TravelStream™ news feed for member danestern on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/danestern en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:02:35 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257991165/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257991165/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257991165/tpod.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:02:35 -0500 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel

Blind Museum and Deaf Museum


I'd been told by many people that the blind museum is a real must-see! Excuse the pun. I rushed in the morning to Holon on the outskirts of Tel Aviv for these two hour-long exhibits, which have been copied in several other countries too.


In the first one, "Dialogue in the Dark", we were led by a guide who is 80% blind, and we got to experience what everyday activities are like for a blind person. We were each given a walking stick, taught how to use it, and were led through rooms that got gradually darker, until we could see nothing at all. I found it quite frightening, and even claustrophobic, only being able to determine where I was going by touching the walls with my hands and walking stick. Blind people tend to develop amazing spatial awareness, I know Andrea Bocelli has appeared in operas and moved freely around the stage despite not having sight.


Very cleverly, all the “places” we visited emphasised other senses, like visiting a rainforest with bird sounds, touching and smelling fruit in a market, and going on a boat with simulated water and breeze. One of the exhibition’s aims is to change people’s perceptions of those with impairments, and here the typical roles were reversed – we sighted people were reliant on a vision-impaired person to assist us. Towards the end of the exhibition we reached a café, still in the dark, where we were served by blind waiters – I have no idea if they were giving me the right change! Afterwards we sat down with our guide and chatted to him about his experience as a blind person, he was very open and claimed that when he was walking with us, and always knew who he was next to, it was because he could recognise the smell of each person alongside him!


The “Invitation to Silence” (deaf) exhibit wasn’t quite as eye-opening as the first, as it didn’t feel as much like we were experiencing a world outside our own. It was more role-playing, trying to convey emotion and messages in charades-like games. We wore big headphones to block out all sounds, and went without speaking for the entire hour. Our guide was very animated, which made it a lot of fun, and I was amazed how easily she could get a message across to us without using words. At the end, we asked her questions, with the help of a sign-language translator at times, and although she was fully deaf she could still speak reasonably clearly. I asked if she could communicate with the blind people in the museum, and amazingly she could! She would lip read what they were saying, and they could understand her when she spoke to them. I’m very glad I was able to visit, despite struggling to book tickets for about 2 weeks.



The Carnival is Over


Annick drove me to the airport for my flight home, my 3rd flight out of (and 6th time at) Ben Gurion Airport this trip. Finally, 3 months and 18 countries later, my trip was at its completion. Jason Manne and Gabe Baker were on the same flight as me to Bangkok, and we were joined at the airport by a few of their mates that I know. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by about 2 hours, and because my connecting flight was only minutes away from final boarding, I was given VIP status and got driven around Bangkok’s airport in an electric buggy. The last time that happened to me in Thailand, Daniel Solomon and I just missed our connecting flight home, and we were “forced” to skip uni and spend an extra 3 days in Phuket! But this time I felt more homesick, and there was no way I was spending extra time in Smog City – I got on the plane with literally minutes to spare.


The flight home was nice, with plenty of in-flight entertainment to conflict with my need for sleep. As we approached Sydney, I knew it was time to farewell the towers and temples, ruins and rock houses, stadiums and statues, camps and cathedrals, museums and mountains, palaces and pyramids. Looking at the magnificent view of Sydney Harbour from the air, I took a moment to shut my eyes, seek out some evocative music, and reminisce about the great times I had:



Now the harbour light is calling

This will be our last goodbye

The carnival is over
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257118426/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257118426/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1257118426/tpod.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:21:46 -0500 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel

Yad Vashem

I did a 3-hour guided tour of the museum this morning. Even though I'd spent a few days here on my Poland Heritage Tour program, we hadn't really got the chance to look around the new museum. I found it really interesting, particularly now that I've visited several of the camps. Because the content is so emotive, having a guide really added to the visit. The new museum is shaped like a triangular prism, with the lack of natural light and the sloping walls making you feel somewhat trapped. But at the end of the museum is a lookout, quite literally light at the end of the tunnel, overlooking the beautiful Jerusalem hills and symbolising Jewish regenesis now that we have our own state.

