I woke up just before sunrise to Rafa getting up. He asked me if I wanted to see the sun come up and I said hell no it’s too warm in my bed. He got up and left and after a few minutes I couldn’t fall back to sleep so I got up and went out to see the sunrise as well. It was beautiful as expected, and the light felt good on the skin.

The camels were waiting for us so after a breakfast of fruit, pita and jam, we mounted the camels, waved goodbye to everyone at camp and began the 12K trek back to Wadi Rum. Camel riding is like horse riding except that your’e alot higher and the up down rhythm is more pronounced on a camel. We trudged along and the camels tried to stop and eat everytime they saw a bush but their keeper kept moving them along. The morning was warm but then we hit a cross current of wind and it was a chilly wind. It didn’t help when the camels walked into the shadow of the mountain next to us either, but we got back into sun and warmth a few minutes afterward.

After about 2 hours of riding the camels the town materialized in the distance and we arrived finally after passing a few goat herds and other camels. We met at Mohammeds house again and after some tea and a little computer help with his email, he gave us both a big hearty hug, and invited us to come again. Our cab back to the border was ready and we jumped in and were on our way back to the Aqaba border crossing station.

Back on the Israeli side Rafa got questioned alot (as usual) by their security but we got through and caught a cab to the bus station. After just an hour or so of being back in Israel I mentioned to Rafa that I already felt a difference in the people and that I missed the warmth and open heartedness of the Beduins. He said he noticed the same thing. Our bus finally arrived and we got on.

What happened next on the bus was something that caused alot of emotion in me and I spent alot of time thinking about the situation and reminding myself that I didn’t know the exact details of what happened so it may not actually be how I perceived it. However it looked extremely ugly to me and made my stomach churn. I will attempt to tell it as objectively as I can.

As we were pulling away this young Orthodox and his wife ran up and got on the bus almost missing it. They got on the bus and were looking for seats. The bus from Eilat to Jerusalem had assigned seating so we had no choice where we sat. The front of the bus was mostly filled. Each 2 seat row had at least one person in it. There were a couple of rows where the aisle seats were both empty, which would have allowed a couple to sit together, just across the aisle from each other. The couple scanned the seats then went to a pair of seats that were filled by 2 darker men, presumably Arab. These were the only 2 Arabs in the front of the bus, the rest were light skinned and many wearing yarmulkes. The Bus was already down the road five minutes and the couple kept standing next to the Arabs, talking to them. I saw the Arabs shake their heads a number of times, and then I saw some other passengers say a few things to them until they finally got up, and one came to the back of the bus the other sat in another empty seat. The look on his face was frustrated embarrassment. As he sat down some of the other guys in the front of the bus kept looking back at him giving him hard stares like he wanted to fight him, which made me think to myself that if they were such gentlemen, why didn’t they offer their seats up themselves! Now I don’t know the details of what happened, whether the Arabs were in the wrong seats or whether the Orthodox just picked their seats because they were Arabs or just random picking, but it felt all wrong and made me mad. It made me think of the USA circa 40 years ago. For a long time I sat and stewed over it and when the bus stopped for a 15 minute break, I approached the Arab guy to try and get his view, since he was obviously the minority in the situation. I asked him if he knew English and he shook his head and walked away. I can understand why he lied. I should have asked the Orthodox their side but didn’t. We finally got back to Jerusalem and I was happy to be off the bus.

We booked a night at the Hebron Hostel in old city and Rafa met these two British girls named Ros and Lottie who offered us a ride to Tel Aviv the next day. We had dinner with them and then called it a night. I was glad to be back and happy to be able to shower again.

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Video of us on camels

Shadows of the camels

Rafa writing on camelback

Passing camels

In the morning we had breakfast and Nasser called for our cab. When it arrived Nasser gave us all a hug and off we were to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum was about an hour from Wadi Musa and it was back down in the low desert region. Not too far from Wadi Rum we passed the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, a large rock formation named so by T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. The desert here is enormous and divided up by giant ancient rocks. It’s pretty much uninhabited except by nature and the Beduins who have lived here for generations.

When we arrive the cabbie drops off the American father and daughter to meet their guide then continues on to our guide Mohammed’s house. Mohammed is a very friendly old guy who is basically the chief of his village and is somehow related to most of the people in the village as well. He’s lived in this desert all his life, he knows this desert in a way that only the Beduin can, with knowledge passed down through the generations. He welcomes us into his home and has a pot of tea ready to share. He explains that we’ll get a jeep tour of the desert during the day and then meet at his camp at sunset for Beduin dinner and finally sleeping in the Beduin tents. Rafa and I want to do a camel trek and end up arranging to do it the next morning on the trip back to the village. All is agreed upon so we stock up on water and pack out stuff into one of his jeeps and his nephew Mehedi gets in. He is to be our driver. He is a young 20 year old Beduin with a warm smile and a friendly demeanor. That’s one thing I’ve really noticed about the Jordanians, particularly the Beduins, there’s an authentic warmth and open heartedness that I was not expecting. These were simple, friendly people and they seemed happy and content in life. Genuinely.

Off we go bouncing along in the rickety old jeep, swerving to and fro in the loose sand. Mehedi stops occasionally to show us things of interest, like a desert spring, an old Beduin cemetery, natural rock bridges, and rock formations that look suspiciously like animals. When you step out of the jeep and into the big emptiness, you feel so small and insignificant. It’s so quiet that when you stand still and just listen, the silence itself rings in your ears. It’s a little unnerving, and humbling. The land itself looks alien at times, like as if you were on Mars. The desert is painted with different color rock and sand; red, yellow, white and black. From one hill you can see miles of the desert that goes from red to yellow to black. Mehedi took us to one large rock formation that we climbed up on and he started singing loudly, and when he stopped the echo if his voice bounced around the rocks and mountains for a good 30 seconds. On top of the same rock I found some Arabic scratched into the rock, so I grabbed a quartz rock and carved ACEVES below it. The sandstone was soft and easy to cut. Maybe sometime some other Mexicans, Chicanos or Spanish will happen upon it and smile and say “just like a Mexican to do that!”.

