The Holy Land: Israel and Palestine

View from the Mount of Olives over the Old City of Jerusalem

Greetings from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel-- with the old city as a backdrop.

    Three and a half years ago I was watching a documentary about a man walking around the streets of Jerusalem. I remember the city looking so magical but at the same time so real. He walked through these narrow streets that were bursting with life from markets filled with the locals and thousands of tourists wondering around aimlessly. As he was walking he would fade into different sections of the old city. He started in the Armenian district, then he was in the Jewish district at the Wailing Wall, walked on top of that famous structure and ended up at the Dome of the Rock-the rock of the Muslim district, and finally ended up in the Christian district.  At the Christian district he went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In there he went to the spot of Jesus' crucifixion and where he was buried.  It was an interesting show to watch.  I was watching it with my family and we were sarcastically saying, " I hope I get to go there someday". 

     Well, my dream came true.

The site of the crucifixion of Jesus

Day 1- Tel Aviv

      As soon as I knew that I was going to Jordan to study abroad and that I got two vacations during the semester I decided I was going to Lebanon and Israel.  During my first vacation (the long 7 day vacation) there was a vamped up security warning for Israel and the West Bank so I decided to go to Lebanon for my first vacation and who knows how long that country will be stable enough to visit.  If you read my prior blogs then you know that I loved Lebanon. So after Lebanon I knew I was going to Israel and I had to get a group.  About two weeks before we came a group was put together of James, Katie and Matt. We decided we were going to Tel Aviv for the first day and then to Jerusalem and the West Bank the next 3 or 4 days. 

       7:00AM on Wednesday May 1 we all met at a Jordanian Bus station and headed to the border. Before we went we heard some tales that the Israeli border control or IDF were a tough bunch to deal with but the people telling me said that Americans usually don't have problems, that they just hold Arabs and Muslims. Well those people were wrong.  We arrived at the Israeli customs at 9:00AM and did not get out till 1:00PM.  Everything went smooth and then I caused problems for every American in there. By the time that we arrived two other groups of Americans going to Israel had also arrived.  I was the first one to go through passport control.  The man who did not speak English Well was questioning me and was getting confused so he brought over another person and they questioned me for 15 minutes and meanwhile they started questioning James and Matt as well.  They handed me a form to fill out and took all 10 of us American's CIEE students passports and held them till 12:30.  They said they had to just check up on us. Our group was by far the longest people sitting in that holding area. But finally we got out. 

    We took a bus from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and arrived in Tel Aviv at our hostel at 3:00PM.  On the bus ride I purposely sat next to an IDF(Israel Defense Force) soldier and we had a good hour conversation during the ride. He gave me an IDF issued key chain that he was explaining to me got them free stuff in Israel (it has a little attachment on it for that but I don't know how to use it) and he also gave me an IDF ink pen that he said he gave me on behalf of Israel.  That was a fun bus ride.

We immediately checked into the hotel and then ate a much needed meal and got to the beach. The beach was absolutely amazing.  The sand was white and the Mediterranean Sea felt great  to swim in and there were beautiful Israeli women. I found it funny that there were quite a few wearing American flag bikinis. I stayed on the beach till the sun was going down which I think was till 6:30.  After that I went and rested at the hotel for a bit and then went to eat again at 8:00.  I had a big tasty Kosher hamburger with a glass of local Israeli red wine.  The burger and the wine were both quite good. Finally Matt and I ended the night going to a bar in the area called The Port. It was a Wednesday night so there wasn't a lot going on but I did enjoy a great tasting local Israeli beer-Goldstar. 

Rabin Square

US Embassy in Tel Aviv

       We all met for breakfast downstairs the next morning at 9:00 and ate and then went to Rabin Square. It is the famous spot that Prime Minister Rabin got assassinated by right wing Israelis who were mad at him for trying to make peace with the Palestinians. It was  a nice area but not really anything to write about it.

