We had our big break between sessions on Aug 12th and I just had to get out! I decided to take the chance of getting deported and not getting back to all my stuff in Beit Sahour to cross some borders. So I headed to Eilat, Israel for a night and then off to Jordan for two days and then Egypt for two days. It was a whirlwind of an adventure that ended with me getting sick and coming home.
It became more and more difficult to live in occupied territory. It seemed like every time I got out of the West Bank something bad or annoying happened. Like when I went to Jerusalem and got hassled by vendors. The last time I went to the Old City one grabbed my arm and insisted I stay and look at more of his stuff. It made me very uncomfortable, especially when he didn’t let go right away after I asked him to.
But I had to get out. At least as an American, I felt trapped there and not having the freedom I have in the US was starting to cause… I don’t know I guess cabin fever kinda. I started noticing and hearing things that told me to get out as well. In the West Bank guns are everywhere and the tanks seemed to be rolling in. Tension was getting higher and higher because the Palestine Authority is taking a bid for statehood to the UN in September. I have not been to a meeting in a month so I am pretty tense too. It seems there are more and more protests and violence in the area. Also the locals are talking about the Third Intifada happening and some even think after Sept. the Third World War. Yea, so I decided to leave for Jordan and Egypt.
First I went to Petra in Jordan to visit one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is the site where Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom was filmed. It is an ancient city carved in the red stone of the mountains. INCREDIBLE!
The best part of the entire trip including Egypt was Wadi Rum in Jordan. Wadi Rum is the most beautiful desert I have ever been to. It was so quiet and wonderful to feel free and like the entire desert was mine if I wanted it to be. My friend Jen and I climbed a mountain to view the famous sunsets in the Valley of the Moon. After dinner we stayed the night with our Bedouin guide, and slept by the fire under the stars. I didn’t want to leave and would go back in a second.
Next was Egypt: Cairo, the Pyramids, and climbing Mt Sinai. Cairo is a five-hour drive from Taba Border in Eilat. After the long drive we entered the city and the sky was white. It was early morning and the mist of the Nile and the pollution turned the sky white and the air was full of moisture. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Breakfast and then a dream come true. I have been fascinated with the Nile since I was a little kid and always dreamed of taking a trip to see the sources of the White and Blue Nile, where they meet and of course where the river dries up North of Cairo. I did it! Well, not all of it, but I did get to sail on the Nile. J
Cairo was disgusting though. Some that know me, know that I view Nashville as the most disgusting and dirty city I have visited. Not anymore Cairo takes the lead, with trash everywhere along with traffic and cars, it is a little less then 200 sq. miles and has a population of 14 million people- it was busy and nasty.
Outside the city I visited another wonder of the world, Giza. The pyramids are wonders; I can’t even write about them, you just need to go see them for yourself. It was super hot and eating lunch after seemed to be a chore. Later we went to Tahrir Square. The square is now famous because of the events that took place there during the revolution this year. One million people gathered in Tahrir Square to protest the corrupt government and later succeeded in overthrowing Mubarak. They are still not happy. We couldn’t get into Tahrir because another protest was going on. In Cairo the tensions are not as high as in the West Bank, but because the military is running the country they are everywhere. Mini checkpoints are all over the city and surrounding areas. Later we visited the Cairo tower and the famous shopping bazaar of Khan El-Khalili. We also went to the Egyptian Museum where outside we saw another relic of the revolution, the burnt building of the Democratic Nationalist Party. Thinking about how this is where the “Arab Spring” started and looking at that building made me think about where it could go and the possibilities of entire cities in the Middle East burnt to the ground. It could happen and that scares me.
Then, it was back to the border. On the way back we stopped at the Suez Canal and the museum. You can’t see the canal from the road it is so well protected it is unbelievable. I thought of my Dad and how much he would have loved seeing the museum and reading the explanations of how it was built and how it is managed. Once we reached the border we dropped off the lady that I went on the tour with and I headed to Mt Sinai. Mt Sinai was a two-hour drive from the border and I had no sleep. We left the border for Cairo the night before at 11pm, about 24 hours later and I was headed to Mt Sinai to start a 2 am climb to the top to catch the sunrise.
