Over the last few weeks I have:
1. Visited Dahab in Sinai twice
2. Hung out in Cairo with my sister
3. Visited Jerusalem for a grand total of 24 hours
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. My sister, Staci, visited me in Egypt for a week. It was her first time here, and considering she does not look like me everyone assumed we were dating. I don't know how many times I was called "Lucky man" as we walked the Cairo markets.
After showing her around Cairo for a few days, we caught an overnight bus to Dahab where we intended to spend three days relaxing on the beach. After a day however, we made the spontaneous decision to catch a bus to the border in order to visit Jerusalem the following day. So, after a two hour bus ride to the border, a quick Israel interrogation inquiring why I was carrying Arabic books in my bag, and a five hour bus ride from Eilat we arrived in Jerusalem.
Random observations from my 24 hours there:
1. Israel is fairly low-key, even a bit boring. Of course, I am coming from Cairo, which is like New York on crack, but the streets were generally empty after 9pm.
2. Israel is bloody expensive. One US dollar equals about 3.3 shekels... with small sandwiches easily costing 18 to 20 shekels.
3. (Jewish) Israelis really like Americans. We had some really pleasant conversations in our short time there with young Israelis on buses, around the city, and in restaurants. While sitting on the bus, an old man turned to Staci and told her that her boyfriend (me) is beautiful. It was a bit odd, but he said she was beautiful too.
4. Palestinian Israelis are fairly prevalent throughout Jerusalem, although we saw some being searched while walking throughout the Old City. Each one we talked to was dying to leave however, particularly the Christians in the Old City.
5. Israeli women are stunningly beautiful.
Staci left yesterday morning, and I have only a few more days left before returning to Sofia for the Helms' Reunion. Soon after I head back to DC and start summer classes. I've had a great time, although I'm missing some intellectual stimulation and am looking forward to taking classes again.
You can find more of my pictures from Jerusalem here:
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1 comments:
Andrew, great post, great information. I am happy you got to Israel finally. I hope you will have opportunity in the future to spend more time there. Such an interesting place, so much history, so much love, so much violence and death over the years. When I read the O.T. accounts of the development of Jerusalem, its destruction, its rebuilding and destruction again, it makes me wonder about what is next for that magical yet sorry place. I think I would be deeply moved to see the old city, take a tour of biblical places, especially those mentioned in the N.T. Yet, my faith has never been based upon a physical place, rather spiritual truths. I relate strongly to Christ's words as he spoke to the woman at the well and the concept of worshipping in "Wisdom and Truth." If more people would do that sort of thing, then perhaps we could move about the world, the "Holy Land" with out fear and trembling. We could, in fact, face the future with greater joy in our collective hearts. Oh, well. Thank you for the update. Very informative. Keep this stuff coming even when you are in the U.S. studying. It helps this old dog see a little farther beyond the horizon.
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