Tel Aviv beach

Day 2- Jerusalem

      We left Tel Aviv at 1:00 on Thursday the 2nd.  We arrived at our hotel at about 2:30-Mount of Olives Hotel. I immediately headed over to the old Jerusalem.  Matt and I walked down the Mount of Olives and past the Garden of Gethsemane( the garden that Jesus prayed in before he was taken away and arrested) and finally made it into the old city. It was bursting with culture. I had my mind set that I was going to go on the Temple Mount which hosts the Dome of the Rock and the the Al-Aqsa mosque, it is also believed by the Jews to have the Holy of Holies.  The problem was that today was only for Muslims to go in it.  So I went to the first gate and the guards spotted me immediately as a non Muslim and stopped me from going in.  The second gate the same thing happened.  The third gate I greeted the guards with and Arabic greeting and they let me by and I got on the Temple Mount but then a Muslim man on the Temple Mount, I guess some how spotted that I did not belong so he told the guards to make me leave and I argued with them for a  couple minutes that I just wanted to look around a bit. But they asked if I was a Muslim and I could not deny my faith as a Christian so they kicked me out again but I did actually get on the Mount which was a far step.  Finally, I tried the last gate to go in and that guard was about to let me in but he got radioed about me and stopped me and said they were going to have to arrest me.  The man came with the handcuffs but I talked to the IDF guard and told him I was just an American tourist and he made them leave me alone.  I do realize that I brought it all on myself but I was determined to get in. Something kind of funny that happened at the gate was when I was walking in and the arabic speaking guard said "You are American not Muslim, and at the same time some Japanese men were walking up and said to them "You are Asian, not Muslim", it was funny.  I was with my group of American friends before I went for all my attempts at getting in but I left them for what I told them would be 10 minutes.  Well just arguing about not getting arrested took 20 minutes so when I went back to find them they were gone. I was alone in the old city of Jerusalem the rest of the
day.

As close as I could get a picture the first day to the Temple Mount

The first thing I did was walk the path that Jesus walked which was just a street, Via Dolorosa . I then went to a store to buy a couple souvenirs for Dad, Mom, and me. I bought $120 worth of stuff. After that I went to the Palestinian district of Jerusalem and had a few conversations with them in Arabic so I could practice and learn some culture. That was real enjoyable.

just a street in old Jerusalem

     
        After that I went to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place that I most wanted to go.  This is Easter weekend for many countries around the world so things are a little more crowded in old Jerusalem than normal.  When I first entered the church I saw about 10 Greek Christians kneeling down rubbing their belongings on a stone on the ground.  It was the stone that Jesus was cleansed on after he was crucified and before he was put in his tomb.  The people were pouring oil on it and touching their belongings to it.  It was interesting and they were very excited about it. I just went over and rubbed my hand against the stone. Then I wondered up a staircase that led to the Hill of Golgotha or Calvary, the spot is believed to be where Jesus was crucified. Their was about a 15 minute line to go into the area and kneel down at the foot of the cross and pray for about 10 seconds that was monitored by monks.  I did not wait in the line but just kind of went in their and stood in the area for a bit. This was my favorite site because it is where Jesus gave up his life for the whole world's sins. "Father, Forgive them for they do not know what they do not know what they are doing".  Up there hanging on the cross he showed the true spirit of Christianity- peace, forgiveness, and most of all Love.  and then "It is Finished", no more law, just belief in Jesus. After the cross site I walked back down the stairs to the spot of Jesus's tomb.  The line there was about an hour long so I definitely did not do that.  But I walked to the back of the tomb and there was a little passage way that had a monk sitting in there. This was the head of the tomb, on the floor there was a step with a candle sitting on it and that was the spot that Jesus's head laid in the tomb.  I went in there and kneeled down and said a quick prayer. The tomb was pretty cool also, it was the spot that Jesus rose from the dead, back to life and fulfilled the old testament prophesy that set all believers free. It was magical thing to say the least. After that I went and lit a prayer candle and just hung out in the church for a bit watching all the Christian Pilgrims for Easter. I had a good time. Finally I walked to the courtyard of the church and the loud church bells started to ring.  I don't know how to explain it but just standing in the courtyard with those ringing annoying bells was quite an interesting and enjoyable experience.

