The Adventures of Matty: A Voyage Through Time and Space
ISRAEL | Wednesday, 15 July 2009 | Views [138]
Hi Everybody!
It's been a few days since I wrote last, so I hope you are all doing well. Let me know all the things great and small you have been up to!
The last few days have been so amazing. Picking up where we left off, I continued my explorations of Tel Aviv, seeing what the city was like when things were actually open, as well as walking around some of the landmarks I did not get to see on the first couple of days here.
Then of course, I spent the afternoon at the beach, hoping the sun would win the tanning argument it always seems to have with my very stubborn skin. I think the sun won as I'm a shade darker now!
I decided to then do the tourist thing and take some tours of Israel. The first one was Masada and the Dead Sea.
The bus trip there itself was an experience; crossing through Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the West Bank. We got glimpses of Israel's capital, passed through checkpoints maintained by the Israeli Army at the edge of the occupied territory and saw Palestinians getting stopped (which happens to them twice a day if they have to cross the border!) and being checked for bombs and arms, then swung by Jericho and waved at Qumran, home of the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls! Then for half an hour we witnessed panoramic views of the Dead Sea, Jordan River and Jordan Mountains.
All this before the tour had even begun! Our first stop was Masada, ruins where Jewish Zealots had their Last Stand against the Roman Empire during the Jewish Rebellion. It is a symbol of national pride, a symbol of resistance against oppression. This was a constant theme of the tours - throughout history the Jews have struggled valiantly against anti-semitic oppression from whatever Western Power happened to control the lands they occupied.
Masada was originally built by King Herrod as a refuge, so the place was amazing architecturally. It was an incredible feat of engineering, a fortress built at the top of a impenetrable hill, containing storerooms, 3 palaces and living quarters for palace staff and roman soldiers. Herrod also dammed the rivers in the nearby mountains, directing the water to massive reservoirs under the palace. It's incredible what you can do when you have millions of slaves at your disposal!
Rather than go for a full restoration, the Israeli archaeologists were performing a partial reconstruction. None-the-less the place was amazing to this day, and a fitting tribute to the story of the Jewish Zealots who fought off the Roman Army 2000 years ago. You could see the ramp the Romans built to get soldiers into the fortress as well as the place where they broke through the wall. The synagogue used by the Zealots is still in use today and is the world's oldest synagogue.
We also got to see the church used by some Christian hermits who occupied it centuries later, as well as the marks of the Roman encampments and containing wall and topped and tailed the tour with a cable car ride up the mountain to some of the most incredible views of the Judean desert available.
Next stop was the kibut next to the Dead Sea. This was a more touristy side of the day but a hell of a lot of fun! We all got into our bathers and sampled the sulphur-stinking hot springs (I still smell of sulphur!), coated ourselves in the Dead Sea mud which has amazing restorative properties for the skin, and of course, floated in the Dead Sea.
I don't think any of us were quite prepared for exactly how buoyant the Dead Sea actually is. It is so buoyant that wading in it is a challenge - your leg just keeps on wanting to bounce back up! Once you do float it is almost impossible to stand again!
I have to admit, it was rather a curious sensation bobbing about in the water like a piece of driftwood. Upon relaxing my body, it began to ripple as each wave passed under me! I challenged the sea not to support me by attempting a number of positions - sitting up, sitting cross-legged, somersaulting, clutching the back of my thighs, lying on my side...I kept on floating! It was just incredible. But I had to stop because I kept getting salt water in my mouth and even just a drop of the stuff is REVOLTING!
The next day I toured Jerusalem rather than just passing through. What an incredible place, a total juxtaposition of new/old, arab/israeli, islam/jewish and then there's christian and armenian thrown in for fun!
We started with the Old City after a drive around East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem used to be part of Jordan before the Six Day War in '67 when Israel seized it. It is still populated by a large arabic contingent, but is also where the more religious Jews lived. In particular the orthodox quarter, a small part of the city, was like someone had scooped up pre-World War 2 Russia or Poland and deposited it there. The houses are the same, street layout the same and the way people dress and look is all exactly the same!
West Jerusalem is very Tel Aviv-esque, with modern buildings, attire and attitudes. One thing the two sides have in common is that by law, the buildings of Jerusalem must be built with the local stone, meaning they are all white or sandy yellow coloured.
