2 Camels

Just a couple of pics of the camel ride...

Our Summer Vacation 2008

Israel and Egypt

We made a commitment a few years ago that our travels/vacations/journeys would always be either educational or contributing to the place where we journey. Well, I don’t know how much we contributed on this journey, but it certainly was educational as we had hoped it would be.

We scheduled our vacation time around when the head of the Regional Health Bureau would be away for a one month training conference - August. The day before we left, Charlie said he had been informed by this gentleman that “I have been able to get out of the conference, isn’t that great?” But our plans were made and we went!

ISRAEL:

We began our journey by meeting up with a young friend from Albuquerque and having breakfast at the Old Port in Tel Aviv (a rather trendy and recently restored shipping port) and then it was off to Jerusalem.

We traveled through the old and new city of Jerusalem exploring the traditional Christian sites, spent a day in the West Bank going to Bethlehem and then south to Hebron, and then traveled north to Caesarea exploring some amazing Roman ruins and then on north to the border with Lebanon. Our last stop of the day was in Haifa and then it was back to Tel Aviv. That drive is about 3 hours along the Mediterranean cost and is stunningly beautiful!

Jerusalem, Jerusalem – what to say? Not traveling with a “Christian” tour was eye opening as there were many questions asked and discussed that I have no doubt would never have been broached otherwise. As we journeyed through the old and new city the sacredness of this “holy” place was diminished for us for numerous reasons; the violence toward and suffering of the Palestinian people, and the attitude of our guide(s) toward the Muslim/Palestinian people which came out in numerous blatant ways.

The West Bank – what an education! We were told by numerous people that we should not go to the West Bank without going on a “tour” bus. We asked how to get to the check point by bus over and over and EVERYONE said ‘don’t do that, take a tour bus.” Well we said “me thinks they protest to much” so off we went on a local bus to discover what everyone wanted us to avoid.

As you can imagine, it was sad; the WALL, the heart wrenching graffiti on the wall, seeing the encroaching settlements, learning of the incentives offered to those who are willing to build in the settlements (no taxes, free utilities, free land, etc…), the humiliation of the checks points that the Palestinians endure daily (not to mention the time involved), encountering the lives and stories of Palestinians first hand, seeing the militarization of the West Bank, and encountering seething tension in the men as they shared what’s happening to them. Example; Our Palestinian guide at the Church of the Nativity, in response to my query as to how often he was able to travel outside of the West Bank said “That’s not the question!” I responded “what should I have asked?” He said “The question is why is someone who has just come to Israel for the first time in their life and doesn’t even speak the language, living on our land and standing with a gun at a check point get to decide where I can go? I was born here, my family has been here for generations and this person who arrived 4 months ago and doesn’t speak the language decides my life?”

Samer, the taxi driver we were blessed to encounter on the Palestinian side of the wall, spent the entire day with us. Our time with Samer and his encouragement to travel to Hebron and visit the mosque there was quite an education along with spending the end of the day (about 2 ½ hours) with his wife, 3 children, mother and father, who prepared a feast for us of humus, Greek salad, fresh baked bread, tomato soup, baked eggplant, olives, grapes, and figs! Now we know why everyone said “take a tour bus!”

Our last day in Israel was spent on a bus going from Jerusalem to Eilat where we walked across the border to Taba (Egypt). We saw the beautiful and enormous (I had no idea it was soooo big) Dead Sea, driving ¾ of the way around it on our way to Eilat. On the bus we encountered a young couple (Jewish) who were more than a little discouraged with their country. The young man had just finished serving 3 years in the Israeli army and was very disillusioned. His story reminded me of David Cortright’s (author of Gandhi and Beyond,). Cortright says “My commitment to peace began, ironically, when I was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War…. As I learned about war and militarism firsthand, I experienced what theologian John Howard Yoder later told me was a crisis of conscience. I was overwhelmed with doubt and disillusionment and came to see the war as unjust and evil. It was a shattering experience that turned my world upside down. Thus began a lifelong dedication to peace…” Through this young man’s story, I have no doubt that’s where he was – in the midst of a crisis of conscience and disillusionment!

EGYPT

Having walked through the long security checks points leaving Israel we arrive at Egyptian Immigration. Remember the young couple on the bus? Well at this point they get pulled aside and eventually refused entry. They were really looking forward to camping on the Sinai and snorkeling and getting out of Israel (the young lady had said). However, there was something wrong with his passport and they were not allowed entry – this after a 4 ½ bus rid from Jerusalem!

We will not soon forget our first encounter with an Egyptian. He was to be the driver of our van taking us from Taba to Dahab (a 2 ½ hour ride). He held us HOSTAGE VIA AIR CONDITIONER! The inside of the van was at least 130+F (outside temp around 110F) and when we ask him to turn on the air conditioner he refused saying we must pay him $20. We told him to let us out, we would arrange other transport. He wouldn’t stop, but kept driving!! Finally, Dee said to either turn around and let us out or call Desert Divers (who had arranged the transport) thinking he surely wouldn’t do that – WRONG. He called them chatted for awhile in Arabic only to be told to TURN ON THE AIR CONDITIONER!!!!!!

