Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan

Old City, Jerusalem

My interest in the Middle East began before the Israeli Society course I took as an undergraduate–but that particular course nurtured it. Growing up in a Catholic family, places like Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho and Nazareth get their fair share of shoutouts during gospel readings and priestly homilies (I’m no longer practicing the faith). This land entranced with such contention over land rights that stem back to biblical times is truly a wondrous place. M. and I were recently lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan on holiday and visited a friend in Tel Aviv. Here’s how the trip went down:

Friday, September 1
After around a 10 hour flight from Newark (both in middle seats) we arrive in Tel Aviv we rent a car and drive immediately to Tzfat in the north (about a 2 hour drive). Caveat: it’s Shabbat and our Bed & Breakfast in this little sleepy, artsy, city of Jewish mysticism tells us that they cannot check us in after the start of Shabbat and that we’ll have to leave cash money in our room and email pictures of our passports and entry visas and a key will be in our room. Our hosts greet us and show us the lay of the land and lend me a skirt, shirt covering my collar bones and another shirt below the elbows. M. wears a white shirt and borrows a kippah for Shabbat dinner. We venture off into the city–no cars on the road–only sounds of song in the air. We make our way to the House of Love and Prayer looking for a contact we emailed about Shabbat dinner. Men sit on a patio singing prayers, dressed in black and white, some wearing shtreimels. When we ask a man sitting on a wall if this was indeed the House of Love and Prayer, he replies that it is. We tell him that we’re looking for Shabbat dinner and he asked us if we would like to join him and his wife and their friends at his house. “The most important part of Shabbat is not being alone.” He had two friends in town (one from Jerusalem and one from Jersey) and he was sitting outside of services waiting to pick them up. It would be impossible to explain what unfolded over the next four hours, but we ate and drank and hummed along to prayers in Hebrew and received enthusiastic answers to all of our questions about the faith. We also discussed the seven nohide laws and the late Rabbi and musician Shlomo Carlebach.
tl;dr Two gentiles spent Shabbat in Tzfat, meet a Rabbi originally from Manhattan and had a lovely time.

Sea of Galilee

Saturday, September 2
We wake up, eat our shomer Shabbat breakfast and venture the town a bit. We walk through the Artist Quarter and one shop is open so we venture in. We walk through the Jewish cemetery and through the park and old citadel. Then we pack up and get on the road and drive back to Tel Aviv, with a stop in Tiberias to take a quick dip in the Sea of Galilee. The experience was great (minus the rusty nails and dirty diapers). We arrive in Tel Aviv, are told not to take the train to Jerusalem (rookie mistake) after already buying train tickets and take the bus instead. We arrive in Jerusalem and take a quick stroll down a bustling street lined with bars (Machane Yehuda), which turns out to be frequented by 18-year-olds.

The Western Wall

Sunday, September 3
Side note: Israelis may love instant coffee? It’s available in our hotel in Jerusalem and in the B&B in Tzfat.
We covered a lot of ground this day. We started out in the Old City at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the alleged site where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected). We touched the stone where Jesus was (allegedly) anointed and wrapped after his death (the stone of unction, dated 1810), we went into Christ’s tomb (a 1810 monument where a marble slab covers the rock on which Christ’s head is believed to have laid (and we touched the stone), and we visited Golgotha–the Greek Orthodox altar which we also touched, venerated as the site of the crucifixion. Next, we visited the Western Wall, where women need to cover their heads and men must wear a kippah and are separated according to gender. We tried to visit the Dome of the Rock/the Temple Mount/Harem esh-Sharif/Al-Aqsa mosque, but it was a Muslim holiday and they were only admitting Muslims. In the bible, the Temple Mount is where the Jewish temples stood. In Sunni Muslim tradition, the site is where Muhammad ascended to heaven.

The City of David

We proceeded to the City of David and explored the tunnels and water system. On the way, we walked down part of Via Dolorosa (the path where it is believed that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion). We also got a great view of the Mount of Olives and the Jewish cemetery and stumbled upon a Muslim cemetery. We circled back to the Armenian Quarters before heading back to the hotel and getting dinner at an amazing place called Mona.

