British occupation, and kids with Santa hats filled the streets.

Suicide Over Slavery?

Perched at the top of the hill in Masada is the Masada National Park, home to the ruins of the first fortress built by Jonathan, the High Priest, in about 100 BC. What makes this place famous is not the impressive views of the Dead Sea, but rather, the ultimate end of all the occupants during the Roman siege.
 
Masada was the last rebel stronghold by the Jews and in 73 AD, the Roman army tried to conquer it. Over a period of a few months, the Romans built a dirt road up to the main gate and brought a battering ram up the mountain to knock down the gates. The Jews inside constructed a wall of wood to support the gate. However, the Romans then set the wall on fire. With one last night inside their fortress, while the Romans slept expecting to take over in the morning, the Jews, led by Eleazar Ben Yair, convinced the 10 community leaders of the ~1000 person community to commit suicide rather than be taken as slaves by the Romans. In his speech, Eleazar said "Let our wives die before they are abused, and our children before they have tasted slavery; and after we have slain them, let us bestow that glorious benefit upon one another mutually and preserve ourselves in freedom as an excellent funeral monument for us.,,, we have preferred death before slavery" The defeat of Masada was the last conquest of Judea by the Romans. And the Romans were surprised to find only the dead left when they arrived in the morning.

Today, Masada is a pilgrimage for many Jews and there is much debate as to whether the group suicide was necessary and honorable. Regardless of public opinion on the matter, Masada provides a wealth of information of life during that time. What's most impressive is their development of water dams to lead floodwater to 12 cisterns in this desert region. The complex is filled with decorated bath houses and swimming pools that used the water from the cisterns.

For the tourist like me, I hiked up to Masada at 5:40AM to watch the sunrise at 6:40AM. It would have been a serene moment for me if there weren't several hundred kids at the top with me. After the sunrise, I spent the morning exploring the many ruins.The sunrise hike up to Masada is on the checklist of things to do in Israel.

Floating in the Dead Sea

Yes I succumbed to the usual tourist photo shot floating in the Dead Sea reading a book, my very own bible, the lonely planet version. Nothing compares to this type of floating or the sensation of being stung by fire ants while sitting in the salty water. At least I didn't shave before jumping in, but I did fall backwards at one point and the salt stung my eyes. Floating in the Dead Sea is not an experience I cared to carry on for more than about 5 minutes because of the harsh water.

The Dead Sea comes from the Jordan River water, but due to the lack of an outlet flow for the water and hot conditions, the water evaporates leaving the concentrations of minerals to build up over time resulting in a 30% salt concentration. The evaporation has increased in recent years due to the presence of dams that prevent the continued flow of water from the Jordan River. But the Dead Sea is now drying up and causing sink holes to emerge from the unstable grounds that have arisen from the lack of salt water covering the grounds. Tourism still flourishes despite the receding water lines and increasing number of sink holes.

To top off a trip to the Dead Sea, I slathered mud all over me to capture all the good nutrients in the mud. This reminded me of the times my family would go up to Calistoga Springs and do the same there.

Indiana Jonesing It

With Petra just a hop over from Israel, I couldn't resist and up and off I went to see the ruins made famous by Indiana Jones. I had no expectations of meeting Harrison Ford, but did hope to follow in his footsteps to the magnificent Treasury along the route of the Siq.


Petra is one of the new 7 Wonders of the World and I could definitely understand why. The rose colored rock magnificently engraved into tombs and palaces in the middle of nowhere is a sight to behold. Walking the long and narrow passageway of the Siq leads to a narrow opening with the Treasury peeking through and in my photo, also a camel like in 312 BC when the Nabataeans once lived here.



The Nabataeans ruled the trade route from Damascus to Arabia and eventually left due to major earthquakes in the area. They left much to admire and explore. Eva from Belgium, Heidi and Lyle from Alaska and I wandered about together exploring the miles and miles of ruins.

On the road again...

After 15 months on the road, I had no desire to travel for quite some time. I loved being back in San Francisco, using my brain again, and most of all, being settled amongst friends. After a year however, the travel bug reappeared and off I am again, but for only 2 weeks this time. I had planned to go to Syria and then bought a ticket for Laos/Cambodia, but actually ended up in Israel/Jordan. Why there?

Israel has been at the top of my lists to go for quite some time. Not only for the sheer history, the curiosity that's sparked from every news report, the small size of the country, diversity of landscape, but also so I could celebrate Christmas in one of the holiest places in the world. Granted, I'm not exactly the most religious person I know, but spending Christmas in Bethlehem seemed like an unique and special place to be.

Fast forward a month from my decision, and here I am in Israel. I chose first to head to Eilat for the diving. The main city center of Eilat looked like a run down Strip, but under the water, a whole new and wondrous city emerged. The Red Sea has some of the most spectacular coral, now highly protected due to the damage from diving. And diving in Israel is highly regulated. Since I had dived in Kauaii less than 6 months ago, I didn't have to take a refresher course, however, I was expected to put all my gear together by myself, which I hadn't done since I was scuba certified. Thankfully, an Israeli/South African woman named Gaby walked me though the process again. Off I went to explore a ship wreck, my first!