We have never seen the color blue as it is expressed in the Gulf of Aqaba. It is so incredibly intensely deep blue that it seems more like something out of an artist’s imagination, not a real color. After having driven by the Dead Sea and the area around it, which reminded me of Death Valley, we drove along a coast line that had this beautiful blue sea on one side and these incredibly harsh tall desert mountains on the other. About half way to Dahab, our wonderful driver said “You want Bedouin tea?” pulling over at this road side place before either of us could respond. The stop, of course, wasn’t about Bedouin tea. Actually, it was a place for his family/friends to sell their wares, but we have not been in a shopping mode, so we were no doubt a disappointment to the people there.

Dahab is a small village on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula right on the Red Sea, about 80 miles north of Sharm Al Sheik. Everyone refers to Sharm Al Sheik as the Las Vegas of Sinai so we avoided it! We stayed in a small bed and breakfast run by a Danish couple and were directly behind Desert Divers so we didn’t have to rent a car or hop taxi’s all the time – very convenient and relaxing. Our B&B and dive center were very near the board walk along the beach, maybe 30 meters. There were shops and kitchens on one side of the boardwalk, leaving the ocean front side for dining. Elaborate awnings of wood covered with beautiful fabric, strewn pillows on cushions to sit on (some much like Taos Beds), low coffee-type tables to eat at, candles and patio lighting, with floors of raked and watered sand or rugs thrown on top of the sand. We dined most evenings right on the sea watching the moon rise over Saudi Arabia – it (the moon and Saudi) were so close it felt like you could reach out and touch them! Lots of fresh fish and good Bedouin and Egyptian food was devoured.

After two days of local dives (which were spectacular – healthy coral, loads of fish) we ventured out on a camel dive. We just got an email from some friends back in Albuquerque who said their son thinks a “camel dive” is some kind of new technology, and their daughter things they put camels in swimming pools! What it actually was: One boards a camel at 6AM that is packed with diving gear and tanks, rides 1 ½ hours to a Bedouin village, dives at a most pristine site called Ras Abu Gallum (means father moon), eats incredible food prepared by the Bedouin’s, naps dives again, naps, makes a third dive, boards the camel again as the sun goes behind the mountains and journey’s 1 ½ back via camel. Unless, like for one of us, the camel ride is so incredibly miserable half way back you have to get down and walk! Picture this journey with the beautiful Red Sea on one side and the huge mountains of the Sinai on the other. Walking wasn’t so bad after all.

We both took a day off diving to recover from our journey to Ras Abu Gallum. The next two days, I had to do some diving with others, as Charlie had a problem clearing his right ear. After his missing a day diving and feeling worse, we took him to see a local doc who said his ear looked fine - maybe the flu as it had been going around. Two more days missed, feeling exactly like he had the flu was a bummer being in this spectacular setting!! Our last day he went on the first dive, but simply couldn’t make the second – REAL BUMMER!!

No doubt you’ve gleaned that the majority of our time in Egypt was recreational rather than educational or contributing in anyway (other than the economy!! Ha ha) Milad, our 28 year old Egyptian dive master educated us a great deal. We sought out opportunities, over cups and cups of Bedouin tea, for him to share his story and it is a fascinating, often sad, and sometimes hilarious story! Remind us to share this one over a cup of tea as it must be shared in person!

On the bus ride back to Tel Aviv we once again passed by a Crusaders village built around 1100 AD. Someone on the bus gave me a brochure about another crusader village which reads:

“The Bible relates how the king of Israel and his allies from Judah and Edom ravaged

Moab and besieged its king Mesha in the fortress of Kir Heres, as the place was called 29 centures ago (2 Kings, vs. 3). Pressed hard, Mesha sacrificed his oldest son on the city walls of Kemosh, the god of Moab, causing Kemosh’s wrath to fall upon the besiegers, who stopped their attacks and returned home. Says the Bible. King Mesha, in his turn, has left us his version of the events in an inscription carved on a basalt stone, the Stele of Mesha. Far from mentioning any Moabite defeat, he claims to have destroyed his enemies forever.” AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF CONFLICTING WAR COVERAGE!

Just as our journey began, it ended at a beautiful restaurant at the Old Port back in Tel Aviv as we awaited our 1AM flight back to Addis Abba. We shared a beautiful meal and marveled at how many people, even couples with young children, were out so late on a week night, even being seated for dinner at 10:30PM! Finally I asked our waiter if everyone here was a tourist and he said “Oh no, it’s just that it’s Tuesday, you know.” “No, I don’t know. What’s so special about Tuesday?” He explained “You know, there’s something in the creation story in the Hebrew Bible about on Tuesday God created twice as much, so every Tuesday for the Jew is a celebration” Everyday, with any luck, we learn something new!

ADDIS ABBA

Charlie’s ear is still painful so we find another doctor who tells him “no infection” but suggests he sees an ENT doctor. The one he is referred to can’t see him for a week so we call some good friends who take us to a local ENT doctor and he says he has “something” (I suspect microscopic sea critters) in his ear which he suctions out, then says “oh, I see the ear drum now, it’s red and infected.” He prescribes Agumentin and Ibuprohen and we fly home, relieved to know it’s not a diving injury.

Last night, after 48 hours of Agumentin and no improvement - we decided to switch to some Cipro that we brought along with us. Now, after only one dose Charlie says he feels better. In hindsight we should have started the Cipro in the first place, but we were both concerned about an eardrum diving problem. Soooo – 3 doctors later, we’re self treating!!! If tomorrow doesn’t produce definitive improvement, we’ll make an appointment back in Addis with the ENT that it takes a week to get into see!!!