The stone that Jesus was cleaned on before he was put in his tomb

the Tomb of Jesus

The dome lets in a light beam that falls on the Tomb

The candle lies where Jesus's head was in the tomb

The cross

        After the Christian district I headed down to the Western Wall.  Little did I know there was a huge ceremony that night. Walking with me to the wall were 100s of Israeli soldiers and other Jewish people.  Once I got there I realized what was happening, it was the swearing in ceremony for the Israeli Paratroopers-the most respected branch.  I walked through the huge crowd to get to the pathway to get to the actual wall.  It is necessary to wear a yamaka ,the Jewish male head cover, to go to the praying area. So I put on a yamaka and went to the wall.  It is traditional to write a prayer on a note and put it in one of the cracks of the wall, so I did.  Then I just stood around and watched the very serious Jews pray in their very interesting way at the wall.  It was a neat thing to see.  After that I turned around and watched the military ceremony.  It was in Hebrew so I did not know what they were saying. I figure that was probably a once in a lifetime thing to see, for me anyway. By that time I was very hungry so I headed to the Jewish district to grab a bite to eat. I ordered an Israeli dish called "Shnitzel", which was huge and tasty. I left my bag of gifts at my table when I went to pay and when I came back it was gone.  That made me very upset because it had all my gifts that I purchased for a good amount of money. But to cheer me up I went to the ice cream place right next door and ate some ice cream that was delicious. Then I walked around the Jewish district for a bit, but it was a lot nicer than the other parts and more expensive so I did not buy anything else.  Then to end the night I walked up a huge hill or mountain-the Mount of Olives.  The Mount of Olives is where Jesus ascended to Heaven.  But after I walked up the huge hill for 20 minutes I was exhausted and went to bed.
What a day!

The Huge crowd at the Swearing in Ceremony for the Paratroopers 

The Western Wall

Praying at the Western Wall

Prayers stuck in the cracks of the Western Wall

Day 3-Jerusalem

    Today is just kind of a relaxing day.  I woke up at 8:00 and ate breakfast in the hotel which consisted of Palestinian breakfast. It was good. I drank a cup of coffee and headed to the Old City with James and Katie. Let me note that today is Good Friday.  We walked into the Lion's Gate which is by the street that Jesus walked.  There were at least a thousand people on that street all bunched up and crazy speaking all kinds of foreign languages. We realized that we were not going to get anywhere on that main street so we walked into the living quarters down some thin pathways and finally made it to the Tower of King David Museum.  We went in there and walked up a bunch of stairs to the terrace.  From that terrace I was able to look down at the whole old city. It was an amazing view. Then we walked around the museum and looked at all the exhibits.  I don't really know but there is not much to say about that either. Don't get me wrong though, it was neat and I enjoyed it but is was just history. 

    After that we walked to a Greek Church next to it was a Holocaust museum.  We went and there and looked around.  It was a sad experience as you can guess.  Then we walked to the cemetery and found Oskar Schindler's grave and looked at that.

An IDF riot squad(these people are everywhere)

