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Published: April 28th 2013
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, many American attitudes toward the Middle East and Islam were quite negative and, in some cases, openly hostile. I found my world turned upside down and felt as though my childhood was suddenly over. The time had come to make my own decisions about other countries and peoples, relying no more on the perspectives of family and friends. It was a defining turning point of my life, but once I became caught up in university applications and music school auditions, the events of that terrible day faded into the background. Never did I imagine that I, myself, would one day journey to those distant lands.
Sometime over the Christmas holiday, I had a conversation with my Mom about her long-held desire to visit the Holy Land and see for herself the places mentioned in the Bible. I, too, had become interested in the idea over the past couple of years, and so our conversation ended with the promise of 'someday.' Little did we know that less than four months later, we would be on a plane bound for Tel Aviv, Israel. When the timing is right,
life has a funny way of bringing everything together.
Our pilgrimage began a mere two weeks after I'd returned to the US from my work trip to China. I don't remember the last time I was so excited about an adventure abroad. My enthusiasm was likely due to a number of factors: spending quality time with my Mom after years in China; taking a break from the daily grind; exploring an area of the world I'd never before experienced; the opportunity to walk the same roads that so many biblical figures walked over 2,000 years ago. I was certain it would be an experience that would change me forever, and I was right.
After arriving in Tel Aviv, we were escorted to our hotel on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea for dinner and an overnight stay. The views from our balcony were incredible--a magnificent sunset over the azure waters of the Mediterranean to the left and the cityscape of downtown Tel Aviv to our right. Mom and I stood on the balcony marveling at the fact that we were in Israel. Israel. That exotic land of holy figures and places. It was time to get biblical.
The first day of our journey into the Bible lands began with a visit to Caesarea by the Sea, where Paul left for his final missionary journey. In 10 BC, Augustus Caesar appointed Herod the Great to build a massive breakwater, which formed a horseshoe of protection around the entire bay. On the coast, he built some of the most impressive architectural works in the Roman world: an amphiteather, citadel, palace, hippodrome, city walls and gates, paved squares, and other marvels. It was here that Pontius Pilate lived; the foundation of his house was on a rock in the middle of the harbor that exists to this day. Later in the day, we traveled to the site of King Solomen's ancient 'chariot city' of Megiddo, which lay atop the ruins of 20 cities overlooking the great battlefields of ancient Palestine. En route to our hotel in Tiberias that evening, we drove through Cana, the city where Jesus turned water into wine.
The next morning began with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. It was an incredible feeling to look out over the glistening water and imagine Jesus walking atop the waves to greet his disciples in the
midst of a terrible storm--especially since the day we were on the water it was as smooth as glass and sunny! The crew of the 'Jesus Boat' (as it was called) began our ride by hoisting an American flag next to the Israeli flag at the stern and playing the American national anthem. While aware this was a tourist gimmick, it was still nice to see the flags of both countires flying side-by-side. We also visited the Road to Damascus, which runs from Jerusalem, Israel to Damascus, Syria and was the place where Paul had his conversion experience. We were able to view the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force settlement, which was established on May 31, 1971 to implement Resolution 338, which called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Syria to end the 1973 Yom Kippur War. On October 6, 1973, in a surprise joint attack, Egypt attacked Israeli forces on the Suez Canaland in the Sinai peninsula while Syria attacked Israeli forces on the Golan Heights. The Israelis were able to stop the attacks and retake most of the lost ground. The United Nations Force has been supervising the ceasefire ever since; before the Syrian civil war, the
situation in the Israeli-Syria border area had remained quiet and without serious incident. It was amazing to look out over the land from our vantage point and see across the border to Syria from where we were standing.
The following day, we journeyed to the Mount of Beautitudes. It was in these hills high above the sea that Jesus gave us the beautiful words from Matthew's gospel. From there, we continued to Capernaum, the area where Jesus spent most of his ministry and to Beit She'an, Roman ruins that were continuously inhabited for 5,000 years. We concluded the day with a visit to the Jordan River, the place where John baptized Jesus. We sat quietly, watching other Christian groups receiving baptism in the shallow waters by their various clergymen. Though our faith does not practice the physical act of baptism, it was inspiring to see others so clearly moved from the experience.
The prior evening, our Jewish tour guide had given us a small taste of the Shabbat experience. He said a few prayers in Hebrew, shared with us some bread and salt, and explained some of the (many) rules governing shabbat. The next evening, as I was
early for dinner, I sat down to play the piano in the hotel lobby. I was in the middle of a piece by Brahms when I was shaken out of my reverie by the frantic tones of the restaurant manager.
