Holy shalom! It’s all built with old limestone.

6/4/15
Jerusalem & The Dead Sea, Israel

Where is Israel?  What is Israel?  It’s quite complicated and frankly downright confusing.    Is it Jordan?  Israel?  Jerusalem?  A settlement?  These shifting distinctions are essentially at the root of what the friction is all about.  Annexation.  Flexible drifting borders.  Broadening cities.  All part of the “politically geographical mess” that is Israel.  And the questions always depend on whom you ask.  And the people who live here...  Are they Jewish?  Are they Palestinian?  Arab?  Israeli?  A citizen?  A settler?  For our group touring, we always had to have two sets of guides A) to explain the two sides of every story, and B) because one guide or the other was usually restricted from entering the place we were going.  What a crazy, mixed up “country”; and pretty much all in the name of religion.

One of our fellow travelers said to me they do not consider Israel to be a “mess”.  But if it’s not a mess, why do they need signs like this?

But the upshot good news is that Coke is alive and well in Israel, and often adapted to the Hebrew language; something I remember from my brother’s trip there in about 1978.

But beyond the American influence of such syrupy carbonated capitalism ventures, a beautiful very old world looking city exists, awash in local limestone.  I can’t recall being in a place where every building is made of the same stones.  It did make for a striking looking consistency.

We had a beautiful view from our sixth floor room at the luxurious and historic King David Hotel (Click here to learn more).  Looking towards the wall of the old city on our arrival night:

And the sunrise the next morning seemed picturesque, so I couldn’t resist.  And if you're awake at 5:30am, why not make use of it somehow?

And a little panoramic shot from our window:

On our arrival night, we had dinner in a large, beautiful, domed banquet room (Click here to learn more) at a conference center called Beit Smuel (Click here to learn more).  On the way up, I noticed a sign directing towards the Hirsch Theater!  Although I didn’t get to see the theater personally that night, I checked out the website later, and it looks to be a beautiful theater.  Of course, with a name like that! (Click here to learn more)

We had a private patio/deck overlooking the old city, and managed to get a fellow traveler to snap a photo:

The next day, we boarded coaches for city touring with expert guides; both Palestinian and Jewish, and learned and saw so many interesting things in this highly coveted and sharply divided historic city, “shared” by Jews, Muslims and Christians.  The old city is surrounded by a limestone wall with a number of gates through which to enter:

After passing along about 40% of the wall, we ascended, via an extremely narrow street, to the top of the Mount of Olives; literally a mountain full of olive trees (Click here to learn more).  From there, the view is truly magnificent:

At the base of the mount is the Church of All Nations (Click here to learn more).

And outside is the Gethsemane garden (Click here to learn more) featuring the “oldest olive tree in Jerusalem”, with "peace" written in stones just nearby, among a beautiful rose and flower garden:

Next, we drove to the Lion’s Gate of the old city (Click here to learn more), walked through, and were treated to a rare opportunity to enter an entrance and section of the Muslim Quarter (Click here to learn more) generally reserved for Muslims only.  And although I don’t have pictures to share, all of the women in our group had to cover their heads and pants.  Those without proper skirting, etc. were provided loaners.

Once assembled, appropriately dressed, and approved, we were able to walk through the olive groves and plazas and right into a couple of very sacred mosques.  The first was the Dome of the Rock (Click here to learn more).

Once inside (shoeless), the illuminated donation box comes first (of course):

No need to wonder where the money goes, though, as renovations to the dome are visibly underway:

And the elaborately ornate tile work, etc. really is beautiful:

And under the “rock” mentioned in the name, praying takes place:

And if you failed to bring your own Koran, one will be provided for you:

Next stop, across the plaza...

(Be sure to remove your shoes first and place them here):

...To the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also under scaffolded renovations (Click here to learn more):

Feel free to read one of the provided Korans (if you read Arabic of course):

Or mix it up with some of the very friendly (and fluent in English) local Muslims:

Or check out the collection of bombs and hand grenades to remind us of the struggles faced there:

We got out before the next explosive went off, put our shoes back on, and walked through another plaza:

Through the Gate of the Cotton Merchants:

Into the candyland, spice-laden, hookah-happy, yards-of-yarmulkas bazar labyrinth:

Pleasant people could be encountered there, such as this shop-keeper who, although I bought nothing, proclaimed me his best friend (in flawless English):

And this large gun slinging cop/guard, who loves National Geographic, and vowed to visit me in San Francisco:

And on to towards the Western (Wailing) Wall (if you can figure out which direction to go):

Where one can pray and leave a note with a wish that may or may not come true, probably depending on how firmly one believes (Click here to learn more).

