Advertisement
I grew up reading Cold War spy novels and watching James Bond movies. Border crossings and the exchange of enemy agents often figured prominently in such fiction. Those stories had at least a brush with the facts, though; the
Glienicke Brücke, a small bridge linking Berlin in West Germany with Potsdam in East Germany, was the site of many such exchanges. I was reminded of those stories as I walked across the lonely border between Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan.
I took an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Eilat. This flight left from Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion Airport, not Terminal 3, which is for international flights. I got there a little early, and the terminal was full of IDF soldiers, most of them carrying machine guns. Other than the lady in the coffee shop and a few bemused looking tourists, everyone else in the terminal was in uniform. There were the standard terminal announcements, “Smoking is not permitted in the terminal,” and “Carrying weapons is prohibited in all the terminal halls.” Considering I had never seen so many heavily armed people up close and personal in my life, this was a bit of a
strictly forbidden
I'm not sure what snapling equipment is, but I was pretty sure I didn't have any. disconnect.
In retrospect, I’m wondering if these soldiers were headed to the north of Israel in order to fortify the border in advance of the Israeli air-strikes against Syrian missile sites and a nuclear reactor that took place a few days later.
I land in Eilat, take a taxi to the border, pay the exit fee (NIS 105, about US $30, which you can pay with a credit card) get my exit pass, and start the walk. What you don’t see in the pictures – because border guards get extremely cranky when you take pictures – is the gun tower on the Israeli side, and the minefields.
Walking across the border between Israel and Jordan in the bright, hot sunshine has absolutely nothing in common with the border crossings depicted in the old black and white spy movies. Three young women crossed about 100 feet in front of me, and there was a couple behind me, but I happened to be alone on the road. It felt distinctly strange.
Once on the Jordanian side, you wait outside the building to be called in to get your visa, and the same to go
Welcome
Note the sign is only in Arabic and English, even though everyone crossing here is coming from Israel - a Hebrew speaking country. through Immigration. Even though the crossing wasn't busy, the border guards seemed to enjoy making you wait. Once I had all the necessary stamps and passes, I saw a door marked “Tourist Information Office.” I pushed it open to find three border guards inside in the air-conditioning, eating lunch and smoking cigarettes. There were a few dusty pamphlets in a case against the wall, but nothing much. I smiled politely, they went back to smoking, and I left.
Crossing from Jordan to Israel brought the same bored guards on the Jordanian side, the same lonely walk, the same view of the minefields. As always, though, Israeli border security is quite thorough.
The questions I was asked coming into Eilat were much more pointed than when I landed in Tel Aviv. “Why were you in Jordan?” “Do you know anybody in Jordan?” “Did anyone give you anything, any souvenir or gift?” “Why are you visiting Israel?” “Do you plan on visiting the Palestinian Authority?” “What is your religion?” This question surprised me in light of the treatment of Jews who have been asked this question in the past. I showed the guard my cross that I wear
Aqaba
The town is about 3 miles from the border crossing. around my neck and she seemed to relax.
I've crossed borders before, by plane, boat, automobile, and, from the US to Mexico, on foot. I've never given it much thought other than I hate to stand in lines. But this was the first time I had crossed a border between two countries that while they were at peace, they were not exactly friends.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 11; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0252s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Crossing boarders
What a great boarder crossing story Karen. Can't wait to read more of the adventure.