No, no, no! No music! he nearly shouted. Confused, I hurriedly stopped playing and stood up to inquire what was the matter. The piano was electronic, I was informed, and that was forbidden before sundown on shabbat. Bewildered, I checked under keyboard for the telltale player piano equipment. There was none. What was the problem? To this day, I have no idea what the rationale is behind disallowing music on Shabbat, but since it was a kosher hotel, it was forbidden.
Day six found us heading across the border to Jordan after watching the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. I was immediately struck by the difference in fashion for women as we crossed Sheikh Hussein Bridge and formally entered the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. I was thankful I'd elected to wear flowing pants and a modest top; many women were decked out in head scarves and neck-to-ankle dresses.
In Jordan, tour groups are sometimes randomly assigned a
'tourist police officer', someone designated to be with the group in case of trouble, such as a flat tire or personal emergency. Our group was lucky enough to be assigned a handsome young fellow, who would be our constant shadow for the three days we spent in the Arab world. Our first stop together was at a high pass overlooking the Jabbock River, where Jacob wrestled with the angel until the break of day. We continued on to the beautiful capital city of Amman, a limestone cityscape simply teeming with life. We learned from our guide that of the seven million people living in Jordan, a mere three million are native Jordanians. The remaining four million are immigrants or refugees escaping conflict in surrounding conflict areas, such as Syria. I was amazed by the hospitality illustrated by the Jordanian people and their government as I thought ruefully of the many immigration quotas imposed by my own government back in the US.
Our second day in Jordan, we visited the Christian village of Madaba to see an ancient mosaic map of the Holy Land, which was thought to be nearly 2,000 years old. Next, we visited Mount Nebo from which
Moses viewed the Promised Land and Machaerus, a mountaintop fortress palace overlooking the Dead Sea. We spent the majority of the day driving along the King's Highway en route to Petra. The vista views from the winding, cliff-top highway were spectacular. I will be forever indebted to superb finesse of our driver as we navigated through hairpin turns next to sheer cliffs thousands of feet high!
Our third, and final, day in Jordan was spent exploring the Rose Red City of Petra. The 2,000 year old city was carved by the Nabataens out of the native rock and has been protected through the centuries by a ring of mountains surrounding the area. After a brief horse ride to the dramatic
ciq, or canyon, we walked to the famous Treasury, which is carved in pink stone and is the setting for the final Indiana Jones film. We also took in the Roman Theatre, the Corinthian Tomb, and the Palace Tomb on our way to the Roman Road before traveling from Petra to the port city of Aqaba for dinner and overnight.
On day nine, we crossed the border from Jordan back into Israel, with some reluctance. I had fallen
in love with the amazing warmth and hospitality of the Jordanian people. I was even toying with the idea of studying Arabic--and fantasizing about a new adventure in the Middle East! It was somewhat of a culture shock to reenter the Jewish State of Israel, which felt colder and more military in nature than Jordan. As we crossed the bridge serving as the border between the two countries, we each had to present our passports to the well-armed Jordanian border patrol before being waved through. As I stepped up to take my turn, the young man gestured for me to remove my sunglasses as he studied my passport photo page. Once he could see my eyes, his face broke into an enormous smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he let me pass--which became an endless source of amusement among the group for the rest of the trip!
Our first stop back on Israeli soil was at the Eilat Bird Sanctuary, where we learned about the great work they're doing in the strategic migration route between Africa and Europe. Over two billion birds from hundreds of different species will stop in the sanctuary before flying over the Sahara
Desert en route to warmer climates in the winter and before heading north to Europe in the summer. We were enjoying the warm temperatures and refreshing breeze as we sat beneath a canopy outside at the sanctuary when suddenly there was the undeniable sound of a loud explosion, quickly followed by a second explosion. Our guide paused, listening. Air raid sirens began to wail as a third and fourth explosion were heard. Looking concerned, he bid us to go inside the tiny staff office and gift shop on the grounds. As we squeezed together, no one in our group looked outwardly concerned, but I knew that we were each praying for protection. We soon learned that Islamic militants in the Sinai peninsula had fired rockets toward Israeli--only about two miles away from where we were. Thankfully, no one was injured and property damage was minimal. It was a rare occurrence, our guide assured us; that incident was only the third in the past ten years. Despite what had happened, I continued to feel absolutely safe and protected in the region, as did the others in the group. I knew that our adventure could continue without being influenced by a sense
of fear or uncertainty. And it did.
After the excitement in Eilat, we were happy to spend time in quiet reflection on the bus as we journeyed through the Negev Desert on our way to Jerusalem. We made a stop at Qumram, the site where a Bedouin shepherd made the initial discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls are a collection of 972 texts discovered between 1946 and 1956 in what was then British Mandate Palestine and since 1947 has been known as the West Bank. The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance, because they include the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon, along with extra-biblical manuscripts that preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in Judaisim. The scrolls are written in Hebrew, Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke), Greek, and Nabataean, mostly on parchment but some written on papyrus and bronze. They have been dated between 408 BC and 318 CE. We were fortunate to see some of the original scrolls. It was an amazing thing to lay eyes on religious thought dating from the time of Jesus.
