Israel and Palestinian Territories 3

Jerusalem from David's Tower

So far, in my Middle Eastern adventure, I have survived border control (post 1), toured Jerusalem and visited Nablus (post 2). Today we stick to Jerusalem again, and head just across the road to where we are staying, the David's Tower Museum. The views from the tower are some of the most spectacular in the city. It helped that it was a beautiful day.

View of the Citadel, the King David Hotel. Points for those who can spot the windmill.

It also houses a museum of the history of Jerusalem, which is very well done. It takes you all the way through from the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, which is the outcrop where the Temple stood (although some scholars will contest that this happened near Shechem, where I visited the day before). According to Wikipedia, Jerusalem 'has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. That's a lot of history.

Interestingly, the Tower of David is a misnomer. It was not built by David, but by another character mentioned in the Bible: Herod of the Slaughter of the Innocents fame. The tower was one of three that protected Herod's palace, which you can see the ruins of in the museum.

We had lunch at the Christ Church guest house (where my parents were staying). The lunches there are really good quality and for a really good price. I'd definitely recommend it.

Afterwards, we tackled the Via Dolorosa. This is the journey that Jesus allegedly took from being tried to his crucifixion. Most historians would say that it was incorrect, and he probably started at Herod's Palace. However, it was a good reminder of what Jesus would have gone through, although they did seem to want to drive the point home with the amount of times he fell and his extra-biblical  encounter with Veronica.

The Ecce Homo Arch on the Via Dolorosa

We went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is a vast complex of crypts, compounds and chapels of different denominations. The church, as a result, is often a place of conflict rather than peace and tranquillity. As a good little protestant, I also found the smells and bells a bit too much. For instance, there is a replica of the stone that Jesus was supposedly laid out on. It's not a particularly convincing replica: it's made of granite that would have had to have been imported from a far off land. However, people seem to be very enamoured with this replica, rubbing things on it and kissing it. My brother provided a very droll commentary of what we were witnessing, saying "this is the reason that Holy Sites are some of the biggest transmitters of communicable tuberculosis there are".

Ethiopian Monastery on the top of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The following day, we decided to tackle the Mount of Olives. This was a Friday. This was a mistake. Jerusalem is a city of the three Abrahamic faiths. You'd have thought they'd at least agree on which days to have off, but no. Muslims takes Friday off; Jews, Saturday; and the Christians, Sunday (although they seem to be a little less bothered about it). As a lot of the Holy Sites on the Mount of Olives are Christian we thought Friday would be a safe bet. Russian Orthodox will be open, we thought. Church of the Ascension will be fine. But no. The Mount of Olives becomes a ghost town on Fridays. Check your guide book, people.

However, what doesn't become a ghost town is the Muslim quarter, especially after the prayers have finished on the Temple Mount. We tried to enter back in to Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate (the closest to the Haram al-Sharif) but we were prevented by thousands of Muslims pouring out of the gate. We eventually had to walk round the city, to the Jaffa Gate.

Damascus Gate after prayers. Lion's gate was even busier.

We went back to the Western Wall to see what it was like as Shabbat began. As a child I always imagined it being a really sombre, eerie place, due to it's other name, "the Wailing Wall". However, this was filled with singing and dancing, and had a vibrant, electric atmosphere. Jerusalem is a city of contrast, conflict but also, it seems, misnomers.

Top tip 1: King David's Tower Museum. Brilliant.
Top tip 2: Check your guide book for opening times. Both Friday and Saturday are the trickiest, although a lot of museums seem to be closed Tuesdays.

To see more photos go to Israel and Palestinian Territories 1 or Israel and Palestine 2

Israel and Palestinian Territories 2

[Imagine a voice-over] In Thursday's Thomas' Middle Eastern Adventures [a bit more catchy than the somewhat perfunctory title at the moment], Thomas and his family dealt with crazy boarding, prayers on planes and Israeli security. Thomas and Stephen found themselves in a dive of a hostel. Will they get any sleep? Will their troubles with the Border Control Agency continue? Will they be conned by a group of Bedouin and end up stranded in the Golan Heights? Read on to find out.

