Letter from Israel ( November 2013)

             The heavily decorated section of the security wall, right of Bethlehem, West Bank 

Since August I had few nostalgic days around my old stomping ground, Cornwall and also found my self walking on ‘the not so cobble paved streets’ of Yorkshire in early November. However this letter is from Israel a place I had planed to visit in 2002 (the year my husband passed away) and finally had time and money to make a very expensive journey in November 2013.

 What a journey it was! All the way to Jesus’ stomping ground where my husband would loved to have been but I had to settle with the second best to keep me company, his memory! The journey was only for seven days and seven nights however I came home with head full of new experience with lots of questions unanswered. The tour guide, an Israeli Palestinian Arab knew his subject and the history of three major religions of his country (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) were brought to life every day as I travelled with a group of 15 from the West. The guide followed the Pilgrimage route starting from Tel Aviv and quickly moved on to the old port of Jaffa and then on to Druze village for a home cooked lunch with a Druze family (followers of interesting philosophy!).

 

 

We travelled to see Roman ruins of Caesarea, then to Akko, Nazareth, Safed city of spiritualists and artists. Travelling dangerously and avoiding the minefields on the way, we stopped at Golan Heights (disputed area) for photo snaps of Syria which looked green and pleasant from the border but still undergoing a bloody war somewhere beyond the border line. Another short stop at Jordan River for a holy dip (for few but not for me) and then off to Tiberias for the night. Boat ride in the Sea of Galilee reminded me of lots of loaves, fish and walking on water miracles by Christ. Living dangerously again and travelling on the almost deserted Jordan Valley Road to Masada and then to the Dead Sea to watch people floating! (Having spent money on mud packs I discovered later that the Dead Sea is fast losing its lustre due to the removal of mud for beauty products… sad, sad,  sad……). For desperately needed pee stop (W.C. in Israel) the driver had to make big U turn and introduce the group to the deserted Palestinian town of Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited place on earth.

 

A visit to Holocaust Museum, reminded me of black and white world war movies at home. A visit to Bethlehem where the Star was born and the Palestinian refugee camp behind the gigantic Security Wall separating the West Bank (where Banksy and others made their Graffiti marks) were all very short but emotional. The final day in East Jerusalem was spent exploring the inside of the Old Jerusalem Wall: the Temple Mount (highly contested land mark on the planet and has its’ own security check where Christians are not allowed in.. sad.. sad.. sad), Wailing Wall (open to all), The Church of Holy Sepulchre (where Christians meet from all over the world) and the rest of The Holy, Holy, Holy sights…all well protected by CCTV systems. Israel being the world leader in CCTV system I was well protected ?

 

Would I go again or better still recommend the trip to my friends? Not really and here are some of my reasons. Israel has some of the most stringent security polices in the world and I should really feel safe, I did not! When boarding the plane from Amsterdam, I had to answer some silly questions such as “do I know any body in Israel” (yes I did have 2 friends in Israel but did not confess, what would happen to me if I said Yes, I shall never know?) and “why am I going there anyway” (I thought that was pretty obvious?). Once I landed at the airport in Tel-Aviv at 2 am, I was interrogated again with same questions; luck was on my side I escaped a full interrogation in a little room! (Some of my fellow travellers did not). So the start of the journey was a bit unpleasant but it did not get better as I and the rest were reminded all the time by the guide to be ready for any questions about our travels at various Israeli check-points. When we were on the road to the Palestinian town of Jericho we stopped at a road sign and were encouraged to take photos (see below) and our guide pointed out that the road was not safe for the tourists like us, he was not joking!! (Kidnapping immediately came to my mind!).

 

You would think that the Israel would be glad to get rid of you once you had finished your holiday and spent your well earned money to help the economy, but the answer is “NO”. They make sure you go through some more check points leading to the Tel-Aviv airport and once you are at the airport (which looked pretty deserted Friday afternoon, who in the right mind wants to go on holiday to Israel anyway?) you end up having to answer more stupid questions such as "what is your father’s name, what is your mother’s name what is your sibling’s names etc…".and if you are unlucky your luggage is opened and each item is examined by young kids with plastic gloves who are employed to do their national service at the air port. Luck was on my side again, I escaped another Spanish inquisition and luggage examination which was taking place out in the open area of the air port for everybody to watch! (How embarrassing, imagine all my dirty laundry out for public display ……)   

 Israel is very fussy about who is allowed into their well protected Fort Knox heavily guarded country. If I had a passport with entry stamp from Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia or Bangladesh the chances are that I would have been sent home. Again luck was on my side; my 10 years passport was renewed, just before my travel to Israel (my old passport carried lots of Bangladeshi visa entries). On arrival at Tel-Aviv airport I was given Entry Permit (a little paper slip) and at the point of leaving the country, I was given an Exit Permit (another paper slip) thus avoiding stamping the tourist passport like mine. This is to ensure that I and other tourists like me can travel to any Islamic country without being turned away by them, such as Bangladesh. (I guess?).  

 

 Security aside,  which was unnerving, I felt that the whole of The Holy land is made to look like one big theme park and in return for few New Israeli shekels the tourists are encouraged to take photos. As a non believer of religions on show I felt uncomfortable taking photos of sacred places where prayers were said (I came home with 500 photos… shame, shame, shame on me). Believe it or not, in the Land of Milk and Honey, water is like gold dust. Israel buys its bottled water from abroad and it is cheaper to drink water from a plastic bottle. There are massive big bottle banks every where. One water expert I met at the airport pointed out that Israel will run out of water by 2020 and some experts have forecasted the next world war, if it takes place, will be over water, scary!

 

We all know that the tiny state of The Holy Land has been trying to find peace for over 60 years. There is a Peace Centre in the heart of Bethlehem, near the Nativity Churches and people come from all over the world, including some from my city of Coventry (Coventry is a city of Peace and Reconciliation) to spread the Message of Peace. The final message I brought back with me is the writing I found on the side wall of the Peace Centre:   

 

 This year Kenya was celebrating 50 years of Independence and fifty years ago I and my family were kicked out of Kenya and we landed in England with our British passports and found new home. My British upbringing spiced up with Indian and African background gave me freedom to travel with my passport and experience through my own eyes the wonders of this magical planet I live in. I hope the similar freedom will reach the home of one young Palestinian student I met in Bethlehem and many more like her. She told me she was studying English at Bethlehem University and she told me she wanted to travel……...........she told me …………….

 

 

Finally, I feel I have now reached the end of fifty years of my travel blog. I have written approx. 65000 words and so far received approx.3000 page reviews from across the world!! I like to thank all the comments (made privately) by family and my friends… with that in mind I might just start another blog:  “travellingwithabuspass.com”, so watch this space?