Jumping from one holy place to another, we meandered towards the (under watchful eye-in-the-sky) Christian Quarter (Click here to learn more):

And to the holiest of churches, the almighty Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Click here to learn more):

Among the claims to fame of this church, are the rock above which Jesus hung from the cross, and bled down onto Adam’s tomb below:

And, "believe" it or not, the actual tomb of none-other-than that holiest of dudes “our lord and savior” Jesus Christ:

Complete with an angelic beam of light streaming from high above:

And not to be outdone by those Christians, directly across the foot path, the Muslims erected a tower “just taller” than that pesky old church in their Mosque of Omar (Click here to learn more):

What a history; what a story!

We all had dinner on our own that evening, and were able to choose from seven restaurant options.  In an attempt to keep things simple, close-to-home, and a bit more relaxing, we opted for the fancy French restaurant in the King David Hotel where we were staying.  It was called La Regence, and was actually quite good (Click here to learn more).

The next day was our big outing by coach to the almighty monolithic Masada and the salt-dense Dead Sea.

The drive there took us through picturesque and geologically interesting terrain:

Along the Dead Sea, with it’s brackish natural pools of underground spring water mixed with salty Dead Sea water:

Through date palm orchards, which are meticulously and laboriously hand pollinated from cherry pickers:

Across the official border into Jordan:

And ultimately within view of the especially isolated and fascinating mountaintop retreat (Click here to learn more):

A three minute cable car ride takes you to the top, from which those stark and geometrical patterns in the rocky dirt below can be seen:

Once at the top, you get an idea of how massive this place is.  These are a tiny couple of pieces:

And here is the sauna room:

Complete with external furnace and steam “pipes”:

A corridor:

Some pools and cisterns for the elaborate water collecting system out here in this desert with infrequent but torrential rains:

And ultimately, the ramp up which the Romans came to decimate the Jews holed up there (see center of photo):

And the rock “cannonballs” the Jews used to stave off the Romans for as long as they could muster before the final defeat:

It’s really quite a story.  Before the trip, we watched a very informative documentary called "Israel: The Royal Tour", available on Netflix Instant (Click here to learn more), which told the basic story.  The wikipedia page linked above can provide more insight; and a TV miniseries was made in 1981 starring Peter O’Toole that goes much deeper into the historical stories of various inhabitants of the Masada (Click here to learn more).

After our quite brief visit to the big rock, we drove back along the meandering banks of Dead Sea (Click here to learn  more), this time stopping at Kalia Beach for a group lunch and the possibility for a dip into the unique body of water to “float like a cork” in the densely salty water that provides such buoyancy.

Although I opted to stay dry on land to shoot the photos, Jack took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in, get wet, and float.

Kalia Beach features some comforts, facilities and concessions such lifeguards:

Beach umbrellas:

And, sponsored by Coke (of course), the “lowest bar in the world” at 418 meters below sea level:

And for the sea itself:

After a long bus ride back to the hotel, a much needed (and earned) rest took place, and then a quick dart across the street to check out the recommended view from the tower of the YMCA.  But it turned out that the view was extremely impeded by our hotel, which became the best shot from that location:

We also went down a flight or two of stairs and ran across the bells of the tower, which were kind of neat, and even made in England!  I was grateful we were not there on the hour, though; especially not twelve!  My ears would still be ringing...

We then walked back to the hotel and down the path towards the pool:

Later, we enjoyed a fascinating lecture by Aziz Abu Sarah (Click here to learn more) (and here to learn even more).  He is a Palestinian with a very interesting history who teaches and preaches conflict resolution, and a friendly, fun guy who I plan to see again when he comes to SF in a matter of weeks.  It's too bad I couldn't take him up on his invitation to stay a few extra days in Israel, and go to Tel Aviv to party with the locals.