The street that Jesus walked was crowded with Christians on Good Friday

     Then we walked down to the Western Wall at 12:30.  This was a very busy time at the wall. I was reminded of the story in the bible where Jesus got angry with the money changers at the church.  As I was walking down the path to the wall, this man had a table of yamakas selling them to people who did not have them.  He told me that I had to buy one and wear it if I was going to the wall.  So I bought one after bartering him down quite a bit.  So with my yamaka on my head I walked to the wall again, washed my hands in the fountain and prayed at the Western Wall amongst all the Jews. Of course I prayed a Christian prayer. It was quite an experience. We were tired so we decided to walk back to the hotel and rest for a couple hours and then go back.
     After that I went back and walked around for a while.  I sat down in a couple Palestinian's shops and just talked to them.  I talked to them about how they felt about their situation and if they were happy.  From talking to multiple Palestinians living in Jerusalem, I came to the conclusion that they are treated well.  They all told me that they get the same rights as the Israeli Jews.  A couple of the Palestinians actually referred to themselves as Israeli.  After that I went to an Armenian restaurant and ate Shish Taouk. It was a great meal.  It was tasty and huge. with my food I had a Maccabee Beer, the local beer. Then at about 8:00PM I went to the Sepulchre church and looked at all the sites again.  I just kind of hung out in the courtyard for a while, it was entertaining to watch all these people from all over the world, speaking different languages, looking different, all of them coming to see the the site where Jesus was crucified. It was truly amazing.  Then at about 9:30 I went to the Western Wall, at this time it was the Jewish Sabbath.  The Jewish quarter was completely shut down.  Then I went back up the dreaded walk to the Mount of Olives and went to bed.

My Armenian Shish Taouk, tasty

Day 4-Palestine

Nablus market 

My Palestinian buddy that I got Nablus sweets from

     Today I felt like I was back in Jordan. When I left Israeli territory and entered the West Bank I  read the sign that said "This is Area A controlled by the Palestinian Authority, It is illegal for any Israeli citizen to enter and is dangerous for Israeli citizens".  The buildings and area magically transformed into what reminded me exactly of Jordan.  Except the first Palestinian city I went to was very modern and nice.  It was far from what I expected, I had been told that it was a terrible poor place that I would be astonished by. That was far wrong.  But of course it was poor compared to the United States of America but most countries are.  The city of Ramallah was quite nice and from what I saw nicer than Amman, Jordan (except for West Amman). From Ramallah I hopped on a bus and went to Nablus.  It was about and hour bus ride through huge hills and valleys and maybe what I would call mountains.  Every side of a mountain was covered with olive trees. Driving through there I thought about numerous old testament bible stories.  This was the area that Abraham walked and his descendants how many years ago. Also on the way there there were what I counted to be 9 Jewish Settlements which are illegal according to the UN and what seems to be Israeli law according to their road signs. So that is a very complicated issue that I will not go into.  Finally I arrived in the city of Nablus. It was a bit older than Ramallah but it looked exactly like downtown Amman except cleaner and bigger.  There were multiple alleys to walk down that were selling any item you could think of for dirt cheap. It made the Friday Souk and the downtown Amman markets look small.  I was astonished by this, nothing what I expected.  And the best part was talking to the locals.  I think that Jordanians are good hospital people but the Palestinians in Nablus were the nicest, friendliest and helpful people I have ever met.  I went into a coffee shop to ask the men in there where a good restaurant to eat was and in there were a couple men eating a plate of tomatoes, hummus and bread.  Instead of telling me where to go eat, they asked me to just sit down with them and eat their food.  After that we went to a little restaurant and ate falafel sandwiches.  Then finally the best part of Nablus happened, I ate Kanafeh the best Arab dessert.  I have eaten it in Jordan multiple times but Nablus is where it was invented so I had to eat it there. It was too delicious to describe.  Then we all spent about another hour in the downtown area in amazement. As I was walking through the fruit section I saw a cart full of Plums and had to have one.  I grabbed one and asked how much and the man told me to just take it for free, I got out some money to pay but he would not let me.  To say the least, I loved Nablus and the people of Nablus.