After the tour I went to the other exhibits, so that with my visits a few weeks ago and today I've now visited Yad Vashem in its entirety. The exhibits included art representing the Holocaust, art created by children in the camps, the contribution of Holocaust survivors to life in Israel, and the Hall of Remembrance, containing the Ner Tamid - Eternal Light.

One room is filled with computers containing practically all films - documentaries, movies, interviews - ever made regarding the Holocaust. I had a look for my grandfather's Survivors of the Shoah video, but couldn't find it for ages, then eventually found it in the wrong order under "Stern Braham". I got very emotional watching it for a number of reasons. I'd watched his interview more than once when writing my Hans Kimmel assignment a few years ago but only had time to watch half an hour of it this time. The video's from 1995, and after his interview the whole family came in to be recorded, including my brother Mitchell, and a 9-year-old Dane.


Tel Aviv

I caught a sherut (shared taxi) to Tel Aviv, to spend the night with my Dad's cousin Annick, the sister of Michel who I visited in Belgium. She and her husband (a diamond dealer) have the most incredible apartment, it's on the 30th floor of an apartment building housing such dignitaries as Shimon Peres and the head of the Russian mafia. There's a massive balcony that goes almost 360 degrees around for unbelievable views of all Tel Aviv, and other luxuries such as speakers in the bathrooms connected to the bedroom TV's, so I could listen to The Weakest Link while taking a crap.

I went with Annick and her son Eyal, who's about a year older than me, to shish kebab, where we were served by an Arab waiter that she knows well. He spoke Hebrew with the same accent as any other Israeli, and I had no idea that he wasn't Jewish, I was glad to notice that in some areas in Israel it really doesn't matter whether you're Jewish or Arab. I finally got to watch Frost/Nixon, in bed, and didn't want a big night because I struggle to sleep on planes - tomorrow I fly home!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256798388/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256798388/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256798388/tpod.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:31:31 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Jerusalem, Israel

Big Shabbat lunch

For once I had time to sleep in rather than travel, and spent a bit of time reading the Jerusalem Post and chatting with the South African girls - they're 18 and pretty hot.

When they were living in Australia, the Luries would have literally 50 people over for Shabbat lunch each week! And when we were invited (very often), it wouldn't just be my immediate family but also my grandparents and sometimes cousins too. It's hard to decide who's more hospitable between the Belzbergs and the Luries! Nowadays every touring Australian practically invites himself over to the Luries to sleep, and their Shabbat lunches have their fair share of expat Aussies too - I estimate about 40 people came today! I sat with Benji Levy, and lots of my brother's friends were there, including Josh Horry who's about to join the Israeli army. Needless to say, the challah I baked yesterday tasted pretty bad.


A lazy afternoon

After lunch I had a bit of a rest, then took a ping pong challenge against Gabe, the triple-gold medallist in table tennis at the JCC games. And i beat him! Convincingly! Following last night's experience, I decided to head back to the Belzbergs for seudat shlishit (the last meal of Shabbat), where I was joined by Ricki and Yossi Dinnen. It was fun doing some more singing and also catching up with Aussie friends there (although Ricki's no longer Australian, in one sense).


Ricki's birthday dinner

For Ricki's 24th birthday, about 10 of us went to a noodle bar for dinner. I knew most of the people there, like Shmuel Ozhekh, Yossi, Benji and the Tockars, and there were a few others who knew Brendan from when he was at Yeshiva - he had quite a reputation there! Benji's girlfriend Renana was there too, who I'd only met once before when she came to us for Shabbat. At this time of year, so many Australian Jews make their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and many more, like the ones I ate with, either are or will soon be living there for good. I had really nice stir fry, and the restaurant had such a variety of food that isn't on offer in Sydney's kosher restaurants. We were deciding whether to go out after, perhaps to a negila bar, but it was pouring and most of us went back home.

