Tel Aviv: "Different, but Same Same"

From Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is only 70 km away, 31 minutes by train, with a stop at the airport. Tel Aviv was distinctly different from Jerusalem. It is modern, visually less conservative, i.e. absence of traditionally dressed religious fanatics. However, come Saturday, all the market areas shutdown, public transport shutdown (they are experimenting with running a handful of routes on Saturdays for tourists). There is much construction going on, a new tram line is being built.

On Friday afternoon, when our friend Aviva went around with us, she happened to mention Chinese construction workers doing grocery shopping in her neighborhood. When we went around town on Saturday, we saw them in action in a different neighborhood. It then dawned on me. While Israel has many potential laborers within (e.g. Palestine) and all around them (e.g. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon), this settler colonial state has so aggrieved the natives, they have to resort to importing laborers from the other end of the continent.

Most of Saturday we went around town, following a self-guided walking tour, "The White City", provided by the tourist office, looking at Bauhaus buildings. Most are mediocre, only a very few gems. Weather was breezy, but many people were enjoying the beach. I thought of the Palestinians that were dispossessed from here, scattered to Bethlehem, West Bank, Gaza, refugee camps, Jordan.... A friend expressed consternation that we had Israel on our itinerary. I now realise that coming to Israel is like reading Mein Kampf.

To cheer me up, John reminded me that Noam Chomsky had pointed out that we have the current situation because the status quo helps politicians on all sides stay in power and keeping the population in control - if your people is mad at the enemy, they cannot be mad at you.

The view from the train en route from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.


Our hotel was near the Old Jaffa district, so we explored.




View of Jaffa Beach.


We met up with our friend Aviva for a late lunch and drinks.






The new tram line is underground, allowing for this new above ground greenway.


The scene at Greco Beach.






A few Fav Tel Aviv Buildings.

Brief Bethlehem

We took the public bus to Bethlehem, checking off the birthplace of Jesus and the West bank in one go. Unlike the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of Nativity was architecturally harmonious, except the line for the nativity cave was even longer than at the tomb, and looked particularly slow moving. We gave it a miss too.

The rest of the town was not unlike Jordan.  Taxi drivers are even more aggressive than in Egypt and Jordan. Feeling much sympathy for the Palestinian and wanting Bethlehem to be a better place for visitors, we made a friendly complaint to the tourist police. "You only spend money there (meaning Jerusalem), not here!" - while the accusation is very accurate, harassing tourists only makes matters worse; that is, most people then visit on a tour, not independently. The dispute over Jerusalem might seem ideological; it also has far reaching economic consequences. 

Coming back into Jerusalem, there was a checkpoint. Everyone, except the elderly (e.g. John, hahaha) had to file off the bus for an ID check, yet another example of control and intimidation.

The Super Low entrance to the Church of the Nativity.


Entering the church, one looks past the hanging silver chandeliers towards the gleaming golden iconastasis.




To the right of the iconostasis is the head of the line of folks waiting to go down into the basement of the church to visit the spot of the birth of Jesus.


Looking back at the long line of people waiting one sees the beautiful Byzantine wall mosaics.




Manager Square, often featured on Christmas Eve TV news broadcasts, is very low key.


Walking back to the bus stop through the market.


Returning to Jerusalem, I noticed the expressway that connects West Bank Bethlehem with Jerusalem is in a corridor "protected" by a fence.

Israel: Thought-provoking Jeruselum

Jerusalem's old town is very unique. The whole place is a veritable maze. Of the many medinas we have been to, this one is the best 1)clean 2)not flat, more 3D, and with stairs and tunnels - the second day we stumbled upon rooftop walkways.  It is divided approximately in four quadrants, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian, though if one is plunked down randomly, one would have to rely on cultural and linguistic clues to deduce the exact quarter. Some scenes of the medina and rooftops (below).







We made our rounds to a few select sites, not unlike when we visited the places of the Budha's birth, first sermon, and death, in Nepal and India.

• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre: supposed site of Jesus' crucifiction and resurrection This is ground zero for Christians, built, rebuilt, expanded over the centuries. A more apt name would be The Churches of the Holy Sepulchre, because the place consists of different churches/chapels mashed together, and each managed by the 6-7 different sects. We like the mosaics in the Chapel of Calvary.  The line for the tomb was insanely long. We had to forgo the experience.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Western Wall: the west wall of the Second Temple (the first was destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BCE) destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. There is lots of security.  I had thought I had come into the presence of lots of machine guns in Lebanon. There are more here. The separator (since 1967) for men and women at the wall stood out to me. Were they trying to compete with Muslim neighbors at subjugating women?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Dome of the Rock:  the supposed spot where Muhammad ascended to heaven, which is also the ex-site of the First and Second Temple for the Jews. The place is huge. Out of the dozen entrances, only one is allowed  for non-Muslims, and is heavily guarded. We were only allowed on the grounds. The mosque looks very beautiful too, but there was no entry for us. (Note to fellow travellers: the place has short, non-contiguous, changeable, visiting hours)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Garden of Gethsemane (first below): Jesus was said to have prayed there the night before his crucifixion. With the multitudes of visitors, there is none of tranquility. We were fascinated by the beautiful art nouveau Church of All Nations (2nd below) next to it, and the myriad of hanging lamps at the Tomb of the Virgin Mary (3rd below).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Mount of Olives, a frequent haunt of Jesus. There are good views of the old town which attract tour groups.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Via Dolorosa: the supposed route Jesus took to his crucifixion. This is where the ubiquitous 14 station of the cross supposedly took place. Apparently this has been a pilgrim route for a long time. Much of the route is in the Muslim quarter. The atmosphere is just not there, if not awkward. In our travels, we have seen a number of very moving Via Crucis reenactments during Holy Week/Easter. The beautiful Art Nouveau Church of the Flagellation (below) is the first stop on the Via Dolorosa route.
  