Sign forbidding Israeli citizens in the West Bank

Checkpoint to the West Bank

At 2:30 we got on a bus to go back to Ramallah and then to Jerusalem.  I got dropped off by the old city so I decided to spend some time in there before going back to the hotel.  I was very hungry by this time, it was about 5:00 now. Previously, I ate in the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Armenian quarter now it was time to eat in the Christian quarter (save the best for last). I went to a little restaurant owned by a Palestinian Christian, it was on the nicer side for Jerusalem.  I ordered a famous Palestinian dish named "Arayes".  If you want to know what it is google it, I cannot explain it.  But I will say it is delicious.  With the "Arayes" I had bread and local red wine.  I sat in there and watched all the Easter Pilgrims walk the streets.  It was enjoyable.  After eating I ended the night like my other nights and went and hung out at the Sepulchre for a good while and then headed up to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Day 5-Jerusalem to home

I went to bed early last night so I could get up early this morning.  I had plans to go to the Temple Mount first thing in the morning.  The security is not as tight and they let in some non Muslims in the early morning.  I woke up at 6:00AM and made it to the Temple Mount at 7:00.  For you all that don't know the Temple Mount is sacred to three religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.  For Muslims the Temple Mount hosts the famous Dome of the Rock Mosque and the Al-Aqsa Mosque which is where they believe that Muhammad had his night journey. It is the third holiest site in Islam.  The Temple Mount is the Holiest site in Judaism.  Inside the Dome of the Rock rests the foundation rock in which used to host the Holy of Holies which hosted the Ark of the Covenant. The strict Jews will go onto the Temple Mount because the chief rabbi forbids it because of the Holiness of the site. Instead the Jews pray at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount which is the closest point to the Foundation Rock which always hosts God's Devine Presence. It is sacred to Christians because the stones that make the Temple Mount are believed to be the same ones that Jesus walked on and a few stories from the bible about Jesus happened at the Temple Mount.  It is also sacred to Christians because of the same reasons as Judaism. Over the Years it has been destroyed an rebuilt but still hosts the Foundation Rock. And there has been much controversy over the Temple Mount because it is sacred to 3 religions and only Muslims are allowed unrestricted access and non Muslims are not allowed in the Mosques, even to see the Holy of Holies. Well, there is your history.

I got onto the Temple Mount and was amazed at how large it was, it did not look that big from the distance. I first went to the door of the Dome of the Rock.  I asked if I could go in but was denied.  So I walked around for a bit and came back to a different door about 10 minutes later.  I stood there and talked to the man sitting at the door for a while.  He eventually opened the door and let me enter for a couple minutes to see it and take a picture.  It was a pretty cool experience. A crowd of other non muslims saw what was going on and came rushing over, the man made me leave and closed the door, not letting anyone else enter.  After that I went back to the hotel and ate breakfast and checked out at noon.  I then headed to the Old City one last time in order to go to King David's tomb.  Mom had told me that I needed to go there but it was closed on Friday and Saturday.  I went in there and there were Jewish rabbis praying.  Close by was also the apartment that the Last Supper was held in.  I went there and called it a day.  I got on my bus, went through a few check points and now I am back home in Jordan. 

I finally got a picture next to the Dome of the Rock in my last hour there. 

Inside the Dome of the Rock, very rare opportunity for a non-Muslim

King David's Tomb

This trip to Israel was amazing, I would recommend it to anyone.  Old Jerusalem is a small area with 4 different cultures and religions living side by side. On top of that there are tourists from every corner of the world visiting all year long.  The dynamic is amazing. If you go, sit down and talk with a Palestinian Muslim, a Palestinian Christian, an Israeli Jew, and an Armenian.   I believe that trips like this are the corner stone of a good study abroad semester.  A student can take classes anywhere but can not get real experiences in a lecture hall in America on issues of the Middle East.  I called my visit to Israel the cherry on top of my Israeli-Palestinian Conflict class. What a great trip. 

Oh and I forgot to mention that throughout all the streets of Jerusalem are IDF soldiers carrying M-16 rifles and some of them have grenade launchers.  It is a weird thing to get used to.
Oh and I also for got to talk about going to the Garden of Gethsemane.  That was the garden that Jesus prayed in the night before the Roman soldiers came to take him away. It was very peaceful.

The Garden of Gethsemane

Until Next Time.....

-John Michael Middleton