Speaking of Spanish I forgot to mention that we were sharing this experience with a couple from Spain, Manu and Susana. Rafa and I conversed with them in Spanish as much as we could, or at least as much as Rafa could. Mehedi stopped for lunch and while we ate, he started a fire and warmed some tea for us. I love that red tea. Great stuff. After lunch the tour continued until we finally hit camp around sunset, in time to catch the sun going down over the mountains of Saudi Arabia.

The tents we we in that night were traditional Beduin, rectangular with the door in the middle of the longest side. Inside were woven Arabic rugs and mats to sleep on and a fire pit. It also had a bar like table with hookahs on it. In the center of camp was a circular tent where there was a fire already going. Mohammed was there and invited us in to prepare for dinner. We had chicken, rice, hummus, veggies and pita, prepared by Fatima, a muslim girl from Indonesia. It definitely hit the spot and the fire felt great since the dark outside brought with it the cold.

After dinner and a bit of conversation these 3 young Beduin men arrived. One had a tabla drum and another had a case that contained an ornate Ut. They were all polite and cordial, but I got some vibes off one of them that I didn’t like. They asked where we were all from, and I said Mexico. The one guy who vibed me was actually kind of a dick, but mellowed out later on. Turns out only one of them was a musician, the guy with the Ut, who was the most mellow of the 3. The other 2 were just his buddies, and neither one of them could keep rhythm on the drum while their friend sang and played the Ut. He sang really well, had a nice tenor voice and his Ut sounded like it was not cheap. He sang for a couple of hours taking smoke breaks in between. I asked what the songs were about and he said they were Beduin songs about the desert and love. Rafa told them i could play the drum so I ended up playing it while the guy sang and played his Ut. We jammed for awhile. I thought it was neat to be able to jam with a guy I can’t even speak to. The other 2 guys got up and danced and Mehedi joined them while the rest of us clapped.

I decided to take a break and stepped outside for some air. The night sky was incredible. It was like one from a Sci Fi movie. It was the cleanest most sparkly starry night I have ever seen. The stars in the sky were countless and crystal clear, and every minute or so you could catch a shooting star streak across the sky. I just stood and stared in the cold for what must have been a half hour. I even attempted some delayed exposure photos but they just can’t do it justice. Afterward I was feeling tired so I thanked the Beduins and bade them good night. I wandered into our tent and crawled under the two heavy blankets they gave us and slept warm and snug.

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Video outside Wadi Musa

Wadi Rum Desert

Walking in the Desert

Bouncy Jeep Ride

Wadi Rum Echoes

Wadi Rum 360

Desert Graffiti

Beduin Tuning his Ut

Beduin Singing

Beduin Singing 2

We got up early, ate, and hopped in Josh’s car. He had offered to drive us to the border late last night and we took him up on his offer. He took us 10 minutes to the border between Israel and Jordan. We shook his hand and headed for the security checkpoint. After making it through the Israeli side we walked the 1/2 mile of no man’s land between the two border checks and did the whole 9 yards again on the Jordan side. The Jordanian border guards were very welcoming. Once through the station we had to catch a taxi to Petra, which is about 2 hours from the border. It cost us 35 JD or about 45USD.

The Jordanian desert and mountains are spectacular: vast, expansive desert, colorful layers of strata, and sky blue and pristine clear. We slowly started ascending into the mountain range and at one point the cabbie pulls over to let us see miles and miles of the Arabah desert. After more winding desert mountain road, we arrive at Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra. The cabbie leaves us at the Petra Gate Hostel, which was recommended to us by the folks at the Shelter Hostel. The place aint the ritz but it’s 10 bucks a day and what it doesn’t have in luxury, it makes up for in service and friendliness. Nasser is the owner and, like the other Jordanians we’ve encountered so far, he is very warm and welcoming. We get our room and Nasser has two packed lunches ready for us to take down to Petra. We walk to 15 minutes to get there, pay the entrance fee, then for the next 8 hours are consecutively awed by what we see.

There are no words I can use to adequately describe the experience of being at Petra. No amount of photos or video can truly do it justice or capture it completely. You just have to see it for yourself. However if you can picture being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, picture finding a 10 feet wide crevice that goes on for about a half mile or so, then it opens up into another large canyon with Greco-Roman temples carved into the rock walls of the canyon. Imagine about 2 miles of this architecture in the rocks, then you can imagine what Petra is like.

I don’t remember the exact dates or details but Petra was established by the Nabateans before Christ, and was conquered finally by the Romans. The area is littered with caves that are to this day inhabited by beduins. The beduins work the area during the day and live in the caves by night. They sell items to the tourists such as food, animal rides through the canyon and local arts and crafts. We bought kuffirs (Arab head wraps) from some and they invited us to tea, then invited us to their village.

At one point Rafa and I hiked up a hill side and at the top was an old Beduin lady and a young one. They were selling old Roman coins found after the rain washes them out. The older lady asked where we were from and I said Mexico and she responded that she had an email friend from Mexico. Huh? Beduins have email? Ok. I guess they keep up with the times too.

We hiked back down and continued to be amazed at every turn. Our last stop in the city was the monastery which was high above the rest of the city on a mountain peak that also had a jet of rock that was called the sacrifice view, apparently where they held sacrifices above the view of the expanse of the Arabah desert, and part of the Dead Sea. The sun was setting now so we had to hurry back down the mountain. By the time we hit the bottom it was dark and we were the last tourists in the park. We saw fires in the mountain caves in the hills; Beduins.

We finally got back to the hostel just in time for Jordanian style dinner. There was an American father and daughter there who were headed to the same place we were the next day, Wadi Rum, so we said we’d share a cab. They were going to stay in Wadi Rum for 2 nights, and Nasser pulled us aside and said he’d call his friend who was a tour guide in Wadi Rum and get a good deal for a tour and night’s stay. We jumped on it and set it up.

After dinner Rafa got Nasser to play his Ut, which is a pear shaped Arabic stringed instrument, something like a guitar. He then got me to play the tabla drum while Nasser played the Ut. We played for a while then I decided to call it a night. My feet were sore from the days walking and climbing and I wanted to be rested up for the next day. Today was awesome. I saw probably the most amazing things I’d ever seen.

