Religious Rambles from Tel Aviv

I arrived in Tel Aviv this morning after almost two weeks in the old city of Jerusalem. The juxtoposition with striking: while Jerusalem is conservative and austere, Tel Aviv sums up everything I like about Mediterranean costal cities: people holding hands, walking around in almost no clothing while drinking beer in the afternoon and kissing with no hesitance. Quite the difference, indeed. I'll go as far to say it was a relief; after having to spend the last three weeks in religiously sensitive places (especially those who are in the midst of various holidays), I finally felt like I could breathe when I arrived here, and not worry about having to offend anyone. While it was interesting and eye-opening to spend so much time in a place like Jerusalem, I realized that it was something that I couldn't sustain. Most people live their lives in a completely different way there than I see mine unfolding: constantly attuned to what they feel god wants of them, and tweaking the aspects of daily life accordingly. I just can't live that way. While I understand the history involved, plus the fact that this lifestyle garners 'meaning', it presents you with the 'choices' you will be making from then on out, including the strict laws by which you much dress. Yes, a place like Tel Aviv that allows drugs, sex and "moral impurity" can become excessive and lead to terrible lives for some. Anyway, all of this comes back to the point I tried to make earlier: that Jerusalem was a place I could observe and analyze, but never truly become absorbed in. Good note to make for the future, I suppose. I would upload pictures, but this computer disallows such behavoir. Of course :) Tomorrow I'm off to a farm just south of the city, which I'm really looking forward too. I get no exercise on this adventure (besides the periodical days of shleping around my backpack aka life), so it'll be nice to spend copious hours outside tending to the crops, or what have you. And now I'm off, to drink or read or something away from this machine.

sallam

MEND + more Israel

So I've been spending a lot of my time over the past week and a half here in Jerusalem working at a Palestinian nonviolence NGO called MEND (Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy). Mainly they've been having me do translations from Arabic-English and vice-versa (although the latter is MUCH more difficult). It's a great organization that works to offer nonviolent outlets for Palestinian youth in the West Bank (as the Gaza offices have closed since the takeover by Hamas last year). It's been a really interesting experience to take off my tourist hat and put on volunteer, particularly for a cause that I feel so strongly for. The people working come from literally all around the world (Britain, Japan, Switzerland, and the Palestinian territories themselves). It's also interesting to hear the other side of the story, since obviously the conflict gets a small amount of "framing" before it is read and discussed in America. So much is going around me that it's hard to digest it all- I'm sure I'll have more profound things to say once I'm outside this situation and able to look back on it from a different viewpoint. Tuesday I head to a small village outside of Tel Aviv, where I'll be working on a date + goat farm owned by a Jewish family, which should also be an interesting and perspective-changing experience. Can't wait to ask about the 1948 war or what they think of Zionism and the prospects for peace :) It's then off to Turkey after that, which will be like falling into a warm bath after working outside all day- meeting up with the mother who will no doubt want to shower me with the spoils of Istanbul and beyond. Can't wait. I also can't believe the trip is about to enter it's final chapter. I feel I've been here for half a year, but it's also gone by so fast. Soon enough I'll be back at the house in California, asking myself how the hell did it all happen. It's a great thing to know that you're on a trip of a lifetime, particularly while it's happening. Hope all those reading this are well. And remember: if orthodox Jews can pray next to the most devout of Muslims on a daily basis, then even something as dismal as the economy and perpetual war doesn't seem as bad in the long run. What I'm trying to say is keep your heads up everyone, particularly if you've got some bad stock right now:

ma'a sallama (go with peace!)
-matt







David street, a main avenue, at night


Jewish cemetery at the spot where Judgment day supposedly will occur


The location of Jesus seeing his mother on the way to crucifixion


Shawarma :)


This one I had to take subliminally, but guys with guns this size are everywhere.


MEND offices, near Bait Hanina


Pietro and Florence, two uppity Brits :)


Larissa, Hiba and Ingrid


Don't work too hard there, 'Issa.

Jordan and Israel

The wall of the old city- Jerusalem

Zion's gate, which was battered by gunfire during the 1948 war, when the Israelis were trying to break through the gates being held by the Jordanians.

You know you're in the Armenian quarter when...

The Dome of the rock

gorgeous...

Jewish quarter



The western wall in front, Jeudaism's holiest place, with the dome of the rock behind, Islam's #3



Church of the Holy Sepulchre, supposedly where Jesus was crucified and buried

The Allenby (or King Heussein depending on what side you're on) bridge, connecting Jordan and Israel

Amman- 8,500 year old statues

The entrance to Jordan from Eilat, a small Israeli coastal town at the Red Sea

The Siq- entrance to Petra

...