Tomorrow's my last full day overseas. I'll be visiting Yad Vashem for a few hours, then staying with my Belgian-born relative Annick in Tel Aviv, before heading back home on Monday. A part of me wants to go home, as I'm missing friends and family (and trivia nights), and a part of me regrets that such a great trip is so close to finishing.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256795471/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256795471/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256795471/tpod.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:27:47 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Jerusalem, Israel

Preparing for Shabbat in Jerusalem

Until finishing Geraldine Brooks's "People of the Book" a few weeks ago, I have never completed a fiction book, unless forced to by school. I spent a few hours on the bus reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the guy who wrote The Kite Runner, and I must say I'm quite impressed with this novel concept. It made for a good read on an otherwise boring bus journey.

Back at the Luries' house, Lori has a rule for Shabbat – if you eat there, you must make your own challah. Quite a few Aussies joined me for the weekly challah-baking ritual – Dovi and Janine Diamond, Jason Manne, Jon-Jon Levy and Bren’s Melbourne friend Gabe Baker. Gabe’s dad Mark wrote a book that I recently read, "The Fiftieth Gate", and he was amazed that I probably knew more about his family than he did! We were joined by three cute South African girls who were the quintessential JAPs, and will be staying the next two nights here as well. It was surprisingly fun baking challah, although mine didn’t turn out quite as nice as the others'.

Shabbat at the Belzbergs

While the Luries were having a family dinner, Ricki Bornstein invited me over to the home of Marc and Chantelle Belzberg, whose daughter Michal was working at Moriah and is good friends with Brendan. Marc, originally from Canada, is the most humble and warm man, and you’d never know from his down-to-earth nature that he comes from such a successful pedigree – his father, and his father-in-law, are BOTH billionaires! And he’s had unbelievable success in his own right, with involvement in everything from mobile phones to supplying the Israeli army with hi-tech weaponry. Ricki and I joined his family at their shule, which looks a lot like Central Synagogue, and has as many big machas as Central. The sermon was delivered by a Professor Stern (no relation) who lived a few years ago in Sydney, and who was Yigal Amir’s law professor when he assassinated Yitzhak Rabin! I presume Stern wasn’t lecturing in criminal law.

Chantelle is from Antwerp, where her family works in the diamond industry, although she didn’t know my relatives there. We were punished with some long and boring stories from the son of her Belgian friend, who kept annoying us with interjections like: “The Torah says we’re not allowed to do that because…” – Ricki and I couldn’t stop cringing, it was like the worst bits in a Ricki Gervais show. Fortuantely Marc is the most unbelievable storyteller I’ve ever heard, he was as hilarious as the Belgian boy was unbearable. Chantelle’s food was delicious, and their whole family sang Shabbat songs really nicely, it was a wonderful Shabbat experience. They insisted that Ricki and I come back for Seudat Shlishit tomorrow afternoon, and I’m more than happy to return.


Lunch with the Prime Minister?

Back at the Luries, I stayed up for a few hours chatting with the South African girls, the Lurie boys and some others. Alan Lurie is second cousins with (potential) Prime-Minister-to-be Benjamin Netanyahu, and it’s difficult to know whose politics lie further to the right. It turns out that Lori invited the Netanyahus over for Shabbat lunch tomorrow, which requires his security team to inspect every room of the huge house, but they had to cancel a few days ago. While Lori and Alan like Sara Netanyahu, Alan hates Bibi – not for his politics, but apparently he’s a rude and extremely arrogant man. It would have been great to have lunch with the probable next Prime Minister, and offer him a few questions, but we’ll have to have a relatively quiet lunch instead, as they’re only expecting 30 to 40 guests!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256529417/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256529417/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256529417/tpod.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:48:36 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Tiberias, Galilee, Israel

Tiberias

This morning I caught a bus from Hadera to Tiberias to meet my mum's first cousin Chava and her family. When Chava came to Australia a few years ago, we convinced little Bianca that Hava Nagila was named after her! She's a fervent Zionist, having worked for quite a few years for the Jewish Agency, particularly helping to absorb Ethiopian immigrants.

I got picked up by her daughter Shira, who is about my age, and was taken to Chava's son Dan's house. Dan gets pissed off that everyone in the family thinks he looks like my cousin Andrew (they look so alike!), and loves three things - smoking, drinking beer, and swearing. The only thing missing from the stereotype is a mullet - if he grew one, maybe he'd no longer look so much like Andrew. Dan has a wife Gil, a toddler called Roey who cries too much, and is expecting a 2nd child in a matter of weeks. Fortunately he had the afternoon off work to chill out with me at his home.


