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Shalom From Jerusalem...
Entry 5 of 14 | show all | print this entry |
Well we have arrived in Jerusalem after an amazing last 48 hours. I write this sitting at my open window overlooking the beautiful old pedestrian mall a few floors below. A wonderful and greatly appreciated cool breeze is blowing in. After the 6 days in Tel Aviv with mid 30's temps. and humidity at 70% plus (yesterday was around 41degrees with humidex factor) the cool evening air here is a relief.
We had an amazing day of touring on Saturday and saw so much of this beautiful country. We took the road north out of Tel Aviv and turned inland at the valley of Ha'ar Megiddo (this is where the term 'Armeggedon' comes from). Made our way to Nazareth and the most amazing church, the Basilica of the Annunciation, the largest Christian church in the country. A very beautiful and moving moment for both of us. Then it was on to the 2000 year old ruins of Capharnum, the site of a 1st century C.E. synagogue and nearby the ruins of the reputed home of St. Peter. Capharnum is on the Sea of Galilee. We followed the lakeshore around to Tiberias, another ancient city and then made our way to the spot where the Jordan river exits the Sea of Galilee and follows a route along the Israeli, Syrian/Jordanian border. We stopped here for a bit and had the chance to go wading in the Jordan river...After hearing of the Jordan river all our lives it was quite the moment...
I won't bore you with the details of all the old rocks and buildings we saw, but it was fun and we'll have lots of pictures to show everyone. Outside of the significant stops we visited is the impression of this big chunk of Israel that we saw. Striking. stark, inspiring, from desert plateaus to the death dfying roads hugging sheer cliffs. The topography of Israel is something unexpected in terms of the heights of the mountains and the incredible valleys that are in between, incredible vistas of the harshest type of landscape imaginable and yet, most jarring, is the presence of and scale of cities and towns and the number of people that live throughout this unforgiving environment. We thought Tel Aviv was hot until we stpped off our bus at some of our tour stops, the heat was beyond description, and how people live and work here is hard for us to fathom, but then they would probably wonder how we tolerate the rain.
Speaking of rain, a little tidbit of trivia was that the parts of Israel we were touring have had no significant rainfall in 5 years! The sea level of the Sea of Galilee is currently 7 meters below its historical water level and this was very evident at the ruins of Capharnum where the historical old fishing port is now high and dry, several meters above the water...and there's no global warming,!? (I continue to hold Al Gore responsible.
Not for the faint of heart this next bit but we have also had some exposure to the political and security side of this region too. The last part of our tour followed the Syrian (Golan Heights) and Jordanian border. it is one thing to read about the middle eastern wars but quite another to see the proximity these nations have. The armed border posts and watch towers on both sides were well in evidence and it is easy now to understand how minor incidents here can escalate quickly into battle and invasion. The distances between 'disputing parties' is literally measured in tens of meters.
We arrived back to Tel Aviv just in time to see the road blocked off in front of the American Embassy, which is across the street from the Lusky. Waited 10 minutes while the armed marine guard unit along with Israeli military blocked the road, assembled a motorcade and made sure whoever it was, were well clear before letting traffic resume on one of the busiest streets in TA...fun to watch actually. Not so much fun a half hour later when we were sitting on our balcony enjoying a cold beer and we noticed the police starting to clear a portion of the beach, the beach promenade and a portion of the park just north of our hotel....They created a huge perimeter of 'no go' and then proceeded to blow up what we assumed was an abandoned bag or backpack with no apparent owner..A very loud and alarming bang!...Followed immdeiately by everyone resuming what they were doing as if nothing had happened...Such is life in Israel....but a little unnerving for two guys from little old Victoria...
But now here we are safe and sound in Jerusalem...A world away from Tel Aviv in so many ways...Our journey here (through the West Bank and an Israeli 'settlement'!) is for another blog...At this moment it is late and this writer is weary...The great (literal and figurative) journey continues and we are happy, if tired and hote, travellers...Shalom, on this our first night in the great city of Jerusalem.....Stephen
Where I stayed:
Harmony Hotel
Latest Comments (4)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS (reply)
Sep 9, 2008 12:32 EST by chanah
Happy 60th Chris .... remember, be kind to your 'younger' friends, we'll choose your nursing home one day!
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Dear Brad and George (reply)
Sep 8, 2008 19:11 EST by chanah
Good to hear of your Israeli experience. Don't get lost in the vortex of Yerushalyim .... mind you, you already have Yerushalyim syndrome thinking you are Brad and George!
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We can help with that! (reply)
Sep 8, 2008 11:24 EST by jarmstro1
Finally a place where Dale and I can help! For those that don't know we have this amazing ability to bring rain when we travel on vacation. Yes, it's true...rain to Austrailia and California (when they were aparently experiencing a drought), rain to all four of the Hawaiian Islands we visited (consecutively - and that's no easy feat), and on my own (sans Dale) prompted a flash flood in Vegas. Y... show all
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Hello from London (Highgate) (reply)
Sep 8, 2008 04:11 EST by daniboy
sounds like you two are having an amazing time. i'm sitting in my former housemate's little flat in highgate, very nice community. off to wonder in the cool rain today. the cost to live in london is amazing. behind her place sits a 70 acre forest-simply green as they say here in Highgate.
be safe dan
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