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Video on the way to Petra

Wadi Musa outside of Petra

Inside Petra 1

Walk Through to First Temple

Inside First Temple

Inside Petra 2

Inside Petra 3

Inside Petra 4

Inside Petra 5

Inside Petra 6

Monastery at top of Petra

Sacrifice View

We tried to get up early to catch the bus to Eilat, but basically missed it by a mere few minutes, so we decided to catch the next bus to Ein Gedi, spend the day there, then catch the last bus to Eilat and find a place to stay for the night. Rafa really wanted to go back to Ein Gedi and I wasn’t too jazzed about going, since I didn’t think there was much to do there, but I’m glad we did.

The plan was to go swimming in the Dead Sea, then go check out Nahal David or David’s Spring. This is the spring that David hid from Saul in when Saul was trying to kill him. We caught the bus and after about an hour or so, were back in the Dead Sea region. I hit the button for the driver to stop at the first Ein Gedi stop and as he did so I got up and looked back to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I guess I took too much time in turning my head because the driver hit the gas and took off, causing me to fall back into my seat. Rafa and I looked at each other like “What the hell?”. The driver then blew through the next stop and then finally stopped at the third one. I was annoyed and so was Rafa.

We got off the bus to find ourselves at some Dead Sea spa with lots of rich old snooty people that looked through us instead of at us. They were all getting onto a tour bus and Rafa wanted to ask the driver if they were going back towards the beach, but before he could get a single word out the driver waved him off. I was pissed already and didn’t want to ask for a ride and was already heading down the road for the 2 mile walk. Rafa then wanted to hitchhike but I said “No way, I don’t want a ride from these snooty bastards. Eff them, I’ll walk”. It was hot but I didn’t care. We walked along the desert highway and finally reached the beach.

We got changed and went down shoreside. It was rocky, not sandy, and hurt when you walked on it. What was worse though was when you stepped into the water and wade in to about knee high depth, the water being so dense actually moves you more so than normal water, so you are thrown off balance and stepping on sharp rocks trying to regain it. Being that the water is 33% mineral and salt it’s thicker than normal water, in fact it feels like baby oil. And the ripples don’t look like normal ripples, they look kind of alien or like computer generated. When you finally get about waist deep, you start to float and either you fall over and struggle trying to adjust to this new experience or you just lay back and roll with it. Because the water is so dense you literally float at or close to the surface, like a piece of wood or paper. You can lay flat and stiff as a board and you will still float. There is, however, a drawback to swimming in this water. If you have a cut or a rash anywhere on your body, you’re literally putting salt in your wound so it stings like a mother! Additionally you can drink the water or let it get in your eyes because it will burn your eyes and throat and possibly make you wretch. However it is pretty neat to float so buoyantly. I joked to Rafa that being the lifeguard here must be the most boring job ever, being that it seems impossible to drown here.

When we were done with the beach we rinsed off and made our way up to Nahal David. The only sign of a spring in the middle of this desert mountain range are a few palm trees by the road. As we walked up to the entrance we saw an Ibex a mere 40 or 50 feet from us. An Ibex is like a mountain goat with these long horns that arc back towards it’s back. It’s a majestic animal to see. We pay the park entrance fee and start the hike up the hill. As we go up the trail we notice in the trees some kind of desert rodent about the size of a cat. Kind of like a big fat squirrel without the tail. They are in the trees and on the ground. There’s a whole bunch of them scurrying around. As we continue to follow the path up the side of hte mountain, we turn a corner past a boulder and to our surprise find a pool of turquoise water being fed by a small waterfall, surrounded by lush green plants, in stark contrast to the dry desert terrain around it. we continue down the path and find more pools with waterfalls. We continue on up the path and find a larger pool with a 10 foot waterfall above it. We climb down off the path and go in the water. We had to climb down past this boulder that was partially concealing it, and the bottom of the boulder was either cut or eroded so as to allow one to duck down and pass underneath it and get to the pool. The water was cool and refreshing, feeling great on the skin. The waterfall felt great too. Here and at Ein Gedi beach were the only places I exposed my tattoos my whole trip, and I noticed a few looks from people at the beach.

While in the pool we noticed an Ibex sitting in the sahde of a boulder not 20 feet away. After getting dried off I climbed up the other side of the boulder to try and get good photo of it. I managed to get pretty close but I did hold back so as to not cause the animal to charge. We continued up the hill finidng more small falls until we came out into a larger crevice cut by a waterfall about 50-60 feet high. It’s cascading water fell into a large pool at the bottom where we were and what was really interesting was that 2/3rd’s the way up there was a large cave partially obscured by the falling water. I only noticed it because of the angle the sun was hitting it.

This spring was like a hidden oasis out here. You have no clue this is here from the highway below. We enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings a little longer and began the trek back down to catch the last bus Eilat. Eilat is still a few hours south so it’s not until about 10PM that we arrive.

The second we step off the bus we are assaulted by people with rooms to rent and this one crazy lady fully gets in our faces insistent we go to her house, causing a scene and ends up freaking Rafa out. We just jumped into a taxi to get away from her, and told the cabbie we wanted to go to the border to cross into Jordan. Unfortunately the border is closed already so we find the Shelter Hostel. The Shelter Hostel is cool in that it’s run by a Christian family and is open to travellers, pilgrims and I believe they give the homeless a place to sleep as well, and it’s not affiliated with any organization or church. It’s just a family doing what they feel God has called them to do.

There we met a guy from Southern California named Josh who has been in Israel for a month or so, basically doing the extended version of what we are doing. After talking to him and to some of the other guests and the family that runs the hostel I got this unusual feeling that I’ll attempt to put into words. Here we were, two Christian “Pilgrims” in the southern tip of Israel between Egypt and Jordan, where although our faith was born in this land, it is a great minority, particularly in the places not affiliated with the faith. We just so happen to stumble upon a place for travellers like us and meet other travellers doing the same thing we are doing, doing a spiritual journey. It just made me think that this is how it could have been in the old days, like the first century when the faith was spreading by people travelling, word of mouth etc., and it makes you feel like your’e a part of something much bigger than yourself. The image that keeps coming to mind is a grapevine growing slowly in the desert.

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Video of Rafa in the Dead Sea

Video of Nahal David by the Dead Sea

Everywhere we go I notice that we get funny looks and I always assumed it was due to Rafa having long hair but I am rethinking that. I think it’s because Rafa looks like the traditional accepted image of Jesus and naturally him being in Jerusalem, people definitely do a double take.

