articles/Projects/israeliadventure-page6
Published 01/06/2002
My journey south would take me back along the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, retracing my steps but there is no other way around the occupied territories. The car insurance becomes invalid; the police and security forces disown you and would not enter these areas even if you called them for help. I stayed clear of them but driving past the roads that lead to the settlements, roads have been built to skirt these areas especially for this purpose.
Imagine driving from Scotland to the South Coast of England and having to drive around both Manchester and Birmingham because they were occupied territories.
By mid afternoon I had reached my halfway point and was sat in the sunshine enjoying a coffee and deciding which way to go next. I started counting the coaches heading for Jerusalem. In twenty minutes I had counted some forty coaches all going for one thing, to see the Pope. I had visions of "no room at the inn" so I chose to carry on down south and leave Jerusalem until last on my schedule.
It was late evening when I arrived in Eilat very tired and feeling as though I really needed a few days relaxation. I had driven through a sandstorm on the way and had stopped to take photographs, which was rather silly as the winds were about gale force. The only way to hold a camera still was to rest it on the roof of the car although the whole thing was rocking from side to side. I did manage a few photographs of what looked like the moon, but in fact was the sun.
With tumble weed rolling across the roads it was difficult and tiring work just keeping the car on the road. With the sandstorm behind me I began to see the bright lights and hotels and the atmosphere reminded me very much of approaching Las Vegas across the desert in Nevada. This was a welcome relief from my previous experiences.
After a few days of "holiday" enjoying the delights of the resort and the Red Sea, I was ready to drive back to see Jerusalem, particularly as my hotel had changed my room every day since I had arrived. Also, the students had now all arrived for their vacation. On the evening before I left I counted ten coaches unloading for my hotel alone, several students sharing a room.
It was obviously good fun for them, as they acted as though they had never been anywhere before. Just trying to get the lift was an experience, some seemed to be travelling up and down all night. Viewed from the other side of the road my hotel was a comic sight; every window was being opened and closed and friends were shouting to each other and waving to anyone in the street below. I was not sad to leave them to it.
Jerusalem is a fascinating city, a mix of religions and cultures, a huge city within a city. The old walled city is where all the tourists tend to go. Inside this city are miles of narrow roads and covered walkways where some six hundred thousand people live and trade. It is divided into four areas: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian; you can enter the town by seven gates. One can spend days wandering around the souks and bargaining with the traders or visiting the many different churches.
There is the Christian church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is owned by six other denominations: Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian, Armenian, Syrian and Coptic. They all distrust one another so the keys to the church are held by a Muslim family and have been for centuries!
I was privileged to have had the opportunity to visit this fascinating country and enjoyed my experiences immensely, it was now time for me to return home and leave my friends in Israel. I met up one last time with Chanan and family and we exchanged tales and drank into the night before I drove to the airport. Not only do I have some most memorable times to remember I also have some several hundred photographs, which were fun taking - well most of the time. After a trip like this a "normal" holiday will seem extremely tame!
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