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04/15/15. Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Finally checked out of the Jerusalem Hostel and headed for Mt Zion via the Zion Gate. Oskar Schindler's grave (cenotaph?), King David's tomb (mostly Hassidic Jews, and separate visiting areas for men & women, of course), then the room where The Last Supper took place (Christian symbols of lamb and pelicans... pelicans?) also where the disciples received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and started speaking in "foreign tongues". This event culminated in the baptism of 3000 followers of Jesus, marking the birth of Christianity.
Now back through the middle of the Old City, for the best hummus in Jerusalem at Abu Shukri, located near the Fifth Station of the Cross. Out through the Damascus Gate, and bus for Bethlehem (1 hour, 8 sh). No checkpoints entering Palestine. I am the only tourist in sight, but nobody is staring - in fact, I am pretty much ignored (except for a very professional hard sell effort when I get off the bus to take a taxi and see the sights). Walked along Pope Paul VI St through wonderful souk selling local goods, esp. fruits & vegetables, mostly women shoppers, again no tourists, and no tourist items for sale. I am in heaven.
Checked into Bethlehem Youth Hostel, in a dorm room with 10 beds - I am the only guest. 80 sh.
Sauntered back to the Church of the Nativity, which is undergoing a major overhaul, and viewed where Jesus was born (marked by a 14 point star). I was the only one in the church. On exiting Met Khalid, a taxi driver / tour guide who soon had me lined up for Shepherd's Field (blah), Herodium (King Herod's hilltop fortress / palace), Mar Saba Monastery and St. George's Monastery (amazing views from across a deep wadi), occasional glimpses of the security fence, and stops to photograph the graffiti on the fence and adjacent buildings.
Returned to Bethlehem and Khalid's uncle's shop to buy silver necklaces for Rachael and Caren, a graffiti t-shirt for Dana, olive wood carvings for Marcia, and a mezuzah for Irv. Not cheap, but I'd rather the money went to Palestinians than Jews.
Dinner at a local spot: roast chicken and various side dishes, plus a liter of coke to share: 130 sh for both. Too expensive, and I complained. I think it registered.
Oskar Schindler's grave
Mar Saba Monastery
St George's Monastery
04/16/15. Bethlehem.
Arranged with Khalid after much bargaining to see more stuff around Jerusalem. Raining hard in the morning, but not at lower elevations (eg below sea level) I was assured. First off, Jericho of course, all 10,000 years of it (world's oldest stairway), then a walk up to the 12th century Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Qurantul (Monastery of the Forty) which clings to the side of the Mount of Temptation. Lots of Ethiopian tourists, mainly older women in white garments with wooden staffs - tough old birds. This is where the Devil tested Jesus, suggesting that after a 40 day fast He should make a loaf of bread from a stone. The 400m climb was the first test of my $50 "Nike" shoes with fluorescent green laces & trim, and so far, so good (I gave my worn out Hokas to the shoe salesman yesterday, who was a bit grossed out by them.) I bought $50 worth of Dead Sea mud plus removal magnet for Caren at the Jericho gift shop, after lots of bargaining.
Next, Moses' tomb (really! Although I'm not sure how he ended up there). Finally, Hisham's Palace, the winter hunting retreat of Caliph Hisham Ibn Abd al-Malik (8th century), the "Versailles of the Middle East". Amazing "tree of life" mosaic, and schoolgirls everywhere (nice group photo with me in the middle). Dinner at Khalid's big house: delicious lamb and rice, a real treat. He has 4 sons, 3 daughters, and 8 grandchildren, and nobody has work except Khalid - no wonder he bargains so hard!
His eldest son Sami (sp?) and beautiful wife offered to take me to Nablus and Samaria tomorrow. I of course accepted.
Qurantul Monastery
Tree of Life mosaic
04/17/15. Hebron.