  

Religion, brings solace to so many, can be such a source of conflict and discord. By chance we happened to end up in Jerusalem for their Memorial Day and Independence Day. Normally we love gawking at local festivities. Keenly aware of the special situation here, we steered clear of all crowds and gatherings. The irony is that in so many ways Israel is just like their Muslim neighbors

• Hasidic Jewish men scurrying around the city, oblivious to all that surrounds them. John thinks they live in a parallel universe. Many Muslim men go around acting entitled.
• I was surprised to see how many Jewish women cover hair in a wrap, and young women in ankle length skirts.
• Both Hebrew and Arabic are semitic languages, though written in different alphabets.
• If not completely religious states, much of their societies are organized around religion, e.g. state holidays based on religion, Islamic universities and Hebrew universities.
• We were surprised at the number of young Israelis that don't speak English. Education may lead to independent thinking, making it difficult to keep people on Kool-aid.
• Mini-marts have no prices on the shelves. Even supermarkets don't all have all the prices. What's the idea?!

Coming from Egypt and Jordan, we were having sticker shock at the high food cost. Hotel prices are amongst the highest we have encountered which is a reflection of high real estate prices. Both cases are forms of social control. The US is hardly freer. However, in a settler colonial state, it further closes the door on the dispossessed natives.

From Petra to the Dead Sea in Israel by Land

We had opted to dip in the Dead Sea on the Israel side rather than Jordan (mostly because there is more tourist infrastructure on the Israel side), on our way from Petra to Jerusalem. This route turned out to be not so easy.

From Petra, the minibus to Aqaba only leaves until full, then the Aqaba-to-border taxi is fixed at the extortionary price of 10JD for foreigners. After much deliberation, we arranged a private transfer 40JD ($56) for the 130km journey. We recommend our driver Talib (whatsapp 962778205710 - he goes all over Jordan). The drive was scenic.

Leaving Jordan was easy. We didn't even have to pay for a 10JD exit visa fee, since we flew into Jordan, supposedly. Entering Israel was a different matter. Without any preamble, the young immigration officer asked us - what were you doing in Lebanon? Then the questions went on - what other Arab countries have you been to? Do you have friends in Israel? Do you have friends in Lebanon? However, we didn't even get pulled into separate rooms, as other travellers had experienced.

The whole border crossing took us about 30 minutes. From the border, one could take a taxi into Eilat Bus Station and then get on a bus to the Dead Sea (BTW, the bus company Egged blocks access to their website from Jordan - Israelis fear cyber attacks from Jordonians!?). We opted for the more efficient route - walk 15 minutes to the main road and wait for the bus en route at a bus stop. That leaves the question of paying for the bus. After much research, I learned that the app moovit which we have been using for years and all over the world, is by an Israeli company. I can add my credit card and use it to pay for public transport in Israel. Much to our relief, it really worked!

I always thought floating in the Dead Sea is one of those things that had to be experienced rather than imagined, besides the Dead Sea is at -400masl. While I couldn't discern that I was breathing at -400masl, I could definitely tell the Dead Sea water is different. I indeed floated as expected, but I was surprised that I had to exert to keep my head up. On the other hand, my legs floated so much, I had a hard time coming to a standing position. So it took a little practice to find a comfortable position to remain floating. The water feels slick and oily to the skin, in the same way hard shower water leaves the skin feeling soapy. I am completely skeptical of the therapeutic nature of the water. With water from the Jordan River being diverted more and more for agriculture and not much rain get be counted on in the desert, it's a wonder that "taking" these waters hasn't started to make people sick. I certainly am not planning on a return visit to the Dead Sea, though the place is definitely set up for visitors. There are all manners of sea bathing infrastructure. John pointed out that was possible only because there is no tide. 

On the way south to the Jordan-Israel border, our driver stopped so we could photograph the awesome view.


Rolling into Aqaba. Our car will turn right and take us to the curb of the Jordan border facility. Nice!


And 90 minutes later we have crossed the border and are on the bus cruising north towards the Dead Sea.


Just before we get to the Dead Sea we pass this Salt Works.


Oh my! Still on the bus, the Google Maps says we are near a famous pillar of salt.


View from our Hotel Room.


And soon we are floating in the Dead Sea.




We are staying ar an upscale resort area called Ein Bokek with excellent public beach infrastructure, not to mention the very good public transportation connections; for example, there are frequent buses to Masada and back.






In the evening we went out for a walk.












The next morning we got up for sunrise, ate a trendous hotel breakfast, floated in the Dead Sea again (video below OR click here), and then hopped on the bus to Jerusalem