مُغامرات المُغامِرُونَ (Adventures of the Adventurers): Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

The Temple Mount, probably the most contested piece of land in the world.

Crossing the Border

As I write this, I'm lying in bed in a cave in Cappadocia, Goreme Turkey to be exact, but I am surrounded by stone walls. Anne and I will awake early and go for a hot air balloon ride. Then we will somehow celebrate Thanksgiving, here in Turkey, though I doubt we get the chance to eat any. Its now been a couple of weeks since we were in Israel, and while some of the experience has faded, I still want to write about it. We were told, just before we left for Jordan that driving to Israel had become impossible. Apparantly the embassy in Amman was writing letters to the authorities on both sides of the border, authorizing the trip and requesting any assistance they could render. I, after 10 days of touring Jordan, and contemplating the decision, ultimately decided that the worst that could happen is that we could get turned around at the border and then we would be right back were we started. So, lying in bed, after midnight, I read through all of the requirements to cross, which had been send to me previously. We awoke early and headed for the border crossing, located about 35KM NW of Amman. The King Hussein bridge as it is known in Jordan and the West Bank, or the Allenby Bridge as it is known in Israel, spans the trickle of water, commonly known as the Jordan River. A motley crew of Jordanian Officials man their side, and about 10KM to the West, across the river a crew of Israeli Officials keep watch on their side. We drove out of Amman, and about 5KM from the border, stopped to switch the civilian plates on the vehicle over to Diplomatic Plates, exiting Jordan was no problem we simply showed them our passports, and vehicle registration and drove across the bridge. Once we arrived to the first Israeli checkpoint, the tone changed, though not necessarily menacing, the guards there were certainly more serious about their responsibilities. When we arrived in Jordan some 10 days earlier, I had dropped off my second passport with the Embassy, they in-turn sent it over to the Israeli embassy to receive a Visa. This was the passport we would use to gain entry into Israel. Normally the bridge is only used for cargo, and for Palestinians returning to the West Bank, but for Diplomats, or in my case, those with Diplomatic passports and license plates, it is one of the only places were a vehicle can be driven across. Once we showed the proper paperwork, we were informed that Mary and Anne would go by taxi to the terminal, and I would stay with the vehicle. We loaded all of our bags into the taxi/van and off they went. I stayed with the vehicle and was escorted to the inspection area. It was here that I truly realized the extent of the inspection that I and every other vehicle went through. The vehicle was pulled into a garage, and the door was closed behind it, I was told to go into a room, and wait. Eventually a serious looking inspector inspected me, along with my bag and then told me to just sit and wait. While waiting I saw two shopping carts of car parts, to include what I identified as the battery, spare tire, and possible air filter housing, go past where I was sitting. After about 30 minutes, they returned, the vehicle was put back together and I was free to go...to the next inspection point. Here I simply received my entry stamp, purchased temporary insurance, and registration and waited for various officials to do whatever it was they were doing, finally I was finished and was reunited with Mary and Anne, who had managed to drag all of our luggage through inspections and had been waiting for nearly an hour. We departed the border crossing, and headed to Israel. What a headache.

Tel Aviv

There isn't alot to say about Tel Aviv, it is a city, a modern western feeling city. We ate tapas and drank wine, we went to the Modern Art Museum, we stayed in a hotel at the beach. We saw 19 year old kids walking down the street with sub-machine guns, the club where 19 Jewish teen-age kids were killed by a suicide bomber, and the emergency shelters in every hotel. I had really amazing meetings at the Embassy in Tel-Aviv and with members of the Israeli Defense Forces. The Israelis have mastered the art of living and operating under constant threat of attack. Some of this threat is real, some imagined, much of it brought on by their own actions. I also met in Jerusalem with the director of USAID who manages millions of dollars in economic aid, all of it going to the West Bank. I met with members of USSC Jerusalem who train and equip the Palestinian Authority, because someday if there is indeed a two state solution, it is in everyone's interest that it not implode in the first week.

A Satirical Take on the Nativity. The Three Wise Men, Blocked By the Security Wall.

If two years ago you had asked me to define the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict, I don't' think I could have, not succinctly, but now, having seen both sides, and been briefed on the point of view of both sides, I understand it. I wish there was an easy solution, but there isn't.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem was never a city on my radar as a place I really wanted to visit. Of course I know its significance to the three Abrahamic religions. We were fortunate that my per diem allowed us to stay in a really nice place, just outside the walls of the Old City. I had meetings for our first day, while Mary and Anne relaxed at the hotel and walked a bit in the city. On the second day we walked into the old city stopping first at the Western Wall,

what was originally simply a retaining wall, build by King Herod to elevate the temple mount, has been elevated in status to one of the most holy places for Jews. The temple mount is the site of the first two Jewish temples, the site of the Holiest of Holies, and currently the site of the Temple Dome, and the Al-Aqas (Arabic for greatest) Mosque. After that we took the Western Wall Underground Tour, which was really amazing, as the area around the Temple Mount has been build up over the years, with cities built on top of cities, an entire world has been buried. This tour took us under the Muslim Quarter, were we walked on what was originally a roman road, through a roman market. We were able to see buried cisterns, as well as the foundation stones for the western wall, some as big as city buses.

We finished the day by walking with Via Dolorsa with Franciscan Friars who meet every friday to re-trace the path upon which the stations of the cross took place, almost 2,000 years ago. Interestingly, most of this tokes place in the Muslim Quarter of the old city, which means that in some of the shops you can stop in and buy a rosary and a Quran, while under the watchful eye of Jewish Soldier.

The tour ends in the Church of the Sepulcre, which is were is is though, that Jesus Died, was buried and arose. You can touch the stone upon which his body was laid after he was taken from the cross. Strangely, the church has been divided among some of the major sects of Christianity, and as a way to settle differences which arose in the early 20th century, a status-quo agreement was reached. To this day there is a ladder leaning against a wall, which is visible in pictures from 100 years ago. Also, a Muslim family maintains control of the keys to the Church, and each day locks and unlocks the door.

On the day we were to check out of the hotel, I took advantage of the opportunity to go up to the temple mount. Our first day in the old city was a Friday, which meant that the temple mount was closed to Non-Muslims, so I was able to return on Sunday. Unfortunately, you have to wait in a long line, show your passport, you are then subject to a thorough bag search to ensure you are not carrying religious materials. Israli Jews are prohibited from entering the Temple Mount, though some do, in fact in recent months there have been arrests of Jews praying on the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem shed more light on the struggles of this sensitive region then reading any book, or trying to understand it from speeches from Abbas, or Netanyaho, or some member of AIPAC telling us what they think. Our trip to Bethlehem opened more issues for us to try to understand. I hope in the coming days I have a chance to write a bit about them, but I have to get up early for a balloon ride over cappadocia!!. Enjoy some pictures.