Today we went to the northern part of Israel, more specifically to the Sea of Galilee region, via the city of Tiberias. Tiberias is right on the shore of the sea. The trip took about 3 hours.Along the way we drove past a number of walled in areas like Bethlehem, so we must have been driving along the border of the West Bank. Passing many towns I saw mosque minarets but did not notice any churches or synagogues, so it must have been Palestinian territory. We passed Nablus, Jenin, Nazareth, Mt. Tabor, Haifa and Megiddo. The land progressively grew more fertile the further north we went and we started ascending the hills again. It actually reminded me of the northern California/Oregon area a little. We slid around a curve of a hill and there before us down the mountainside was the Sea of Galilee at the bottom of the valley. This area is important in Christianity because this is where Jesus started his work, and to be frank, this is where I had my spiritual experience while on this journey.

The bus slowly wound its way down the hillside and descended upon Tiberias. We got off at the central bus station without knowing where to go so we just went down towards the water. We got down to the promenade that goes along the shore and we just relaxed a little bit looking at the water. The weather was perfect, the water looked inviting, and the surrounding area was gorgeous. We watched a small rickety old two man fishing boat sputter up not too far from us and the two fishermen began pulling up a net. It was surreal to me, because that’s the exact same way the apostles, who were fishermen by vocation, fished. Rafa and I watched them for awhile as they pulled this incredibly long net up from the sea, pulling the fish out of it and tossing them at the bottom of theboat. We decided to walk along the shore for a bit more and chatted with a young teenage Hassidic kid from LA who was here now proselytizing. We asked him what the yarmulke meant and he said that it reminds them that God is always above them. And that the sideburns and wide brimmed hats were so that in older times the Jews could physically separate themselves from the locals and be able to recognize other Jews better. It was mid afternoon now and we wanted to go up the coast to the Mount of Beatitudes and maybe hit Capernaum so we jumped a bus going north.

The bus took us up a hill overlooking the sea, and let us off not too far from a town called Tabgha. The driver pointed us to a point on the hill about a mile or so away where the Mt. Beatitudes Church was. We walked from there and it was pure pleasure. The hills were green and rolling, not rocky and coarse like in Jerusalem. There was a field of banana trees on our right and just empty land on our left. All you could hear was a slight breeze, hardly any cars on the road behind us and none on the road we were walking on.

As we approached the Mt. I noticed on the side of the road these large thornbushes. They were basically long skinny branches with these long thorns every few inches. It struck me when I saw them that these thorn branches look exactly like the ones in the images of Christ with the crown of thorns. All one would have to do is cut a branch off, roll it up and you would have yourself a crown. I asked Rafa if he wanted to try it. He declined. I had never seen this kind of thornbush before.

We arrived at the Church which was on the downslope but was placed perfectly overlooking the entire sea and general region of Galilee. This site is said to be both the site of the feeding of the 5000 and where Jesus gave the Beatitudes. The Church was very small, beautiful in a quaint way. Nothing fancy, just a small church. Outside the church is a garden and observation area overlooking the sea. I felt a great sense of peace here as I watched the sun going down over the hills on the other side of the sea. I looked down towards the shore and wondered if that could where Christ first called to the fishermen who would become his disciples. I thought about the things that happened here, what they represent and what they ultimately mean to me. I felt humbled, peaceful and settled within myself and yet also a sense sadness. I was alone at this point and spent some time talking to God.

The sun was quickly setting and and the church was closing soon so Rafa and I started trekking back to the main road to catch the bus back to Tiberias. When we got to the main road we saw the bus coming around the turn so we ran to catch it. Just in time.

It was dark when we arrived back in Tiberias and I wanted to swing by the shore one more time before leaving. Walking down to the promenade again we heard this continuous ringing of an old bell, and it was coming from the shore area, so we went down to find the source. Through an old stone wall we looked and saw an older lady pulling the rope that rang the bell. She wouldn’t stop ringing it so I went in and asked her why she was ringing it, and she replied in a Scottish accent that it’s the bell letting people in the are know that service was going to begin soon. I asked her how long she had to ring it and she said for 15 minutes. She invited us in for the service. We were at the Church of Scotland in Galilee and she was the pastor. It was Sunday evening and I wanted to share in the service so we went in. She presided over myself, Rafa and 3 other people from different parts of the world. The service was traditional with old hymns and all. The subject matter was Advent and she asked us to think about the places that are most important to us and the people in them. I thought about home, my wife, my family and friends and missed them. In closing the service she prayed for peace, for our leaders that they rule with peace as a goal and for the healing of the world and relations between people. It was a beautiful service and I felt blessed to have been able to share in it. To share faith and prayer with people who I don’t know from other parts of the world, is something special and to me it represents what we as humanity need more of. Coming together in peace and unity regardless of race or religion.

After service I asked the pastor Jane how many people she gets each sunday. She said it was mostly visitors like us and that it could be as few as 1 or as many as 10. She has been in Galilee for almost 2 years now and feels blessed to be here. The Church of Scotland has been here for over 100 years she said and they work together with the Jewish and Muslim organizations in the area to provide for the poor etc. She was a sweet lady and was very Grandmotherly in that you almost don’t want to leave, but it was time for us to go. We thanked her for inviting us in and headed down to the shore.

We saw a place called “The Galilee Experience” and checked it out. It was a museum/gift shop of the history of the region. Working in the store was a young man named Zev who was from Pleasanton, not far from San Jose, but who now lived in Tiberias. He was a Jewish convert to Christianity. He said his whole family had moved to Israel and that while here they converted to Christianity through some friends they had made. I asked if that has been a problem for them, converting while being Jews in Israel, and he said yes and no. It didn’t matter to anyone while he served in the IDF, but that there had been problems with some of the local Orthodox. His mother had apparently been sharing her faith with some local Orthodox and some of them converted. When the Orthodox community found out they started picketing their house, yelling at them and trying to get them to leave. He said that it doesn’t happen as much anymore but the Orthodox don’t like them much. It was interesting to get the insight of a Jewish Christian. After a little more chatting we shook hands and headed back to the bus station. We caught our bus and I slept all the way back to Jerusalem. It was a peaceful sleep.