After the lecture, we had an appointment to be escorted by security staff to the roof of our hotel.  Since our building obscured the view of the old city from the YMCA tower, we realized that the best view would be from atop our own building; and intuition served to be the best guide (along with a recommendation from fellow traveler Lucie):

And as for some random, miscellaneous pictures from around Jerusalem, we have the police vehicles:

The first I’ve ever seen scooter-paramedic:

And a camera mapping car, similar to those used by Google Maps:

From the food files, we enjoyed the best, crispy, moist, and tasty falafel balls ever at a charming patio restaurant in the old city called Nafoura (Click here to learn more):

Water, in Hebrew:

And a first-ever (for me) halvah bar at breakfast:

By the way, on the flight into Israel from Ethiopia, we could see out the left windows the great pyramids of Giza (at center of shot):

And were able to get a shot of the entire jet crew, who took such good care of us the entire trip:

From our dinner on the last night in Jerusalem, we got a shot of our two best friends on the trip, father and son Tony and Donald, whom we plan to visit in Tampa (my mother’s birthplace):

And finally a good shot of Spencer Wells, the trip creator, guide, and archaeology/genetic expert, and me (thanks to Bill Hallier):

The customary Google Map shots of where in the world we were (nestled between Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, not to mention Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan):

And the Google page from Israel:

So with that, we wrap up the National Geographic part of our trip.  I can certainly say that it was “an experience”.  I frankly have mixed feelings about many aspects of the journey, and the trip overall, for many reasons.  One main one is about group travel in general, and then others have to do with the itinerary choices of this particular trip, and the pacing of it.  Furthermore, I really prefer to have more control over my travel itinerary so I can spend more time in places I personally would like to see, as well as avoid spending time in places that do not interest me.  There are no regrets about taking this trip, but moving forward I have learned to be much more scrutinizing of a trip’s itinerary, and likely will steer clear of group travel for the most part. I have also learned the following about myself:

I prefer seeing and spending time out in nature to visiting man-made buildings in general.

I am not a big fan of churches, religious institutions and art museums.  Although they can be beautiful, I do not align with what they represent.  Of course many of the most monolithic and beautiful structures have been erected in the name of religion.

I am a fan of natural history museums, and some archaeology and scientific displays, as well as zoos, parks, and especially natural wonders.

I like to meet locals and get to know them, observing their unique culture and sharing with them my own customs, foods, and distinctions from their way of life.  Therefore, having some flexibility to accept offers to engage more directly with them is a desired option.

I have now been to 26 countries, and yet only 22 states in my own country, and would like to follow the “see America first” model and catch up on the number of states to equal or surpass the international destinations I've now visited.

After having watched the entire Ken Burns series on the national parks, many have piqued my interest, and I have resolved to visit more of them, mostly by road trip, but by flight and car rental when distance makes it impractical to embark by vehicle from home.

I am going to make great effort to not be closeted about my gerontophilia (Click here to learn more).  My general philosophy has been to “let people believe that their assumptions are accurate” when they figure my partner is my father, grandfather or friend to avoid shocking and/or offending them.  But I find that when I do correct them, not only do they generally react favorably, but it also allows for a deeper connection with them, clears the air, and facilitates better understanding of my particular, unique way of life.  Plus I get the relief of not having hidden anything.  On this trip, the 70 fellow travelers ran the gamut from immediately realizing the nature of our relationship, to assuming we are related, to asking for themselves what our story was.  I must confess that I always feel put on the spot and am made to feel uncomfortable when an assumption is projected my way for verification.  But my commitment moving forward is to express my true self and see where that takes me.

The final goodbye dinner at the Four Seasons in London with the group was a lot of fun, and quite touching, as we all shared stories, reminisced good times had together, and hugged goodbye, vowing to keep in touch.  My suggestion was a reunion in one year back at the Four Seasons.  Many felt that sounded like a capital idea.  I plan to keep in touch with a few select people in the group, and even visit some within the next year or so.  As it turned out, the only Californians were a couple from Livermore, one from Fresno, a solo traveling lady from Los Angeles and a woman from San Diego.  All of the rest were scattered around the U.S., save for the one couple from Sydney, Australia.  All-in-all certainly a nice group of people who all got along famously, were quite open, and never cliquey.  And although about 80-90% of us fell ill in one way or another, the attitudes I witnessed were almost always positive, cooperative and upbeat!

Now we are recovering for a few days in London.  Stay tuned for a final post regarding this trip soon...  I hope you've enjoyed experiencing The Human Journey with me through my photos and stories.  I may make a habit of some blogging moving towards the future.  There never seems to be a shortage of things to share!  ;-)    E.R.