Blogs from Middle East - page 1191

Since we arrived too late on Friday afternoon, the actual Ein Gedi spring was already closed for Shabbat. We looked at it from a nearby hill, though. We didn't have long because a freakish wind storm blew in and we had to grope our way back to the bus. ... read more

On the plane on the way from Holland to Israel, I thought about what it was that I wanted to accomplish on this trip. Getting to Israel in the first place seemed like such a miracle. I didn't want to have the whole trip pass as just a tourist venture. What would I do when I walked off the plane, onto Israeli soil? What would I think, what would I feel? I wrote in my journal: I want to hurt. I want to be sad because I can't be in the land, and when I finally put my foot on it, I want to feel as if I've truely come home. Not because the people there accept me, because, quite possibly, they won't. But I want to know that I've come home because this is the ... read more

Shalom, I know I whine a lot about pricing, largely in the internet form, so to keep with tradition, its expensive and so this might be a little brief. However, we also know I tend to get carried away when story telling, so who really knows where this will go! So, quick thing back in Cappadocia. It snowed! And, if we all remember our scriptures books we will remember the passage, "And the Snow God said, 'wherever 2 or more canadians are gathered, there, snowball fights will be.'" Now, me being the pacifist that I am, I naturally had nothing to do with all the youthful shananigans of my fellow travelers and...well...ok, i did a little. I'm sorry dad. But it was all in good fun. There was 4 canadians (aren, Scott , me and Lewis ... read more

LONDON IRISH ON TOUR IN WHICH FOGGY-BALLA DISCOVERS THE JOYS OF TOURING Anyone who knows me will be aware that I can bore for Britain and Ireland on the subject of Rugby. This enthusiasm is, sadly, backed by little real knowledge or any discernable talent. If it were a certain J Wilkinson would languish in obscurity as a relatively successful kicker somewhere in a part of the country better known for the round-ball abomination, pigeon fancying and hard men going out on the toon in Arctic temperatures; while the hero of the game would be F Balla having made the jump from Nottingham Casuals 3rd XV (2nd XV if they were really desperate) to representative honours despite his refusal to wear a jersey looking more like a T-Shirt bought from a petrol station by an “Engerlund” ... read more

When taking the ferry from Sinai to Jordan, you have two choices: slow and slower. The difference is $10 and about 6 hours. We boarded the slower boat and for the next 8 hours bumped elbows with the hundreds of young Egyptian men crossing the border in search of work. In our boredom we got to talking with an older Jordanian car salesman who assured us that we as Americans would be "very welcome" in Jordan, that the people were all friendly and peaceful--but in the next breath he dismissed Egyptians as universally "bad people" and Shi'ite Muslims as "dirty." Tolerance, one supposes, only goes so far. In the end he saved us from getting ripped off on the taxi fare to the hotel and treated us to falafel and hummus at a cafe so delicious ... read more