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Video by the Sea of Galilee

Saturday is a day of rest for the Jews and so it was kind of for us as well, being that travel was shut down, so we just kind of hung arod  town. I snacked in the morning and discovered this awesome Arabic delight. It was a cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup. It was SOOOO good. and SOOOO rich! On Zohar’s recommendation we went to a suburb of Jerusalem called En Kerem. It’s a beautiful hillside town tucked away in a green corner of a mountain. It reminded me alot of the old European towns. Beautiful, tranquil, with old euro style architecture. Apparently Mary the mother of Christ lived in this area as well and so on the hillside there lies the Church of the Annunciation, where it is said that the Angel Gabriel gave her the good news. The church is the most beautiful Marian church I have ever seen, replete with an enormous portrait of Mary on the back wall of the church. I really love Mary themed religious art. Like most Mexicans, I have a special place for her in my heart, just maybe not in the same way they do. Sundown was coming on so we thought we’d catch a movie. I was tired actually but consented to Rafa’s idea anyway.

Our cabbie was an Arab who, on the way, asked us point blank if we believed Jesus was going to come back. We said yes and the said he did too and that he hoped he could live to see the day when he returns. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said no, that he was a Muslim, and that Muslims believe that Jesus will return to bring peace as well. I think that’s something alot of people don’t know about Muslims, that they believe Christ will return too. We ended up having a nice chat with the cabbie about religion, David Copperfield, and ghosts then he left us at the cinema. Kind of funny how sometimes the lines of our perceptions and prejudices get blurred….and how you never know where you will find another believer. Which reminds me, while we were seated at breakfast at the sidewalk cafe this morning, a young Muslim man came up to us and asked if he could give us some literature. We said yes and he asked us if we knew about Islam and I replied yes, that my brother has been Muslim for over 20 years. We spoke briefly but I definitely sensed an earnest spirit and desire to see and experience God in life. It made me glad for him and I even felt a sense of brotherhood with him, even though we are not of the same race or religion. I felt the same kinship I feel when I meet anyone who is looking to grow in God. It was a positive experience.

So anyways, back to the movie. The cinema was closed because shabbat wasn’t over so Rafa ends up finding out that the mall is going to open at sundown and that they have a theater too. We catch a bus for Jerusalem Mall. This was the worst mistake of the trip.

I don’t know if it was a special day or what, but it seemed like the whole city was there. All the stores were selling off of tables in the mall aisles and it was jam packed with people. I mean JAM PACKED. And it seemed like everyone was rude, pushing and pulling. We still had like 2 hours to kill before the movies and I was dead tired so I went to sleep in the food court surrounded by hyper 14 years olds. It was a nightmare. When we finally got into the movie, the screen was slightly larger than my TV, the sound was horrible and the seats were crappy. We also didn’t know that they assigned seats so we got kicked out of our chairs. Then I slept through a terrible movie. How can a Morgan Freeman/John Cusack movie be bad? but it was. I was so happy to finally get out and back on the bus going back to my bed at the convent. On the way I called my wife and told her I loved and missed her then got to my bed and slept like the dead.  

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I had a strange dream last night. I was at my old Catholic high school and they had installed what appeared to be giant iron doors in place of the old regular ones. When I touched the doors they seemed to turn to putty and I ended up turning them into hanging ribbons of putty. When people at the school saw it they were up in arms about it so I went to the principals office and told them I’d buy them new doors. Then I woke up. weird.

Today we went to Bethlehem, and becasue it lies in the West Bank and is under the Palestinian Authority, we had to take an Arab bus. Israel has two bus systems, one Arab and one Jewish. After a quick bite to eat Rafa, myself an Brenda the Canadian head over to the Arab bus station and pay the 3 and half shekels for the trip.

After a few minutes of driving I see a really tall concrete wall reaching about 40 feet into the air and an even taller security tower. I thought it was an IDF base. It was Bethlehem. The bus let’s us off and we have to go through this security fence and show ID’s and the whole 9 yards till we finally get through the wall. It’s a little disconcerting when you see a wall erected through the middle of a street and buildings. On the inside, the wall is covered in graffiti and stenciling. It’s mostly politically oriented. When we got through the checkpoint were are immediately hit up by cabbies offering tours etc., but I just kept walking, not knowing where I was going, but not wanting the barrage of people. One cabbie was persistent however, in letting me know that the Church of the Nativity was too far to walk to and he showed us on a map where we were in relation to it. He was right, so we agreed to hire him.

His cab was quite nice. A Benz wagon. He introduced himself as Walid. Along the way, he pointed out various sites of interest and I began to ask him about the wall. He said it has been there since 2002, and it’s there because the Islamists and Hamas caused too many problems for Israel. Apparently the IDF still does raids on places there as well and will call in a curfew an hour before the raid. He also told me that there were many Arab Christians in Palestine and that they have always co-existed peacefully with the Muslims.

After some more small talk we arrive at Manger Square and duck into the Church of the Nativity. This is the oldest church in Israel and you can tell. It has the remains of these beautifully ornate mosaics depicting angels and people. The support columns in the church were some sort of reddish-brown marbel or granite and show their age with very old carvings of crosses and script. I take my photos and then leave.

Outside I saw a vendor selling the traditional Arab head dress. I buy one since I’ll be heading out into the desert again in a few days time. The street vendors here are extremely pushy and demanding, and if you don’t know how to deal with it, you’ll find yourself in an uncomfortable situation. That’s what happened to Brenda. She had accepted a “gift” from one of the vendors and was being pressured into buying 5 other things from him. I figured that at her age she should know better than to accept any “gifts” but she ended up getting yelled at by the guy. While I was waiting for Rafa to finish his photos inside, I got to witness the Friday noon prayers across the square where the mosque was. Hundreds of men were lined up in the street, the square and sidewalks to do their ritual. It lasted a few minutes then regular life resumed. Rafa finally finished his pics and we then took Brenda to lunch since it was her Birthday. After we called Walid to come take us back to the wall.

One the way back we spoke some more with Walid about the situation between Palestine and Israel. I asked him if he thought there could ever be peace. He was optimistic.

He dropped us off at the wall and we shook hands. He gave us his crd and told us to let him know if we wanted to come back. I noticed his email address and chuckled. it was walid_the_beast@hotmail.com. He was indeed a big guy. We parted ways and began the walk back through the security checkpoint. As I was walking along, looking at the graffiti, i noticed something. On the wall spray painted in black were the words “Walid the beast”.

