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Tuesday, May 12: Logistics: Drove up the JordanValley from Dead Sea, 1 hour. Went through border crossing formalities; met our new guide, driver and mini-van. Visited Jericho (in the West Bank) to see the traditional mountain of Jesus' temptation, and then Bet She'an, aka Scythopolis. Lectures all day from our guide on Biblical history and current political affairs as we criss-crossed in and out of the West Bank controlled (by Israel) and un-controlled (governed by the Palestines) areas and Israel itself. Two overnights at Nof Ginnosar Hotel and Kibbutz, located 8 miles north of Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee.
Observations and Comments: Crossing from Jordan into Israel was a nightmare! And by the way, the Jordan River is a brook, not a raging river.
The security issues were not the problem, just the usual hassle of passing one's luggage through x-ray machines several times. On the Jordanian side, it was obvious that the Palestinians trying to cross into Israel (or Palestine, as they might look at it), paid the Palestinian luggage porters to pass their luggage through to the other side at a more rapid rate. We refused to play this game and consequently had to watch our luggage sit there for 30 minutes before we yelled at the porters to be fair.
More luggage passes, a bus ride from A to B (from nowhere to nowhere?), and one more x-ray check - an hour-and-a-half to go 500 yards from one country to another. Oh well, we did it and off we went in a new mini-van, with our new driver and new guide.
Our Israeli guide, Fabrizio Lomanto, is a practicing Italian catholic, earned his Ph.D from U. of London School of Law; is a Prof. of Intellectual Property at Israel's Hebrew University; formerly a legal security advisor for the United Nations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also a Biblical scholar, speaks 10 languages fluently, is married to a Jewish lawyer, and is only 35 years old! Our first two hours in the van, listening to him speak about the differences between Israel's controlled areas and Palestinian's West Bank borders caused heads to rapidly spin out of control.
Where to begin? We are confused by a complicated set of parameters, by the ceaseless squabbles amongst tribes and religions, by convoluted layers of history; and by who owns, occupies, governs, controls or just exists on what part and/or parcel of land. A babble of languages and dialect weave in the air around us, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Russian, Italian, and Portuguese. Toss this salad with Biblical tines, a Papal visit, high tech weaponry and soldiers, well-armed fences, and miles and miles of lush cultivated agricultural fields. Sensory overload with a million questions and fewer answers is the norm.
May 13-18: We have driven hither and yon, up, over and around Israel, the Golan Heights (beautiful vineyards, fruit plantations, rolling green forage crops, views of Syria, and a feeling of "stolen" land); down to Masada (an amazing fortress on a mountainous pile of limetone rock); and of course have so enjoyed the beauty of the Old City of Jerusalem.
I've posted photos but will have to save the more detailed narrative of this Isreali journey until I return the US. Since we are soon to cross from Israel into Jordan, and, on the same day, drive north and cross from Jordan into Syria, we have had to post home any word, photo, sales slip, brochure, or momento concerning our visit to Israel. Our Israeli visa had to be stamped on a removable piece of paper, and we must lie through our teeth that we have seen hide nor hair, or a stone, ofIsrael. Otherwise not one of us would be allowed into Syria.
My apologies for not writing more about Israel, but I am now mailing my Israeli diary back to the States. You will find, insha'allah, our Syrian story posted sometime after May 19th.
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