Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 132

I have felt no more danger in Jordan or Israel than I do in Richmond or Baltimore. The Muslims are friendly, the Jews are welcoming, and whatever hatreds or conflicts they have do not boil over in plain sight. Old women walk the streets of new Jerusalem after dark, and there are NOT soldiers everywhere. The only time I saw soldiers was when we visited the Wailing Wall. Hundreds of armed soldiers were there, but as visitors, not as defenders. They say it is good when the soldiers are visiting, because the little Palestinian boys don't throw rocks at people as much when the soldiers are there. This is not to say that there is not a need for caution. Our guide is courteous with the Muslims, just as our Jordanian guide had nothing ill to ... read more

It is impossible to express the feelings associated with walking these streets. I stood on Mount Zion. Here Abraham met Melchizedek (probably aka "Shem", the son of Noah). Here the Jebusites held out against King Saul, but King David conquered the city, made it his capital, and built his palace. From this hill he looked down onto Bathsheba's rooftop. I visited Hezekiah's tunnel and the Pool of Siloam, intended to protect the city's water supply during attack. Jesus also visited here, miraculously restoring sight to a blind man. We then passed through Zion's Gate and into the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. Awe-inspiring is not an adequate way to describe this. God Almighty was present here, for here shone the Shekinah above the temple. Here Jehovah sent his Son to live and to die. ... read more

The Negeb is an unbelieveably harsh and desolate place. There are huge canyons, immense cliffs, and very little plant life. During the Exodus, both Edom and Moab refused to allow Israel to cross their territory, forcing the Israelites to enter the Negeb. Aaron the High Priest died on Mt. Hor. One of the few cities in the Negeb was Beersheba. The ancient city is now an archeological site. We saw a well that was dug by Abraham, filled in by the Philistines, and then Abimelech and Abraham concluded an oath that the Philistines wouldn't do that anymore. Abraham paid Abimelech seven livestock for the promise, so Beersheba means "Well of the Oath" and also "Well of the Seven". It was from here that Abraham was sent to sacrifice Isaac on Moriah. Isaac and Jacob both lived ... read more

So I have had some terror stories with exchanges while I was in high school. I did an exchange freshman year, to Paris and the family had two children I remember the age of the children but not the names.. The daughter was 13 and the brother was 17. I was so excited because it was the first time in a long time that I have gone abroad. I walked into hell or at least it felt that way. The parents were getting a divorce, the daughter didnt really speak english (i guess that was the point) and the father spoke to me in hebrew; how ironic. This also took place while the war on terrorism broke out and the French were not the fondest people of America. The second story actually happened in Israel and ... read more

Arrived in Israel yesterday - its like going back in time in someways but overlaid with a modern city. Hired a car and drove from the airport to Jerusalem (on the other side of the road) and managed to find the hotel somehow. It is like there are no road rules here or at least no one uses them! Chaos! The car horn is like another word in the Hebrew language and used more frequently. The old city areas of Jerusalem are incredible, got lost in the old quarter that was home to Hassic Jews, all walking and totally ignoring the car - no wonder the road toll in Israel is so high. The old streets and houses could have been out of an old movie set in biblical times and we have not even visited ... read more