Back in the old city I decided to split up with everyone. Rafa had met a girl and I felt I needed some quiet time. I realized that this whole trip so far has had me going non-stop with no time to think about or reflect on what I’ve experienced. I decided to go walking through the city and ended back at the wailing wall. It was almost sunset on Friday; Shabbat was beginning and the area was packed. It was all black suits and hats and yarmulkes. There was a crowd away from the wall in the back of the courtyard area of these happy singing and jumping Jews, while the wall area was mostly solemn. They were swaying, reading the Torah or praying out loud. After people watching for awhile I wandered back through the bazaars and ended up running into Rafa and his new friend Zohar.

Zohar is from Tel Aviv and was just passing through Jerusalem. She doesn’t come often, in fact she says most Israelis in the rest of the country don’t like to come to Jerusalem because they think it’s too dangerous. Her mom was apparently worried that she was here. And it wasn’t even necessarily due to the Arab/Israeli conflict. According to her, the Orthodox Jews have been known to get violent if they don’t like the way a lady or man is dressed in their area, and they apparently have infighting between their own sects. She says they don’t work, have huge families and that the reason the taxes are so high here is because of them. They have strong pull in the government so they get what they want. She was quite opinionated about them, and about eh Arab Israeli conflict as well. In fact she explained that in Israel there is a difference between Palestinians and Arabs. Arabs are Arabs that live outside of Palestine among the Israelis, and Palestinians are the Arabs in Palestine. The Arabs and Israelis apparently lived together for a long time peacefully outside of the Palestinian territory, but then when things got hot in the late 90’s and 2000, the Arabs showed up to protest in favor of the Palestinians and by doing so, they harmed their friendly ties with the Jews. She said she used to have friendly neighbors that were Arabs then after the demonstrations she felt they betrayed their trust. After a good hours talk, she had to get back to Tel Aviv so I said goodbye and Rafa walked her to the bus station. I was tired by now and thought I’d relax and call my wife. By the way, hummus here is spelled homos.

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Video from Church of the Nativity

Churchbells from Church of the Nativity

Sabbath Celebration at the Wailing Wall

In the morning we walked up into the newer part of Jerusalem to catch a bus to the dead sea region. It takes about 90 minutes to get there from Jerusalem. Once out of the city you find yourself in the Judean desert surrounded by rolling hills and sand dunes. Along the road we also passed a number of shanty towns made out of wood and sheet metal. Reminded me of some of the places I’ve seen in Mexico, except for the Arab dress. A couple of times we passed hills with sheep and their shepherds. Who knew they still existed?

The Dead Sea region is reminiscent of the deserts in Arizona and northern Mexico. Very dry with large, sheer rock cliffs. The only difference is that there is a huge body of water in the middle of this desert. This is the lowest point on the earth as well. Across the sea you can see the mountains of Moab in Jordan. The water is beautiful, blue and turquoise. We drove along the side of the sea all the way to Masada.

Masada was the last Jewish holdout against the Romans in the first century AD. It’s basically a city Herod built atop a free standing plateau that would make a natural fortification. They built water cisterns and an aqueduct system along the side of the mountain, as well as storerooms for months worth of food. It finally fell when the Romans built a giant siege ramp that they ran up against teh western side of the mountain. By that time however the Jews had opted to kill themselves rather than let the Romans do it.

We acended by cable car the view going up was great, but hte view from Masada is incredible. You can see miles and miles of the Dead Sea and the Arabah Desert as well. It’s breathtaking.

We spent most of the day exploring the ruins. I particularly liked Herod’s palace looking out over the Dead Sea. It must have been amazing in it’s time. You can still see the remains of the frescoes on the walls in some of the rooms. It’s eerie, like being in a ghost town.

At teh end of the day we decided to descend via the Snake Path which zig zags down the mountain. It toook about 40 minutes to finish and you really need strong ankles for it. The path down was lined with caves and a passing American asked if we saw Bin Laden in any of them.

We caught the bus back to Jerusalem but got off at Ein Gedi to see if what we could find. All that was in the area of the highway bus stop was a hostel and Nahal David, the spring David hid from Saul in from the Old Testament. The Spring was closed to we just ended up waiting for the 4:30 bus to come. We decided to go down to see the shore of the Dead Sea. This body of water is quite interesting.

Looking closely it looks like it has some kind of oil solution mixed with it. Not only does it ripple, but underneath the surface there appears to be other ripples that distort the light, like oil in water. The water is very high in minerals being 33 percent solids and no animals can live in it. The shoreline is covered in crystallized salt, looking like a 1/4 inch thick donut glaze on everything be it rock stick or trash. After some photos we go back up to the bus stop only to find we missed our bus. That’s ok though, another comes at 5.

Around 5 the next bus barrels down the road and flys past us. We waited some more and asked a local when the next bus would be. The next was 6 and then at 8, then that’s it for the day. By now it’s dark and cold. and 6 comes and goes so we are starting to worry. We stand close to the white line on the highway making sure the next bus sees us. It’s cold and we are hungry. The only good thing was the clear night sky. Finally close to 7 another bus comes and sees us and stops. I fall asleep on the way back and wake up in Jerusalem. We grab a shwarma in the bus station and head back to the convent for some sleep. Tired but content. Tomorrow Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Should be interesting.

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Video Going up to Masada

Overlooking the Dead Sea at Masada

Atop Masada

The call to prayer woke me up too early and after a while of tossing and turning, I decided to go out onto the terrace and watch the sunrise. First light was just peeking over the Jordanian mountains. Brenda the Canadian lady was already out on the roof top, so we shared a pot of tea and chatted for an hour or so. She said this was her third trip to Jerusalem and that she was recently divorced after 20 years of marriage. She is here to begin writing a book or something. Our conversation was interrupted by a church group singing a hymn at the station of the cross on the street below us. Their song was the only sound that broke the silence of the dawn.

After a breakfast of eggs, cheese, and pita with jam, we headed out the Lions Gate and down through the Kidron Valley to the next hill over, the Mt. of Olives. It’s a steep climb, but it makes sense that Jesus would have come here to both get some solitude and also teach. It’s separated from the city by a valley with rather steep slopes. Close to the city, yet far enough to be away from the chaos. The hillside is covered with olive trees and when you get to the peak there is an observation point that shows you the whole city.

