Day 9 on the Equinox: Jerusalem fever
Nov 03 '09
The Bottom Line O Jerusalem, if I forget thee...
I was awake very early this morning for the excursion to Jerusalem. The Equinox docked in Ashdod, on the coast of Israel, at 10:00 am, and we all gathered in the theatre, as usual, for our bus stickers, and then down the gangway to the port itself, all before 11:00 am. This time, before leaving the ship, I had a nice leisurely breakfast in the main dining room, watching as the ship rolled on into port. Gotta say, it does get impressive.
Unlike Egypt, this time the security forces were out in force and paying attention. The young men were there at the bottom of the gangway, tidily dressed, no swagger and clean shaven. This time, we had a green card in Hebrew and English, with a very official looking stamp, and our passports to present to the port authorities. I thanked the young man who looked over my papers in Hebrew, and he got this huge grin on his face. I have never felt so welcomed anywhere else before in my life. That, well, it just made my day.
I managed to find my bus, and clambered aboard. I'm finally getting the knack of climbing on and off these things but it's still a bit of a beast. It took us a while to thread our way through the port area, and then we hit the freeway, and off we go, sandwiched in a long snake of buses, private vehicles and big rigs hauling containers, all evidently heading towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Above us there were the road signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English, and it was here that I started to see the contrast with Egypt, a realization that had started with my disembarkation in the port. The roads were clearly marked, people stayed in the rules of the road and the lanes, and no one was speeding too much. Too, the countryside was taken care of, intensively irrigated and cultivated, with a feel of prosperity and permanence to it. Our guide was an Israel, a Sabra to be exact -- a term used for native born Jews in Israel -- and like all Sabras, tough as hell and very politically minded. As we started the climb towards the Judean hills, he proudly pointed out the various accomplishments that we could see from the bus. Along the way, there are various monuments to those who have perished in the wars for Israel's freedom since 1948, and I found them to be very moving.
One thing that I had always thought was that Israel was fairly flat, but in reality, it's very hilly in spots and we saw some spectacular scenery and views as we climbed up. (Indeed, when Jews go to Jerusalem from outside of Israel, there's a special term for it, to make aliyah, to go up) The hills were heavily forested and when we reached the outskirts of Jerusalem, the views became filled with tidy suburbs, most of them built out of the local stone, a richly coloured blend of rose and gold tints that is unique to this one spot on earth. And unlike Egypt, the streets were clean and tidy, the buildings in great repair and obvious pride from the people in their country. It was a very great contrast.
Our first stop in the city was at The Olive Tree Hotel, where a magnificent luncheon was laid out for us in buffet style. And this time, we had plenty to eat, and it was simple, but very good. Not to mention, KOSHER! There was even a hand-washing station inside the dining room, where one could make a blessing for meals, and that more than anything told me where I was. The hotel itself is quite beautifully designed and laid out, and the staff very attentive. There was also a small souvenir shop nearby and I picked up some postcards, and was tempted by some silver trinkets, but the vendor was asking far too much for them, so I didn't make any purchases. Lots of olive wood carvings as well.
There was also a funny sign with a giant olive pit dangling in front of it. It read:
"The Amazing Weather Forecasting Olive:
Olive wet -- Rain!
Olive dry -- Sunny!
Olive Swaying -- Windy!
Olive White -- Snowing!
Olive Jumping up and Down -- Earthquake!
Olive Gone -- Tornado!"
Ok. Very silly. But cute. And I liked the Jumping Up and Down part.
We first visited the Mount of Olives, which is just across a narrow valley from the Temple Mount and the al-Asqa Mosque. Somehow I had always thought that there was more of a distance, but they are quite close to each other. On the mount of Olives, there are huge cemeteries, filled with stone markers, and of course, many churches. One of the most outstanding is a Russian Orthodox one, St. Mary Magdalene, with magnificent gold domes that shimmer in the light -- Romanov watchers may want to take note that it is here that Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister and sister-in-law of Russia's last rulers, is buried, and the church and her grave have become a place of pilgrimage. There is also the Church of all Peoples, and the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. All of them were mobbed with people and the streets down to a crawl filled mostly with tour buses. The exhaust fumes were awful, and I was very headachy as we crossed the valley and started into the fray to get to the Western Wall. Along the way, I saw the Golden Gate ? it is said that when the Messiah appears, they'll enter through there, but back in the fourteenth century or so, the Muslims blocked it up so that it's sealed up and inaccessable. Should be interesting when the time comes!
Another half hour, and we got to the entrance to wall. By this time, it was starting to approach sundown, and I and the others went from the bus and made our way into the Temple area, and then there I was. The western wall, the only part of the Jewish Temple still standing after the Muslims, Crusaders, Romans and damn near everyone else has run over it. And of course it was packed. I managed to make my way through to the women's section, and that's when I started crying. Hard to make sense sometimes when you talk to a wall. I slipped the notes that I had carried for others into the cracks between the stones, and said some very personal hopes and prayers, and then made my way back to wait for the bus. Most of us who had gone to pray at the wall were pretty emotional as well.
I was happy to clamber back aboard the bus to go back to the ship. Most of us were pretty quiet, and I stayed in the bus while nearly everyone else got off at yet another souvenir shop. On the way back to the Equinox I again noticed how different Israel was from Egypt.
I think it could all be summed up in one word -- motivation. The Israelis are determined to stay in Israel and Jerusalem. They've taken a bit of desert, and turned it into someplace prosperous and done it all with some pretty serious opposition from the neighborhood, so to speak. It's a vibrant country and I saw very little of the despair and misery that was choking Egypt. While the Palestinian area that we briefly crossed through was a bit rougher, it was still better than what I had seen before.
The security was very tight when we got back to the ship, and again I used my rather simple Hebrew on the security check point which was greeted with big smiles, and I felt just a bit proud of being able to speak the language a little. I know now that I definitely want to go back and see more of Israel. Who knows, one day I might be able to stay there.
Once on board, I made my way to the main dining room, which had scrapped the more formal sitdowns for the evening, and had open seating given that there would be buses getting back all through the early evening. I had a simply delicious chicken breast in a sauce that was melt in your mouth tender, and for dessert there was crème brulee. I also confess that I've developed quite a liking for the French onion soup -- one of my favourite comfort foods.
Then I went up to my stateroom and sat out on the wee veranda, and watched a container ship being loaded up -- fascinating process! We then got underway for Haifa, our next port of call, and just 80 nautical miles from Ashdod, and as always, truly something to watch the lights slip away in the distance.
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Member: Rebecca Huston
Location: On the banks of the Hudson River
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Quot libros quam breve tempus!
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