Day 10 was unbelievably historical, biblical,...and busy. We
began the morning with a visit to the Mount of Olives, where we enjoyed a panoramic view of the old city of Jerusalem. We followed Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus with with the disciples on the eve before the crucifixion. After visiting the garden with its ancient olive trees, we checked out the Church of All Nations and the Upper Room at Mount Zion, where the Last Supper is said to have taken place. Following that experience, we journeyed to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man (
Take up thy bed and walk!) and the Church of St. Anne. This church had some of the most amazing acoustics I have ever heard; our group sang an impromptu hymn, which gave me delicious chills. The day concluded with a sound and light show at the citadel in old Jerusalem, which told the story of the history of the city through music and images projected onto the walls of the structure.
The following day, we arose at an ungodly hour (ironic, considering where we were) to visit the Western Wall, also known as the 'Wailing Wall.' This is where the stones from the
old Jewish temple still exist, and is considered the holiest place for devout Jews to go and pray. There were separate sections for men and women to be reverent; I wasn't sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, there would be less distractions if there were no handsome men nearby. On the other hand, is this type of practice promoting the inequality between men and women that still exists in many parts of the Middle East (and the world)? It was hard to say.
After a leisurely breakfast, we traveled to the shores of the Dead Sea to go swimming. I was surprised to find that it had all the feeling of a resort--good looking lifeguards on duty, men and women frolicking together in the water, children shrieking with glee (and agony if they inadvertently splashed saltwater in their eyes). However, as I took a closer look at the scene, I realized that the vast majority of the women were Arab tourists on vacation with their families. This meant that they were enjoying the water while wearing long dresses, head scarves, and pants. No skin was showing. My American-made (well, Chinese-made, but American style) bikini was
sure to cause a stir. I decided not to go in the water, electing instead to enjoy Thomas Friedman's book 'From Beruit to Jerusalem' from the comfort of the shore. That decision is the only regret I have about my trip to the Middle East. Sure, I would have been bound to attract some looks; that happens in the US, too. But what was my rationale for avoiding the attention? Was it out of respect for the Muslim culture? Or was I simply too self-conscious and thus focused on self to enjoy the opportunity to be buoyant in the Dead Sea? I fear it was the latter. This means that I will someday soon have to correct this mistake by returning to the Middle East for another adventure!
Our final site visits in Israel were to a shepherds' field near Bethlehem and to the Garden Tomb. Our guide was very careful to pronounce it 'A' shepherds' field, not 'THE' shepherds' field, as biblical historians are not certain exactly where it was that the shepherds tending their sheep saw the Star of Bethlehem that announced Jesus' birth. It was likewise with the Garden Tomb. However, as I stepped into the
tiny space where it is said Christ Jesus was resurrected, I still felt as though the air were alive with spirituality. It was an incredible experience.
I was profoundly affected by my travels in the Middle East. It's not as though I haven't learned new things or been awed by what I've experienced in Asia or Europe, but this was an area of the world that I never imagined I would, or could, visit. The western media is rife with reports of violence in the Middle East, and it is true that there are unsavory situations that happen on occasion there. But then I think about Chinese friends who fear traveling to the US because they fear they will be shot as a result of the Chinese media picking up only those sensational stories from the western news outlets. We have to be careful about the information we choose to take in and to believe. While I was in Israel and Jordan, I felt at peace. The people I met were just like you and me. They felt love, grief, happiness, joy, expectation in the same ways that we do. They wanted what was best for their families and
friends. They prayed for peace in their region and around the world. They're really not so different from you and I. Language, culture, history...these are really small things. Really. The human experience is the same. I've said it before and I will say it again: person-to-person diplomacy is the only way we will begin to understand each other and stop fighting meaningless, useless, wars. We need more young people to travel, to learn about other cultures, and to understand other peoples. They will be the next leaders, and they will be making the decisions about whether to go to war or to talk. We all want what's best for the people we care about. What we need to do now is learn that we are all one brotherhood of men, and we should want what is best for the world. Think bigger. Work harder. It is possible.
The people of the Middle East taught me that.
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Bigbrother
Lee DaeHyung
Long time No see~~ Merritt Wilson
I read your itinerary about Israel trip with your Mom, so wonderful and meaningful trip. Everyone in this world will pray for "PEACE" and "Happy life with their family". Bravo! your life. unluckily, I can say, it is the clam before the storm in the Korean peninsula. :(