On my map I noticed a point close by that said “Tomb of the Prophets” so we went looking for it. We found it located somewhat off the beaten path and it was being overseen by a French Christian Monk named Pierre. He was a young guy and his duty was to upkeep the tomb and interact with its visitors. He showed us the map, and explained its history then sent us off with a flashlight. We descended into what was really a series of subterranean catacombs dating from 100 AD or so. Rafa and I were the only ones there so we had the whole place to ourselves. We crawled through tombs, climbed into other chambers and took lots of pics. It was all very Indiana Jones. After about an hour we went back up into the land of the living and talked with Pierre for awhile about France, fishing, the Virgin Mary, and our trip so far. We had a nice time and he was truly a nice, gentle soul.

While up on the Mt. we also swung by the Chapel of the Ascension, which is just an empty old chapel with a section of bare rock framed and coated in the floor where it is said Jesus ascended from. Funny thing is at one point it was also converted to a Mosque and had all the tell tale markings still.

After that we went to the Pater Noster church which was a byzantine or Crusader church that was never finished. Upon entering the courtyard you see the stairs going up to the Altar, but no roof, and instead of support columns along the aisles, you have Pine trees. this is called Pater Noster because it is said this is where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer.On all the walls of the building are tile work mosaics containing the Our Father in different languages. I found one in Nahuatl, one of the native tongues of Mexico. That made me smile.

Next we went down the hill to the Church of Mary Magdalene. It’s a big Russian Orthodox church with these big golden onion like domes that make you think of something from Disneyland, or a golden Kremlin. It was closed but i took a chance and opened the gate anyways, only to have some old Russian nun start yelling “Nyet! Nyet!” at me. Sorry Sister Helga!

It was about noon and the other sites were closing for lunch so we thought we’d head back to town and eat. We decided to walk though the Kidron Valley where Absalom’s Pillar, Johosaphats Tomb and Zechariahs Tomb are, then go up through the City of David. The tombs were huge and impressive. Sandstone pillars about 30 ft high carved into the hillside. The were imposing but sadly, in disorder. There was alot of litter around them. Very unkept. I forgot to mention that this hillside is also the place that houses the old Arab and Jewish cemetaries. Imagine hundreds of broken tombstones filling the side of a hill and that’s what this is. We followed the path at the bottom of the valley and found a horse tied to a barrel. We also found a dead horse close by as well. And soccer ball. And more garbage.

We were walking hoping to find the City of David and ended up in one of the surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods. Poor and dirty. Kinda like poor parts of Mexico. I asked a passing lady where City of David was and she only spoke Arabic. I pointed to the name on the map and she pointed us to some stairs in the hill. I thanked her in Arabic and we went up the stairs and found the City of David excavation site. It’s the ruins of the Royal City and is still being excavated. Hezekiah’s Tunnel is also in this area, as well as the Pool of Siloam. We wound our way over the where the Pool was being excavated. I recognized it from a Discovery Channel show I saw this year. The pool was discovered about 2 years ago by accident. What’s cool is that they are still excavating it and have these prospector type guys washing rock and dirt on an excavators table to see if there is anything to find. The pool was huge and they had only unearthed one side and it was about 60 ft. long at least.

We decided to forgo lunch and instead go through Hezekiah’s tunnel. We had to buy sandals and flashlights for this excursion. This tunel was built when the city was under siege by the Babylonians and was built to divert water to the inside of the city. It was dug with two teams digging on opposite sides of the mountain and by miracle, their two winding paths met in the middle. Its about 2500 feet of dark and wet. To get to it we had to descend deep into the mountain and when we hit the bottom, the water was flowing like an underground river. We were the only ones down there and we began trudging through the water that at times was almost waist deep. The water was cold, but clean. The only sound was that of the water and our voices bouncing off the stone walls. The tunnel was snakelike and at times so low you had to duck down and so narrow you had to move sideways. It was both creepy and exhilarating. We made our way through it for about an hour. And by then your’e ready to get out. Still this has been a highlight of our trip, experiencing a piece of history so up close is unforgettable.

After the tunnel we head back down the valley through the Palestinian neighborhood. We were walking down the street when a group of Palestinian kids cae running up screaming “Allahu Akbar!” and throwing up teh victory sign nd also making some obscene gestures. one or two picked up rocks but didnt throw them while we were looking. I guess their training was already under way.

When we got to the valley we saw a little old Arabic guy coming our way. As we passed I greeted hm in Arabic and he responded accordingly then turned around and said “American?” I said what I always say now. “No…Mexican”and he comes up to us speaking in Arabic. we dot know what he is trying to say until he stops and “God” and “One” and points up an all around and then at us. Then he teaches us to say what i think is “there is only one God” using phonetics. In turn I try to teach him to say “Dios te bendigo” (God bless you) in Spanish but he didn’t get it. After a warm smile and handshake we parted ways. I forgot to mention that it looked like 3 of this front teeth had grown in as one tooth.

From there we went up to the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s on the grounds of the Church of All Nations, run by the Franciscans. The garden was quite humble, nothing fancy (for once!). Just a few flowers and olive trees. One interesting fact though was that the current trees are growing in the shell of much older trees that have been dated back to the time of Christ and before. While we were there we got to talk to a Franciscan monk from D.C. but who has been living in the Holy Land for 20+ years. He was explaining to us that the rainy season is 2 months late this year and that they need the rain. We asked him about his clothing and why the knots in his rope belt. They stand for poverty chastity and obedience. One thing he said was interesting, that the more time he spends living with God and without material stuff, the less he wants or needs that material stuff. He says he tries to love simply but can still do more. Then he laughed and said he imagines that those who live for and love material stuff probably wouldn’t like heaven much and may not want or need God in their lives. Then we shook his hand and left.

Our last stop for teh day was the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. This was one of myfavorite places so far. It’s right at the bottom of the valley between the Lions Gate and Gethsemane. On the outside it looks like a litle old chapel, but when you go in you find yourelf descending a set of worn stone steps down into the earth into a cross shaped chamber.