The first night in the Jaffa Gate hostel was probably the only night I got a decent sleep. In fact, we nearly over slept. There were no windows in the bedrooms so we woke up at twenty to nine, and the pitch darkness caused us to assume it was still night time. We were meant to be meeting are parents at nine in their guest house. Fortunately, they were staying just around the corner.

We wondered around Jerusalem a bit, and then we went on a really good guided tour. Anyone going to Jerusalem should go on one of these. They meet just outside the Jaffa Gate and they're free. The tour guides rely on tips, so you pay only what you think it's worth. Apparently they can be hit and miss (we were very fortunate, we got a really good guide called Yonatan), but as it's free and you can escape any time then isn't really a problem. It's just a fantastic way to get acquainted with the city.

The Cardo, remains of Roman Jerusalem

Me at the Western Wall.

After the 3 hours tour we did the Rampart Walk, which costs very little and is a way to get some alternative views of the city. We did it just before sunset so it cast a beautiful light over the city.

Jerusalem skyline. You can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (centre) and the Lutheran Church (left).

The next day, we visited Nablus, the city where my brother was living (if you want to read about what he got up to in Nablus, read his blog here). I was very tired (read: 'grumpy'), due to a snoring woman sharing our room. I slept for most the journey, but do remember getting a welcome message from Jawwal, the Palestinian network provider:

Marhaba.  Smell the Jasmine and taste the olives.  JAWWAL welcomes you to Palestine.

Even the telephone networks show Middle Eastern hospitality in Palestine. We visited Jacob's Well, Joseph's Tomb, and the archaeological ruins of what's thought to be Shechem.

Tell Balata, what was perhaps once Shechem

We then went to the centre of Nablus, wandered the Old City, ate kaneffa (which I didn't really like. It was like a stringy, cheesy crème brûlée.) and really salty falafel. We visited Stephen's university, apartment and bought some Nabulsi soap. On our way back to Jerusalem we had our first experience of Israeli check-points. Although it was quite quick on this occasion it gave a hint of what it must be like for Palestinians.

Top tip: Famous Jerusalem Free Tour. 11 am, everyday, outside the Jaffa Gate. FREE and awesome.

To see more photos go to Israel and Palestinian Territories 1 or Israel and Palestine 2

Israel and Palestinian Territories 1

I mentioned on Christmas Day that I was heading off to Israel. Well, that was over a month a go so I thought I'd better get around to blogging about it. It's amazing how quickly your memory of trips gets muddled and jumbled. Fortunately, I made notes whilst there, so I could remember when I came to blog about it.

If you just want to see some pretty pictures here are my photos:

• Israel and Palestinian Territories 1
• Israel and Palestinian Territories 2

The Flight and border control
My parents and I got up at some ridiculously early hour (I think about quarter to five) to get to the airport. We dropped our car off, checked in and got breakfast. Then we were called to board. All the passengers were crammed into this small room, and you could definitely tell we were going to be going to Israel. There was a scramble to get on the plane and I ended up sitting on my own (much to my relief). Then about half-way through the flight there was an announcement that the men could conduct prayers at the back of the plane, the woman at the front. It was a really surreal experience, to be a mile or so in the sky and watching men in kippas and black hats and coats swaying back and forth among the overpriced peanuts and soggy sandwiches.

We arrived in Ben Gurion airport and then our troubles started. As soon as we entered the terminal building I was spotted by border control personnel. She asked if she could ask me a few questions, and when my parents joined me she seemed to decide to keep it perfunctory and let us go to the next bit. We queued at the little booths and we finally reached it to be quizzed by a woman with broken English. She asked us questions, like "Why are you here?" (As tourists), "Do you have any family in Israel?", (My brother. He's been here since September), "Where are you meeting him?" (Jerusalem), "Where does he live?" (Nablus), "What is he doing?" (teaching English), "What's his date of birth?" (6th February 1988. The same as mine; we're twins).