Disastrous start. Khalid picked me up at 8:30, as agreed upon, but no son or son's wife. When I inquired, Khalid gave some vague excuse about Sami being "tired". I then asked what the plan was, and what it would cost. He said Nablus, for 900 sh. I had thought we were going to have a family outing, and that it would cost nothing. How naive of me! Big argument, ending with me really pissed at him for taking advantage of me, and demanded he drive me straight back to the hostel. I paid him 100 sh. I think he lost a lot of face with his family.
OK, on to disaster #2. Walking to Rachel's Tomb, I was accosted by a guy who said he could take me to the tomb without going through the checkpoint, and then get me to the mini bus for Hebron, all for 70 sh (bargained down from 200). When will I learn? Being Palestinian, he of course couldn't go to Rachel's Tomb, since the checkpoint to it is restricted to non-Palestinians. All he could do was take me to an adjacent cemetery and point to its exterior. Then, to get me to the mini bus, he asked for 20 sh, which I stupidly gave to him. He flagged down a taxi and, it turns out, only gave him 10 sh for the short ride. While fishing for the 20 sh, I dropped my wallet, and only just caught him Extracting a 100 sh note surreptitiously. I ended up giving him 50 sh (plus the 10 he didn't hand over to the taxi driver). The mini bus to Hebron? 9 sh.
Never mind - Hebron was amazing. Terrific souk, no tourists, no tourist crap for sale. Incredibly complicated system of walls, checkpoints, observation towers. Found a nice young man to guide me around. Rather surreal: he would describe an item of interest, then wait for me while I went through the checkpoint to see the item, because he wasn't allowed through. Lots of pro-Israeli propaganda on the Israel side, justifying the division of the city. I talked to a number of Palestinians about the situation, and they were remarkably level headed and rational - mostly confused, not understanding why Israel is being so mean to them. The settler developments came up a lot. That, and the lack of freedom of movement. Pretty grim situation.
Took a bus back to Jerusalem, checked back into the Jerusalem Hostel, booked Mike's tour of Masada and the Dead Sea for tomorrow. Writing this from a Chinese Restaurant, the only place to eat I could find this Shabbat.
04/18/15. Masada, Dead Sea.
First stop at Jericho, where I hung out with the entry guy (coffee, tea, o.j., 3 postcards) for an hour, while the others on the tour went up to the monastery on the cable car. Not one tourist visited Jericho. Discussed life, love, politics, Thai women, you name it. A great way to start the day..
Then on to Masada - hiked it both ways. A great site. Everybody else took the cable car, of course.
Finally, the Dead Sea. Wonderful. It was Shabbat, and the place was packed. I opted for a float, but no mud. Excellent afternoon.
Met two guys from Moldavia (!) on the bus, and decided that would be a great country to visit: dirt poor, nothing to see, major industry child slavery. What could be better?
Masada
The Dead Sea
04/19/15. Jerusalem to Nimrod.
Tram - bus to Tel Aviv - bus to Kiryat Shemona - bus to Nimrod fortress - check out fortress - walk to Druze village Ein Qinya - hitch from nice Druze guy to top of village - walk to Nimrod town - sleep in Nimrod campsite (nobody there).
Nimrod is a massive medieval Crusader-Ayyubid fortress in the Golan Heights, built in the 13th century to defend against the Mongols and Crusaders.
Nimrod
04/20/15. Nimrod to Tel Hai.
Had to talk guy at entrance for a free pass so I could get to the trail from Nimrod. Tough downhill rocky slog (Israel is made of rocks), then easier going for awhile. Met two guys at the official INT start at Tel Dan, and partook of a fine meal at the kibbutz. Then off until it got dark, and had to stealth camp in a forest reserve. On the way, found a McDonalds while crossing highway 99: burger, coke, fries: $10. Meat not as good as the other burgers I've had in Israel. Good luck, McDonald's.
04/21/15. Tel Hai to Tel Dishon.
Two book days in one. Some very slow bouldering down stream beds, but when the trail started to border the highway, and was full of nettles, I opted for road walking. Currently in the back yard of the convenience store (40 sh), getting ready to call it a day. Able to recharge phone and charger, but camera may have given up. Forecast is 3 days of rain.
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