At the bottom on the right underneath much adornment is an old stone crypt with a tomb in it. Above the tomb were paintings and a place to put candles. I felt compelled to light a candle for my Pops. First time I’ve lit a candle this whole trip. I think it’s because my Pops has a special place in his heart for La Virgen and I grew up with that as a part of me too. It was a beautiful, ancient place with an air of solemnity. It was close to closing and so we left and went back to the convent. We ended up having dinner with Brenda and then calling it an early night.

Nights here are hard sometimes becasue I miss my wife the most then. It’s in the quiet times that it really gets me. I wish she could be here too. I think she’d like it.

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Pre-Dawn Hymn from The Rooftop Terrace

Rafa wanted to eat a Jewish breakfast so we went down to the Jewish quarter to see what we could find. I didnt know exactly what a Jewish breakfast was, but hey, I’m down. He ended up getting a bagel because all the restaurants were still closed. I was hungry but not into the bagel so i decided to wait. From where we stood I noticed that they were admitting people into the dome of the Rock /Al Aqsa Mosque area so went went up through the gate.

Immediately upon entry, this little old Arab man comes up to us asking to be our guide. I say no thanks and he persists saying it’s cheap and if we don’t like it don’t pay. I ask how much he charges and he says whatever we think it’s worth or whatever we can pay and what seems right, so we say yes. Big mistake.

So he starts the tour over at the mosque, which is very nice, but we can’t go in because Sharon came in during 2000 and killed 17 muslims, so he says, but the guide says maybe next month. Ok. Then we come up to the Dome of the Rock. The dome is probably the most spectacular building within the walls of Jerusalem. It’s is actually quite breathtaking. It’s covered in multicolored tilework, and capped with a golden metal dome, and it’s just a gorgeous sight to see up close. The unfortunate part of this though, is that we can’t go in here either. So with a little more explanation the tour ends. I thank our guide and give him 20 shekels (about 5 bucks) for his 20 minutes of work. The old guy says it’s not enough and that if we enjoyed the tour and that he wants 400 shekels. I say no way that’s all i have to give, but maybe Rafa can match it. After some argument he manages to get 80 shekels out of Rafa. After that we decided that everyone will get a firm NO from now on.

From the Dome we head back to the Jewish Quarter so I can eat. We go to a Jewish cafe and I get an omlet sandwich. Rafa pulls his bagel out to eat and the waitress freaks out on him saying he can’t eat it there. He asks why and she says it’s the Kosher law. He says he got it from a Kosher store but she won’t hear it. Whatever, It doesn’t matter. Kosher laws? yeah right. We knew she was full of it but respected her wishes anyways.

Afterward we went back through the Muslim quarter and did a little shopping in the bazaar and wound up at the Church of the Redeemer. It’s a pretty old European church with a tall bell tower you can climb up into. we climbed up to the top and right when we got there, the call to prayers started sounding off from the mosques in the area. You could hear so many different ones from the city and ones rolling down off the surrounding hills. It’ like a rush of wind, the mix of voices. After they finished we descended the spiral staircase of the tower and hit the pavement again. shortly after we left the church, the church bells from the tower began to ring. Too bad we missed hearing them up close. we ‘d probably be deaf from it but it sounded beautiful.

We didnt go 5 steps when another “tour guide” that we had run into a few days before that we told we’d come back the next day saw us and came running up. He said we weren’t right becasue we didnt meet him like we said we would and that we need to do the tour now. He was getting pretty annoyng so i just said no and walked away.

Next we went up and out Damascus Gate and went down to see the Garden Tomb. The tomb is set in a very serene garden maintained by a British organization. Some say that this is the authentic tomb of Christ, not the one in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It lies in East Jerusalem, behind the Arab bus station on a hillside that looks suspiciously like a skull face. It was first observed by some British Military guy in the 1800’s and they explored and found what appears to be an unfinished tomb for a rich man. It’s definitely interesting and meets the criteria, but not sure if it’s really Christ’s tomb. Regardless, it’s moving when you think about the implications of an empty tomb on a hill overlooking Jerusalem.

I was craving chocolate so after we left the tomb, i grabbed an Arabic Mars bar. No almonds. what a bummer. We walked back into the old city via Herod’s gate and picked up a couple little meat pockets; deep fried lamb goodness. It was starting to get chilly and late so we thoght we ‘d swing back to the room, but instead found ourselves at the Prison of Christ.

This is apparently the prison that Christ was held in so we went in to see it. It’s run by the Greek Orthodox and is a series of subterranean chambers that have benches carved along the walls with chain holes for locking prisoners by hand into the rock wall. We took a number of photos and in the room that has the big painting of Christ being imprisoned, Rafa jumps up and feeds his legs through the holes that would restrain an ancient prisoner. I snapped a photo before the priest saw him. Next as Rafa was busy taking photos of something, i heard from way in the back chamber a noise like someone walking through shallow water. I went to the back and found a dark chamber that was blocked by a gate. There was no light and when I whispered for Rafa to come hear, it suddenly stopped. I got creeped out because it seemed to have stopped right when i told Rafa to come listen. He never heard it.

Next we were off to St. Annes Monastery and the Pools of Bethesda. The monastery is all enclosed, and has its own courtyard in addition to being adjacent to the pools. The ruins of the Pools of Bethesda went down at least 50 feet from the level we were at. This is the place where Jesus healed a paralyzed man. It was getting close to closing so we had to hurry. No one was around so we descended into the ruins and even crossed a few guard rails to get up close. We wanted to get up and into one of the cisterns. They were dark and some still containing water. It was a little creepy going into the chambers in complete darkness and seeing water flowing among grecian columns. From there we went up into the Basilica of St. Anne. The church is a natural amplifier. It was large and spacious and the sound just keeps bouncing off the walls. To remain in compliance with the sign that read “religious hymns only” Rafa sang christmas songs to hear the echos, and I sang “Padre Nuestro” and another song from my childhood. It was about to close so we left and went back to the convent to retire to the tranquility of the rooftop view. Sharing the area with us was a lady from Canada named Brenda who had just arrived that day. We chatted with her for a bit then decided to eat and then call it a night.

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Video from the Citadel of David

Call to Prayer from the Church of the Redeemer Tower

Many Calls to Prayer and Church Bells

The Very Busy Bazaar

The Rooftop Terrace

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