Why don't I make aliyah?

For dinner, we went to a bar/restaurant that Shira and her boyfriend work at next to the Jordan River. Chava brought along a few of her 5 children, and her de facto Zameer. The food was pretty nice, I always enjoy sharing plates because I get to eat more when others feel full! Zameer's a private travel guide, which must be pretty difficult at the moment, and I was happy to hear him talking about the history of the area we were in. And it's a pretty significant area - literally 50 metres from our restaurant was the part of the Jordan River where Jesus was baptised!

Back at Dan's place, where I decided to sleep the night, Chava and Zameer were discussing with me why I should make aliyah like Brendan plans to do. For people who have spent most of their lives in Israel, it must be difficult to sink in the fact that lives in the diaspora are very happy and comfortable, and that my Jewishness doesn't dominate my life in the way it does to many Israelis. Although I've had a great time in Israel so far, the only place I'd consider moving to is London, and even then only temporarily. Israel does a great job at settling in its immigrants, including generous financial benefits and a 6-month intensive Hebrew course for olim. The truth is, I think my parents would consider making aliyah once Dad retires and Bianca's older, they have plenty of relatives and expat Australian friends in Israel - and for people who are kosher and even remotely religious, Israel provides perhaps a better lifestyle than back home. But not for me - when people ask me if I'm an Australian first or a Jew first, I struggle to answer.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256528793/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256528793/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1256528793/tpod.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:56:46 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Hadera, Israel

No Petra

I decided against visiting Petra, the archaeological site in Jordan, because it would have meant travelling for hours to spend a night in Eilat before several more hours travelling to Petra, returning to Jerusalem before Friday night, costing around $300, and doing it all on my own. Next time I visit Israel I'll plan for a day or two there. Instead, I decided to visit my great-aunt Sara and her husband Marcel in Hadera.


Hadera

Sara's English is at about the same level as my Hebrew, so we spoke a bit in both languages. Like her sister, my grandmother, Sara loves cooking, and made me a traditional Israeli dinner with home-made falafels and dips. Their daughter Mira (who everyone thinks looks like my mum) came to visit me along with her husband Chaim and three children. I entertained them with the face-warping program on my iPhone, making photos of their father look more like pictures of a monster.

Last time I visited Israel I spent 2 nights here, and Marcel's favourite hobby was watching soccer on TV, particularly replays of Real Madrid games. This time they were watching post-election political coverage on TV, discussing whether Livni or Netanyahu would be the most likely to form a coalition government, but I spent more time stealing wireless internet from next door to use on my phone. I wanted to watch a movie but the only cinema closed down a few years ago, there's not very much to do in Hadera.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254298510/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254298510/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254298510/tpod.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:08:37 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel

Holy City Tour

We had the same guide as yesterday's tour, Kobi, who is uniquely qualified to guide the holy city in that his mum's Jewish, his dad's a Protestant minister, and his wife is a convert to Judaism. On the other hand, I have a second cousin who has a Jewish father, Christian mother, and recently married a Pakistani Muslim - perhaps he'd be even more qualified. It was a real thrill for me to visit places so significant to so many people, even though I suspect many of the events never actually occurred at the places. These included the tomb of King David, and the room of Jesus's Last Supper on Mount Zion. It was interesting to hear about the histories of Ancient Israel and Modern Israel, including the Intifada, and alongside Yad Vashem I recommend this tour as the thing to do in Jerusalem. More on the two places we spent the most time in:


The Temple Mount

We entered the Temple Mount through a ramp next to the Western Wall. Before going up the ramp, there was a sign written by the Chief Rabbi urging Jews not to visit the Temple Mount as it's too holy. It's the most important place in the world for Jews (more so than even the Western Wall), but we're not supposed to visit it - not that the sign was going to stop me. For Jews, it's the site where the world reached its present form, Adam was created, the two temples stood, and the Third Temple will stand when the Messiah arrives.

For Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad (who never even went to Jerusalem!) ascended to heaven on his winged horse from here. I'm amazed at the size of the complex, which could easily fill several football fields, and often holds 20,000+ people for Friday prayers. Muslims all around the world dream of stepping foot here, and the issue of sovereignty over the complex is a major factor holding back a final peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Intifada began in 2000 soon after Ariel Sharon walked here.

We began at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but these days only Muslims are allowed inside, unlike when my Dad visited 30 years ago. Kobi gave us a rundown of Islam's history and beliefs, though I'd heard much of this already from our tour guide in Turkey.

The Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem's most iconic image. It's very nicely designed on the outside, with Arab-style arches, some beautifully coloured tesselated tiles, and a golden dome - about 10 years ago, Jordan's King Hussein sold a house in London to fund the 80kg of gold required for the dome! Again, we weren't allowed inside to see the Foundation Stone, even though this is the holiest spot in all of Judaism - which Jews pray towards, where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, the Ark of the Covenant stood, and the world was created. I had a few pictures of me taken in front of the Dome, which may be somewhat heretical.


Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Though we'd glimpsed it briefly yesterday, today we got a full tour of this church, which is as important to Christians as the Temple Mount is to Jews and Muslims. Some of the key spots were:

* Golgotha, the site believed to be where Jesus was crucified and died
* The last few Stations of the Cross
* Grave of Adam
* Relics of the "True Cross" that Jesus was crucified on
* Jesus's (empty) tomb

Naturally, I doubt the authenticity of much of what we saw, but they make for interesting stories nonetheless. It was a very insightful tour, and I can now say that between this trip and Academy a few years ago, I've visited almost all Jerusalem has to offer.


Israel Museum - incl. Dead Sea Scrolls

We'd visited this museum on Academy, along with practically every other museum in the whole country, but now I have far more appreciation for all things historical and significant. In the gardens there's a large replica of how Jerusalem looked at the time of the Second Temple, including Roman occupation sites like amphitheatres. I found it really interesting walking around the site with an audioguide while looking at things I've never seen before, like how the Temple Mount looked when there was actually a Jewish temple there. Within the temple, the only person allowed in the Holy of Holies was the High Priest (Cohen Gadol), and only on Yom Kippur. But if something happened to him (not unlikely, considering the tremendous pressure of his duty), nobody would be allowed to get his body. The solution: strapping a rope around his waste, because the only way to get his body was to rope it out!

I went inside the Shrine of the Book to check out the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, found last century by a boy who threw a rock into a cave and realised he'd hit some pottery, as well as other artefacts from the period. I was surprised at how similar the Essenes' religious traditions were to today, even though they lived in Temple times 2000 years ago. They also had on display the Aleppo Codex, a manuscript of the bible that's over a millenium old.

Although I was rushed for time, the temporary exhibitions were particularly interesting. One showcased contemporary Israeli art - my favourite was a life-size kitchen, made entirely out of coloured beads! It's a shame they wouldn't let me take a photo because Bianca loves beading and would be amazed what was made from them, I've never seen such a shiny kitchen! The other exhibit contained significant items from Israel's history, such as the first Israeli flag to be flown upon independence, the actual peace treaties signed with Egypt and Jordan (!!), alternative designs for the flag and coat of arms, and pages from the diary of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, which miraculously survived when his space shuttle exploded.

My favourite item here was a sheet of lyrics for the moving song Shir LaShalom that Yitzhak Rabin sang from minutes before his assassination. This sheet had been found on Rabin's body, with words to a song meaning "Song of Peace", and was ironically covered all over by Rabin's blood.


A night of cancellations

I'd been told by many people that I must attend the sound-and-light show in the Tower of David, which documents the history of Jerusalem (albeit from a Jewish perspective, and hardly likely to be neutral). On Academy we'd actually had a nice Shabbat service in the archaeological garden. Our guide this morning told me the show would be on tonight, but I showed up only to find out that it's not on Tuesday nights! So I decided to see a movie, which was an even more frustrating experience. I bought a ticket to see Frost/Nixon at Kanyon Malha, and had 2 hours of time-wasting in the shopping centre until the movie started. But when I showed up after the 2 hours, I was told that the movie had been cancelled! Apparently there were technical difficulties, but most probably I was the only person booking a ticket to a niche movie.