But it was the Old City that was where the awe came from. The city wall built by the Turks is still there, and crossing under it, we started a journey that for many is a pilgrimage. We wandered around the streets, savouring the geography and architecture, before beginning the holy sites. First stop was the tomb of King David, a current site of prayer for the devout. We then moved onto the building that stands where Jesus and the Apostles had the last supper as well as looking at the entrance to Jerusalem Jesus used on Palm Sunday. We stopped at the Wailing Wall or Western Wall, all that remains of the second temple. I didn't kiss it or do anything the religious Jews would do as I felt it would be disrespectful to them, so I looked on as they went about their religious business.
Moving into the Muslim Quarter we walked the first 7 stations of the cross before going to the Church that has been built on the site of Jesus' crucifixion. In the church was a stone that is the site of Jesus' entombment; here devout Christians placed objects and touched the cover stone to receive blessings.
I honestly felt like a religious pilgrim after the experience, and I'm not devout! It was clearly emotional and life-changing - even life-fulfilling - for the practising christians who did visit.
After lunch we went to the Jewish Holocaust Museum, a fantastic tribute and memorial to the tragedy of the Holocaust. I enjoyed this in particular as it gave a wholistic picture of the Holocaust - included were the stories of not just the Jews, but also the Communists, Homosexuals, Mentally and Physically Imparied children and adults, Gypsies - all of whom were victims of the Nazi's disgusting Fascist goals. There was a section on the rise of the Nazi Party and Germany's circumstances after World War 1. Another section displayed the disgraceful treatment of Jewish refugees by the Western Countries during World War 2- including actions taken by Australia that make our refugee policy today seem totally humane.
The memorial also examined the condition of the Jews after World War 2 and their supposed liberation, where their attempts to migrate were continually frustrated by the Western powers and many were placed in concentration camps by the British!
The rise of Zionism as the dominant political philosphy is chronichled and celebrated - obviously as Zionism is the dominant political belief today, leading to the actions that created the state of Israel and continuing to influence its actions today.
What is interesting to note is how proud the Jews are of their history of struggle - and it certainly is an inspiring, ceaseless struggle against continual oppression by whatever Wester Power was dominant at the time. However with the rise of Zionism the Jews have gone and thrown in their lot with the dominant Western Powers of today. You are forced to ask if this is really a solution for the Jewish people, as well as how to end the anti-semitism they have experienced through countless centuries, leading to their current position today. Constantly there are reminders that the position is not totally tenable - military service is compulsory, soldiers are present almost everywhere, on trains, buses, in the museum, on the streets. It was an interesting experience sitting next to an M16 Gun (I think that's what it was!) on the train from the airport to Tel Aviv!
There are many parallels between the Jews and the Arab people - religious sites are shared between Judaism and Islam (and Christianity), both the Jews and the Arabs see their faith as a source of strength and use it as a beacon in their struggles, Arabs have a history of struggling against dominant western powers too.
Yes this is a political email, but this is a political land, and it wouldn't be a true, fair account of my travails not to include it for you to also think about.
Despite this, Israel is alive and energetic, constantly building and growing. The $2.5 billion of foreign aid from the United States as well as the taxes they have here are being put to good use in infrastructure construction and investment in tourism. The people here are in high spirits, even though they are a sour-faced argumentative lot (!) and are passionate about a positive future.
This morning I visited Jaffa, a port that has been built, conquered, torn down and then built again as an active, important sea port on trade routes in and out of Israel. The coolest part was seeing Andromeda's Rock, where according to Greek Mythology, Andromeda was tied up by the rest of the Greek Gods.
Tel Aviv would still have to be my favourite part of Israel with it's cosmopolitan, multi-cultural outlook. It is very much like Melbourne (although there are more restaraunts and different cultures in Melbourne!) so perhaps this is why I like it so much. The beach is beautiful and now that I have updated you all, I'm headed there - there is a bit of a wind, so there are actually waves on the Mediterranean today!!! I saw someone surfing before which I didn't think was possible!
Anyways take care, hope you enjoyed the latest installment and will speak to you soon from Cairo, Egypt!
Matt xx