Mt Sinai or the mountain of Moses is 8,000 feet and the second tallest mountain in the Sinai. I climbed it sick as a dog but I climbed it. I started getting sick on the way back to the border and by the time I got to the mountain it was in full swing. I was throwing up and had to stop at every little, disgusting outhouse along the way to go to the bathroom. I didn’t think I was going to make it up and I don’t know how I did. Once at the top the view was spectacular and the sunrise was epic. The trek down was even more painful and I took a quick look at the burning bush and the golden calf and headed to Nuweiba to stay in a hotel. The next morning I was off to the border on a bus and still sick. I hate to write it, but things just got worse.
After arriving at the Israel border, I was questioned and seriously feared I was going to get deported. They questioned me for 3 hours with 3 different people. Custom officials kept asking me if I was in Gaza along with other questions. They did all that and never even checked my luggage; it was truly upsetting, especially when it caused me to miss my bus back to Jerusalem. Once through border security I took a cab to the station and the driver gave me a price and then upped it by 15 shekels. Forty shekels were all I had so we argued and his face got bright red and I thought he was going to hit me. He took my luggage out of the trunk and threw it about four feet. I missed my bus and had to wait two more hours. Then I got kicked off that bus after my return ticket somehow got stamped so the bus driver wouldn't let me on and was a real jerk. I was in the bus station all day so once I got to Jerusalem I had to walk a few miles to save money and take a cab from East Jerusalem to Bethlehem because the busses stopped running.
Still sick I arrived back in Beit Sahour and found out that the shelter was still not in place for my last month. Taking into consideration being sick, the heightened danger, not being at the shelter yet, not really learning Arabic (classes were disappointing), and the feeling of being trapped I decided to book an early flight home. The last month was refunded to the man who so generously donated funds for my trip and I said goodbye to my host family- that was the hardest thing about leaving early, I will miss them.
I got home and Mom had made an appointment to see the doctor. We did some test but I don’t know the results yet. The doctor thought because it was so painful to eat anything I may have pancreatitis again. I am pretty much on a liquid diet at this point and have lost about five pounds. Let’s just say that I am glad to be home and will never forget this experience.
It became more and more difficult to live in occupied territory. It seemed like every time I got out of the West Bank something bad or annoying happened. Like when I went to Jerusalem and got hassled by vendors. The last time I went to the Old City one grabbed my arm and insisted I stay and look at more of his stuff. It made me very uncomfortable, especially when he didn’t let go right away after I asked him to.
But I had to get out. At least as an American, I felt trapped there and not having the freedom I have in the US was starting to cause… I don’t know I guess cabin fever kinda. I started noticing and hearing things that told me to get out as well. In the West Bank guns are everywhere and the tanks seemed to be rolling in. Tension was getting higher and higher because the Palestine Authority is taking a bid for statehood to the UN in September. I have not been to a meeting in a month so I am pretty tense too. It seems there are more and more protests and violence in the area. Also the locals are talking about the Third Intifada happening and some even think after Sept. the Third World War. Yea, so I decided to leave for Jordan and Egypt.
First I went to Petra in Jordan to visit one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is the site where Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom was filmed. It is an ancient city carved in the red stone of the mountains. INCREDIBLE!
The best part of the entire trip including Egypt was Wadi Rum in Jordan. Wadi Rum is the most beautiful desert I have ever been to. It was so quiet and wonderful to feel free and like the entire desert was mine if I wanted it to be. My friend Jen and I climbed a mountain to view the famous sunsets in the Valley of the Moon. After dinner we stayed the night with our Bedouin guide, and slept by the fire under the stars. I didn’t want to leave and would go back in a second.
Next was Egypt: Cairo, the Pyramids, and climbing Mt Sinai. Cairo is a five-hour drive from Taba Border in Eilat. After the long drive we entered the city and the sky was white. It was early morning and the mist of the Nile and the pollution turned the sky white and the air was full of moisture. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Breakfast and then a dream come true. I have been fascinated with the Nile since I was a little kid and always dreamed of taking a trip to see the sources of the White and Blue Nile, where they meet and of course where the river dries up North of Cairo. I did it! Well, not all of it, but I did get to sail on the Nile. J
Cairo was disgusting though. Some that know me, know that I view Nashville as the most disgusting and dirty city I have visited. Not anymore Cairo takes the lead, with trash everywhere along with traffic and cars, it is a little less then 200 sq. miles and has a population of 14 million people- it was busy and nasty.