Following this frustration, I went back to the Luries to reminisce about home - chatting to a Sydneysider Mottel Gestetner about both of our jobs in trading, and watching Summer Heights High with the Lurie boys for the umpteenth time. This time next week I'll be on my way back to Australia, and it's with mixed feelings that my trip's approaching its finale.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254213537/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254213537/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1254213537/tpod.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:26:43 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel

Tour of Jerusalem

Though I'd been through the Jewish part on AUJS Academy, I decided to do another free Sandemans walking tour and see the sights of Jerusalem - Jewish, Muslim and Christian. Today's was a free tour giving a city overview, and tomorrow I'm planning to do the Holy City tour visiting some of the world's most important religious spots like the Temple Mount. Lauren Bornstein agreed to join me midway through the tour, and understandably went AWOL when it came to visiting the church (and giving tips). Many of the sites we visited she'd never seen, let alone heard of, and I'm sure many other Aussie religious people, despite their annual pilgrimage to Israel, also aren't aware of all that Jerusalem has to show. As for what we saw:

* Jaffa Gate - Britain's General Allenby, after capturing Jerusalem from the Turks in 1917, entered the Old City through this gate on foot, rather than on his horse, out of respect for the Holy City. A funny story was that the Turks were looking for British soldiers to surrender to, but couldn't find any - their official surrender was to British chefs!

* The Western Wall, Tower of David Citadel (which was built hundreds of years after King David), and other excavations such as the Roman Cardo Maximus. We also walked on rooftops for some magnificent views across Jerusalem including the Mount of Olives

* The Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters, or what Lauren collectively calls "The Arab Quarter". Quote of the day came from her when some Germans in our group wouldn't shup up: "Germans in the Arab Quarter, is there anyone I'd like to kill more?"

* In the Muslim Quarter, we walked through narrow alleyways and souk markets, where the shopkeepers put aside all politics for a buck - I saw one shop with an "Israel: Just Do It" t-shirt right next to a t-shirt saying "Free Palestine"

* We walked along the Via Dolorosa - allegedly the path where Jesus carried his cross en route to his crucifixion, marked with the Stations of the Cross. In World Youth Day 2008, the final station was at the Sydney Opera House

* The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was apparently crucified and buried, though we only saw a bit of the inside today. Six different Christian denominations share control of the building in ridiculous arrangements. My favourite is where one group is responsible for bringing the key to the door, but another group is responsible for actually turning the key. Someone placed a ladder next to a window 150 years ago, but everyone's so afraid of disrupting the status quo that the ladder has remained in place ever since, even though it serves zero purpose.

Such is the nature of Jerusalem - any seemingly irrelevant action can set off another religious group.


Ben Yehuda St

Lauren and I went for a walk along Ben Yehuda St, Jerusalem's main pedestrian road, which everyone raves about but isn't all that impressive. Some of the shops were nice though, especially the Judaica stores. I found a store selling novelty clay mezuzahs of sports teams, Super Mario and Family Guy characters, as well as clay Manchester United dreidels. I checked out about doing a comedy workshop, but it was too expensive at over $100 for a 2-hour comedy class.

After going back to the Luries and playing ping pong, I returned to the comedy club with Ricki Bornstein for open-mic night. I've been to quite a few open-mic nights at the Sydney Comedy Store, some very bad ones, but this was absolutely terrible. The host, who runs the club, spends his days working as a progressive Rabbi - he had some shocking jokes about circumcisions and other Jewish topics, and tried in vain to make jokes about us and Australia. After about an hour, Ricki whispered to me: "I can't take this any more" and we left. For a true taste of Jerusalem nightlife we should have hung out in Mea Shearim.