Roman amphitheatre

More Petra

Jordanian cowboy

This Saudi man wanted to take my picture, so I got one of him and his wife in return

Ramadone

So after much planning yesterday, spending basically the entire day inside packing and preparing to go to Luxor for the next three days, I go to the Cairo train station last night to find out that absolutely every train down to Luxor is sold out for the next week, basically until the end of Ramadan. In the end it's really my fault for not taking this into account, but it was definitely something that pissed me off. These bumps in the road are pretty common when traveling to another side of the world, yes. That's not to say that they can be quite frustrating- my reaction wavered between anger at the country as a whole and subsequently at my own naivety to not see that coming. My only hope now is that the bus system won't fail on me as I head north to Jordan and then Israel during the breaking of the fast (as well as Rosh Hashanah). Off now to Coptic Cairo and the oldest part of the city, because there's nothing I can do but keep on rolling down this hill, lest I start accumulating moss. And who the hell wants to do that?

Alexandria, and then some

no caption necessary :)


This "tree" on the right is actually used to pump out cell phone signal


Bab Zuweila, the original southern entrance to the city from 1092.





The old wall of Cairo, built somewhere around 1150


Catacombs of Qom al-Shakafa (Alexandria)


creepy, huh?


Marketplace (Cairo)


Citadel of Salah ah-din (Saladin)-Cairo





Alexandria, right by my hotel


Alexandrian Library


Alexandrian Library, pt. deux


Alexandrian Shoreline


Qaitbay Citadel, built 1477.

So yes, this has been a more pictorial post, but words will follow shortly!

my new home

Slowly but surely I have become comfortable in this new yet strange setting. The idea of aimlessly walking down the street no longer brings both fear and excitement, but a hefty dose of the latter. With rest and good food in me, I have been able to explore vast parts of the city over the past few days since the previous posting. Thursday I headed west to the pyramids, where I was led to a small tour guide in an alley that my driver knew. Before I could really grasp everything, I was on a horse with my guide heading to the "entrance" to the pyramids. The city of Giza is literally right next to الاهرام as they are called, and would engulf all the ancient monuments if the government had not stepped in and blocked off the area. The heat was immense, and I poured on as much sunscreen as I could manage. We flanked right after hiking up a small sand dune and arrived at the pyramids a short time later. "Bedouins" were everywhere, asking for money in return for a picture on a camel with a headscarf. I relented, but just once :) Just over an hour really did me in, however, and I passed out in exhaustion after returning to the apartment. Three hours later, Ian and I ventured out to a local Italian restaurant, which had shitty service and too much cheese on their pasta, but it was a nice reminder of home. Friday (yesterday), I ventured out to the Egyptian museum, which holds over 100,000 pieces of Egyptian history (with the rest still housed in the British museum, which will not return a thing). It was almost too much to take in, and I strolled through the hallways trying to soak up as much as I could. BBC and al-jazeera back at the apartment brought comfort in a place where everything seems to be new. Egyptians have access to more than 500 satellite channels, from sports of the gulf to state television of Oman and Sudan, which are particularly interesting when contasted with the political situations in each country. Knight Rider was on at one point, which was just too funny to not watch. Later that night, Ian held a party for all his fulbright friends, which was incredibly interesting. I talked to folks from everything about growing up in Kentucky with a jockey father, to the tribulations of being young in Egypt and wanting to travel outside the country. I was amazed at one point, when we were walking back to the apartment, and two security guards and another man stopped us while they were eating on the side of the road, enjoying the food they could not have during the day. They nearly were forcing us to eat, and after repeated no's, I couldn't help but smile and think that nothing like that would ever happen in the states. With awful beer in me, I awoke this afternoon at 1:45 and ran down to the local Hardie's to get something in me. Mosques were on my mind, and I then hopped in a cab to the masjid al-heussein, dedicated to the grandson of the prophet. It was quite touristy and so I decided to just walk in a random direction, which took me to a highway, splitting the neighborhood up between ritsy and poor. On the other side lay the slums of Egypt, too often ignored in a country that prides itself on all it can offer through tourism. Many of the homes had no roofs and were transformed into makeshift graves. It was a very sobering reminder of the large gap in lifestyle and income that seems to divide all countries. Yet the mood was of celebration, and as I took a cab back home, men were passing out water to all the cars passing by. "I don't want to become sick," I told my driver. "No no, no worries." All I could do is say "الحمدالله", or praise be to god, and swig it down as we barreled back to Zamalek.

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