Outside the city I visited another wonder of the world, Giza. The pyramids are wonders; I can’t even write about them, you just need to go see them for yourself. It was super hot and eating lunch after seemed to be a chore. Later we went to Tahrir Square. The square is now famous because of the events that took place there during the revolution this year. One million people gathered in Tahrir Square to protest the corrupt government and later succeeded in overthrowing Mubarak. They are still not happy. We couldn’t get into Tahrir because another protest was going on. In Cairo the tensions are not as high as in the West Bank, but because the military is running the country they are everywhere. Mini checkpoints are all over the city and surrounding areas. Later we visited the Cairo tower and the famous shopping bazaar of Khan El-Khalili. We also went to the Egyptian Museum where outside we saw another relic of the revolution, the burnt building of the Democratic Nationalist Party. Thinking about how this is where the “Arab Spring” started and looking at that building made me think about where it could go and the possibilities of entire cities in the Middle East burnt to the ground. It could happen and that scares me.
Then, it was back to the border. On the way back we stopped at the Suez Canal and the museum. You can’t see the canal from the road it is so well protected it is unbelievable. I thought of my Dad and how much he would have loved seeing the museum and reading the explanations of how it was built and how it is managed. Once we reached the border we dropped off the lady that I went on the tour with and I headed to Mt Sinai. Mt Sinai was a two-hour drive from the border and I had no sleep. We left the border for Cairo the night before at 11pm, about 24 hours later and I was headed to Mt Sinai to start a 2 am climb to the top to catch the sunrise.
Mt Sinai or the mountain of Moses is 8,000 feet and the second tallest mountain in the Sinai. I climbed it sick as a dog but I climbed it. I started getting sick on the way back to the border and by the time I got to the mountain it was in full swing. I was throwing up and had to stop at every little, disgusting outhouse along the way to go to the bathroom. I didn’t think I was going to make it up and I don’t know how I did. Once at the top the view was spectacular and the sunrise was epic. The trek down was even more painful and I took a quick look at the burning bush and the golden calf and headed to Nuweiba to stay in a hotel. The next morning I was off to the border on a bus and still sick. I hate to write it, but things just got worse.
After arriving at the Israel border, I was questioned and seriously feared I was going to get deported. They questioned me for 3 hours with 3 different people. Custom officials kept asking me if I was in Gaza along with other questions. They did all that and never even checked my luggage; it was truly upsetting, especially when it caused me to miss my bus back to Jerusalem. Once through border security I took a cab to the station and the driver gave me a price and then upped it by 15 shekels. Forty shekels were all I had so we argued and his face got bright red and I thought he was going to hit me. He took my luggage out of the trunk and threw it about four feet. I missed my bus and had to wait two more hours. Then I got kicked off that bus after my return ticket somehow got stamped so the bus driver wouldn't let me on and was a real jerk. I was in the bus station all day so once I got to Jerusalem I had to walk a few miles to save money and take a cab from East Jerusalem to Bethlehem because the busses stopped running.
Still sick I arrived back in Beit Sahour and found out that the shelter was still not in place for my last month. Taking into consideration being sick, the heightened danger, not being at the shelter yet, not really learning Arabic (classes were disappointing), and the feeling of being trapped I decided to book an early flight home. The last month was refunded to the man who so generously donated funds for my trip and I said goodbye to my host family- that was the hardest thing about leaving early, I will miss them.
I got home and Mom had made an appointment to see the doctor. We did some test but I don’t know the results yet. The doctor thought because it was so painful to eat anything I may have pancreatitis again. I am pretty much on a liquid diet at this point and have lost about five pounds. Let’s just say that I am glad to be home and will never forget this experience.
I never felt much when I looked at the American flag, but I do now. I feel grateful, privileged, free, prosperous and on top of that sad for those who don’t have the luxury of feeling that way about the country of their birth. Sad that I left a country that isn’t really a country and a family that lives in a place where their flag represents captivity more than anything else. I would imagine the weight of that conviction will live in my soul forever and the memory of that place I will carry with me always.
So, will I go back? To Israel, no. I did not like the cities or the people of Israel. To the West Bank, yes. But only to visit my family… and only for a week. ;)
Wishing you Blessings and Safe Travels
So, will I go back? To Israel, no. I did not like the cities or the people of Israel. To the West Bank, yes. But only to visit my family… and only for a week. ;)
Wishing you Blessings and Safe Travels