Then she asked, "What is your father's name?" I thought she was talking to me, so I said, "Martyn. It's there in the passport." Then she looked at my dad and repeated the question. There was a pause. We gave each other a sideways glance. After a while I said, "Stephen Charles Ashmead". She may have thought we were trying to hide something, but we were just confused. My dad's dad has been dead for quite a few years now. She looked at us. She picked up the phone. She put the phone down, got out the booth and asked us to follow her. She took us to a side room, and told me to tell my parents to wait there. She then took me to another side room on the other side of the border control forecourt. After about a minute, she returned, said sorry and took me back to the room with my parents. We waited about half-an-hour and then my dad was taken into another room on his own. The door was left open so I could hear the clicking of a computer keyboard and a string of questions, "What do you do for a living? What does your wife do? What does your son Stephen do? What does your other son do?" After about fifteen minutes of this we were allowed to go.

My bed for a week

We took a taxi to Jerusalem, met my brother at the Christ Church guest house (where my parents were staying), got some food and then Stephen and I went to our hostel, The Jaffa Gate Hostel. It was dark, basic, with scratchy sheets. I loved it. I felt like we were really roughing it and I loved the novelty of it (the quickly wore off, quickened by a lack of sleep).

Quick Questions

1. Do you have any interesting flight stories?
2. What is your worse experience of border control?

  

Times flies when you're having fun!

Wow. It's 2012. Not only that, but it's February 2012. I hope you've not been worrying that I fell into a ditch only to be found months later by a passing dog-walker. If you have, you can breathe a sigh of relief. If you haven't, you've got a better grasp of reality than I have.

How has 2012 been for you? Good, I hope. Mine has been really good so far (except for a minor glitch in the proceedings, but more on that later). There have been numerous meals, a games evening, a birthday (mine) and a church weekend away.

The Weekend Away

Last weekend was the church House Party. The theme was "Risk It!" and it was looking at what it means to risk things for Jesus. We looked at the parable of the talents and thought about how we should use our gifts and resources rather than bury them in the ground.

Mosaic was also in charge of the evening entertainments, on the Friday and Saturday night. Jimbo ran a "Exilio goes to the dogs" event, which involved watching weird competitions (e.g. cheese rolling and pillow fights on a beam) and choosing the winner. I came second and my housemate, Crawford, won. Saturday night was a quiz/games night, hosted by the mighty Duncan. We each lead a round. My round was a Chinese laundry/ scavenger hunt round, which went well. Unfortunately, some of my youth cheated by sneaking a look at the answers.

We had hot tubs in some of the lodges and, being the crazy, off-the-wall people we are, decided it would be a good idea add shower gel to the water. There were many bubbles.

Birthday
Monday I turned 24. So old. So old. As it was the day after house party I was given a day of rest, which was nice. For the last two years, my birthday was actually at house party and I sort of missed that, but I still spent it with the Mosaic crew. This year, I met up with James at Trago Lounge (followed by an impromptu trip to IKEA) , and then had a curry extravaganza. There was about 16 of us and we ordered take-away Indian and ate it at the Bemroses'. Some of us then hit the town and got absolutely wasted (and by town, I mean one pub, and by wasted, I mean had two drinks). I was in bed before midnight (it would have been sooner but I went to Tesco Express to pick up some milk for breakfast).

The glitch
The Friday before house party, I had an interview for a PGCE. I thought it went pretty well, and was told I'd find out on Monday (being my birthday). Fortunately, I didn't find out on Monday, as it would have ruined my day. I didn't get the place. Today I received a letter saying:

Thank you for attending an interview for a place on our PGCE (Secondary) course. Whilst we are unable to offer you a place on the course at the moment, we have now placed your name on our reserve list.

(If you were wondering, the envelope it arrived in used FSC certified paper. It's always nice to know that your rejection letter was sent with a clear conscience.) Tuesday, afternoon I was a bit miserable. Wednesday, I was fine with it but had to tell everyone I hadn't got the place. When I told people I was okay about it, they mostly tilted their head and gave me a look to say, "he's either trying to be brave, or he's in denial. Poor chap."

I had the lyrics of The Lord's My Shepherd in my head all Wednesday morning, and it was a helpful reminder of God's goodness throughout everything.

The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E'en for his own name's sake.

Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill:
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint
And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house for evermore
My dwelling-place shall be.

 Quick Questions

1. How has 2012 been for you?