Israeli West Bank Barrier

Monday, September 4
We woke up pretty early for a guided tour of Bethlehem in the West Bank. We first stopped in Shepherd’s grotto, the site where shepherds who were told of Jesus’s birth slept. Then we stopped at a Christian souvenir shop so we could buy religious tchotchkes and bless them. Next, we went to the Church of the Nativity, the alleged site of Jesus’s birth. The church itself has three chapels (one Catholic, one Armenian and one Greek Orthodox). The church was super crowded and chaotic and the experience was marred by congestion and sea of tourists and angry gate keepers. The last stop on the tour was a trip to the Milk Grotto–a church where it is again alleged that Mary’s milk hit the ground and turned the stones white. It is also believed that the milky white stone is good for healing and fertility. Seeing the West Bank wall was the most emotional part of the day. Israelis are not allowed to enter restricted West Bank areas and it is dangerous to do so (especially if they are Jewish Israelis). Posters on sale in Bethlehem included maps detailing land mass loss since 1948 and the Banksy work (a dove wearing a bullet-proof vest and a red cross-hair target).

After the tour, we had dinner at a pasta place in the Machane Yehuda market and had a drink at a chill local bar where we listened to electro tunes spun by a dude in dreads.

View from Masada

Tuesday, September 5
Another day, another tour. This time to Masada where we took a cable car to the top of the ancient fortress that’s the former site of King Herod’s palace, Roman invasion, and mass Jewish suicide. It was also about 115 degrees fahrenheit.

The Dead Sea

Next, we went to visit Ein Geti, a spa where you have access to the Dead Sea–the lowest place on earth. It’s also maybe the hottest place on earth and the sea water (really, a lake) is hotter than bath water. Then, without time to shower, and with slight heat exhaustion, we get on a bus for a 3.5 hour ride to our 3-star hotel in Eilat. We don’t have time to explore Eilat (known for scuba diving, a dolphin cove and beaches). Filled with exhaustion from the busy, hot day, we don’t even wander Eilat at night and pass out. (Catch ya next time, Eilat!)

Wednesday, September 6
After some swift, crafty border crossing with the help of our tour company we walk across the Israeli/Jordanian border and cross from Eilat to Aqaba, Jordan. We drive north to visit Petra, the ancient rock-cut city in a deep valley where the northern Arabian tribe the Nabataeans once inhabited the lands. According to our guide, the famous Treasury site (and many of the well-recognized sites in Petra) are actually tombs carved in the rocks, because the Nabateans believed placed a higher value on the afterlife. It was amazing how well preserved the Treasury is–with such a high level of detail intact.

Carmel Shuk

Thursday, September 7
Our friend/host (I.) in Tel Aviv gave us a free, centrally located place to stay, and educated us on local food and drink (because honestly, with the exception of a couple meals, we were mostly eating airport and grab-and-go food and even sunk as low as truck stop falafel…). After our flight from Eilat Wednesday night, we took a car to City Center where we smoked a hookah and were introduced to Tubi 60 (a ginger/herb/citrus-based local liquor).

M. and I woke up late (I. had to work) and went to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (in short, underwhelming collection, pretty cool building) and then headed to Banana Beach. Tel Aviv IS beaches and they really have some nice public ones. It was great to just nap on the sand and swim a bit (the waves were pretty intense).

In the evening, we had pita at a local place for dinner and met up with a friend of I.’s at an arak bar in Florentin. During our chat that primarily focused on politics, I learned that Gaza (run by the Hamas) only receives about 4 hours of electricity a day. Upon further research, it looks like Gaza won’t even be habitable by the year 2020.

Friday, September 8
Our last full day in Israel. I. took us to his usual Shabbat brunch spots–we went to a great hummus place called Hashomer and went shopping for produce and gifts. M. and I went back to the beach, while I. did some work. We met up for dinner in Jaffa at Orza, explored the hood a bit, picked up some sweets, and then walked home on the boardwalk.

Saturday, September 9
After a quick local breakfast, we got on our 11 hour flight back to Newark. Until next time, Israel. You’re a super complicated place.