Tomorrow I'm doing the Holy City tour and entering the place deemed too holy for ordinary Jews, the Temple Mount!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1253861835/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1253861835/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danestern/1/1253861835/tpod.html Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:03:22 -0400 Dane's Europe and Middle East travel blog

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Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel

Meeting a famous scientist

On Moriah's Israel Study Tour, Brendan's group had a session with scientist Dr. Gerald Schroeder, a religious man, who has written a bestselling book "Genesis and the Big Bang" that claims the origins of the universe, according to science, are compatible with the Torah. Bren organised for the two of us, along with Ricki and Lauren Bornstein, to have a discussion with Dr. Schroeder in Jerusalem. Ricki brought along his tape recorder, and presumably expected me to be involved in a heated discussion, but I remained passive while listening to his unconventional views.

Although hard to explain, Schroeder's view is that since under Einstein's theory of general relativity time is being stretched, so certain calculations (which I didn't fully understand) reach the conclusion that 6.4 billion years in our time-perspective were equivalent to approximately 6 days from the perspective of Adam and Eve, equating to the 6 days of creation.

What really shocked me was his view that evolution is in fact compatible with the Torah. I asked then about Adam having parents - he said that Adam did, in fact, have parents. Apparently many Rabbis, including the head Rabbi of Brendan's yeshiva in Israel, privately hold this to be true, in spite of apparent contradictions with the concept of Adam being the first human. So how is this contradiction reconciled? Adam's parents were human in form, but Adam was the first to have a human soul. All a bit tenuous in my opinion.


My mansion for the next few days

After having lunch with the other three at Burgers Bar in Jerusalem's Old City, I went to the Luries' house in the German Colony, which consists of no less than six storeys! When they lived in Australia the Luries were good friends with my parents, and my family often visits them for a wedding or bar mitzvah, so they're happy to have Brendan and I for the next few days. All these Aussie Jews invite themselves to stay at the Luries even though they've never met, so I don't feel any guilt in staying there, and Dovi and Janine Diamond will be there with us. We all played with the kids a bit, and I had a short rest, before heading into Brendan's yeshiva at Gush Etzion.


Brendan's yeshiva: Gush Etzion in the West Bank

I told Brendan he was about to take me to my 19th country on this trip - Palestine! He wasn't happy. After catching a short bus to (the safer areas of) the West Bank, we hitchhiked to the yeshiva, and I don't recall seeing any Palestinians throughout the journey.

The yeshiva has a huge hall where hundreds of people have their own desks, studying or praying all at once in an atmosphere very conducive for doing so. Although they're Bnei Akiva modern orthodox, the boys all had a similar look - short hair with slight sideburns, knitted cippah, work shirt, tzitzit hanging out, etc. And almost all had glasses. Each religious group in Israel conforms to its own stereotype.

I met up with some friends I hadn't seen for a while, including Yossi Dinnen, Benji Levy, and Liron Hayman, who recently scored a UAI of 100 in his HSC! A few people told me they easily notice his genius even in their Jewish classes. While Brendan packed his stuff for an early exit home (my parents had no idea), I hung out in Benji's room while he did his girlfiend's uni assignment for her, making reference to Judaism at every opportunity (eg. "Give an example where this psychological theory can be used" = "The Torah relates a story of..."). We drove back to Jerusalem with Robbie and Devorah Tockar, and I had an early night in preparation for my tenth Sandemans walking tour tomorrow.

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Netanya, HaMerkaz, Israel

A quiet Shabbat

The Engelmans, Brendan and I went for lunch at my grandfather's sister Freda's place, at a Montefiore-type home, which she kept raving about for being as nice as a 5-star hotel. Her description is spot on - there's a large theatre and cinema, games and computer rooms, art rooms, and a modern feel that would make any elderly person want to make Aliyah. Unfortunately, the food was somewhat of a disappointment - if I don't have more than 3 full plates at a buffet, then the food's not up to scratch. Fortunately for her, it only takes ten minutes for her son to walk there from his place, in contrast to living halfway across the world from each other for the past 40 years.

While the others were sleeping / at shule / out, I updated my blog (this thing gets backdated? who would have known?!), added trip photos to Facebook and watched lots of TV - thank goodness they air The Weakest Link here to give me a much-needed trivia fix. I was meant to meet up in Netanya at night with Talia from my Poland tour but I couldn't get hold of her. As the family was out, and Brendan went back to Jerusalem, I stayed at our cousins' place on my own for my quietest Saturday night (quitest any night) for a long time, before preparing for my next pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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