The holy land... or so they say-

I would have written a blog from the geographical location of Israel, but all the websites were in Hebrew, including blogger, and I couldn't figure out what it was telling me to fix...
When people ask, "So how was it?" I guess the only thing i can tell them is--It was crazy.
In short- I spent time in Galilee, Tel Aviv, the dead Sea, and Jerusalem. We played in the Mediterranean, splashed in Galilee, floated in the dead sea, walked the streets of the old city, walked the streets of the new, walked the walls of the old city, ate falafels, played with Sheri and Family, explored Tel Aviv with Tal...and had adventure after adventure.
I guess what I would really like to tell you about is the texture of the experience. In some ways it seemed pretty normal outside the "old city" but then i forget: its a little different then america when EVERY where you go, your bag gets searched or put through an X-ray machine, you get wanded, or your car gets searched. Security at the entrances to everything,(including corner markets) and all the way along the road- Check points, check points. Soldiers with their guns over their shoulders- and it wasn't so much the automatic weapons, loaded and carelessly strung on the backs of the soldiers that was disturbing, but more the age of the soldiers. In Israel everyone, boys and girls, have to join the army at 18 and serve 3 years.

There is the call to prayer that happens 5 times a day, including a 4 am call to prayer, where a voice sings a melodic verse through the loud speaker of every mosque. Its quite enchanting. From the top of the mount of Olives, you can hear many many calls to prayer echoing off the hills.

The Christians have built cathedrals over every flipping thing. Grr.
The Jews are starting to build a wall, yes, when the rest of the world is tearing down walls they are building them, i guess to further divide themselves from the palestinians...

We could only drive through the west bank during daylight. Our friend who has lived there his whole life had never even driven through at all.

I guess apart from the things to see, and the friends we got to play with--the thing that sticks the most is the severity of the conflict between the Jews and Palestinians... We took a photo to express the unrest. Its a photo of Erin, with 2 different coke cans. One in Hebrew, one in Arabic. A kind cabbie explained to us that arabic coke is made in Ramalah (west bank-Palestinian city) while Hebrew coke is made in Tel Aviv. They don't even trust each other with their coke. (Arabic coke is better) (this photo is at the end of the slide show)

To conclude my long, yet informationless ramble, I would like to say that getting into the country took 10 minutes. However getting out took almost 3 hours, NO lines, but going through X-ray machines, metal detectors, being interviewed, having all our luggage searched by hand, and tested for explosives, along with every liquid item being tested, searched, searched, searched. I felt quite safe getting on that plane. sheesh.

Home again. Jetlag heaven.