Tel Aviv

So as I've been traveling, there have been places that I've seen a bunch of sights and places that I've just rested and relaxed.
Tel Aviv was definitely one of the places were I was just resting and relaxing. The city felt a little yuppyish (it's a word if you know what I mean) to me, probably because I ran into a dog park and a little kid's picnic birthday party. These images were so different from what I had seen in the rest of the Middle East. This did not appear to be a city that felt threaten by its neighbors. Much more like a city that had all of its basic needs covered and was interested in the finer things in life.


I went to Tel Aviv at the beginning of my trip to Israel and again at the end, but both times were Friday and Saturday. Walking around most of the city on a Saturday is really uninteresting because so much closes on the Sabbath. But there was some cool graffiti.

After walking around the city for a little bit, I'd get something to eat - which was really expensive (European prices), then go to the beach. After walking along the beach for a couple hours, I'd watch the sunset.

At night, I went to a couple bars with people I'd meet in the hostel. The bars that I went to were pretty chill. I didn't really get involved in the crazy club scene. (Note: I did not actually go to the pictured bar - it just made me think of my little brother.)
I unfortunately crashed around 2 or 3 every morning whereas I had roommates that routinely got in around 6:00am.

That was pretty much my time in Tel Aviv. No real crazy stories just a lot of R&R.

West Bank – Ramallah – My trip to the West Bank and my view of the Israel/Palestine issue after

Disclaimer: The content of this post is political in nature. The views expressed in this post are solely the views of me. I am not an expert in this topic nor claim to be. I am simply giving my views on the situation based of what I heard and saw while in Israel and the West Bank as well as information that I have read and heard during outside of my time in Israel. Further, it is only right that I disclose that I am a self described liberal.

So my trip to the West Bank started as most of my adventures during this trip have, with a taxi driver lying to me about my ability to get there other by then in a taxi and then naming a ridiculous price to take me. I really hate taxi drivers. But, I was able to get him to point me in the direction of the bus station even though it would take me 3 hours to get to Ramallah by bus according to him. Forty-five minutes later I was in Ramallah, and with the aid of a Palestinian schoolboy, was on my way to meeting my host for my time in Ramallah. I had a little trouble finding the coffee shop that I suggest we met in based on Lonely Planet. But, I was soon approached by two Palestinian men saying that they were looking for a foreigner named “Rob” and were wondering if I knew where he was. I did. When we got back to the Ashraf and Sarah's apartment, I was eager to check my email (I have a real addiction and need help...), but than began talking to Ashraf about his life in Palestinian. He explained to me how he works for a group that studies water issues in the West Bank and about how he came to have impeccable English skills – I really thought for the first little bit that he grew up in America.


After my first couple hours in Ramallah, it appeared to be just another regular small Arab city like the many I had been through to this point. To enter Ramallah from Jerusalem, you drive through a checkpoint, but you aren't actually checked. There were a number of open stores and people shopping and working when I got to the city. Things costs more than in Syria. I hadn't seen “the wall.” The apartment we were in was very nice and I was offered a glass of Coke. Based on this limited exposure, I would have said that the West Bank doesn't appear to be nearly as prosperous as Israel, but it doesn't seem to be the horrible place that it is sometimes made out to be.

We were joined at dinner by a couple of Ashraf and Sarah's friends. After dinner we went to have carrot cake at a local cafe. This is when my view of life in the West Bank changed. Ashraf's friend Rahmi told stories from when he spent time in an open air Israel prison. The story was about how he had spent a number of days (I think 80ish, but I'll try to check with him on that number) in solitude. During most of this time period, he was treated very poorly. No soap, no clean sheets, etc. Then, after about 50 days, the Israel Army (who run these prisons), gave him new soap, shampoo, clean sheets, blankets, and he thought to him self “Man, maybe things are going to get better.” A couple days later, the Red Cross did an inspection of the prison. After the inspection, all of the things he was given were taken away.

Now, poor prison treatment offends, but I know it doesn't offend everyone. There are a number of people that believe that life in prison should be harsh as it is a punishment. What should offend everyone is that Rahmi spent over three years in prison and was never charged with anything. Never once accused of committing any crime. Later that night Ashraf told me that the army will often do this if they suspect that someone committing any crime, and that the majority of Palestinian males are imprisoned at some point with no real charge. Ashraf also explained to me that often people in this situation will make up a confession for a small offense just so that they are able to get charged and receive defined sentence versus sitting in prison not knowing when you'll be released.

In addition to the fact that young males are randomly arrested and see many years in their youth disappear due to no fault of their own, the Palestinian lives are made harder because of the “security” wall and the checkpoints. I can see Israel's argument for a wall between what's been designated to be Palestinian and Israel. I might not agree, but I understand the legitimacy of the argument. The issue is that Israel has built checkpoints and walls throughout Palestine. I went by Palestinian mini-bus from Ramallah to Bethlehem and our bus spent 45 minutes at a checkpoint. We had started our trip in Palestine and were ending our trip in Palestine. I don't see why we had to go through a checkpoint to stay in Palestine. It strikes me as similar of going through customs to drive from Maryland to Virgina.

This would do a great deal of damage to interstate commerce. Similarly, it kills towns of man-hours in an already depressed Palestinian economy. Religious profiling also appears to happen at the checkpoints as well. When I arrived in Bethlehem, a camera man for I believe a BBC affiliate in Palestine helped me find my way to where I thought I would be staying that night. I asked him about the checkpoints and he said that he spent 1-2 hours each day at checkpoints because he worked in Ramallah and lived in Bethlehem. He was Christian, he said if he was Muslim that time would be doubled a lot of days.

The final issue I would like to discuss is the settlements, which some are clearly visible from Ramallah. They, in my opinion, have made a two state solution impossible. Roger Cohen recently wrote an op-ed in the New York times about this that says what I'm going to attempt to say. In order to have a workable independent state of Palestine, the settlers would either have to leave or become Palestinian. Having the Israeli Army in Palestine indefinitely to protect settlers in the new Palestinian state would ensure that peace would be momentary at best.
I don't see Israel forcing the settlers to leave or give up their Israeli citizenships nor leaving its citizens defenseless in a new Palestinian state. I think anyone who is talking about a two state solution now needs to have a solution to the settler problem that I haven't heard. I think the push needs to be a one state solution where Palestinians and Israelis are seen the same under the law and are able to vote. This would quickly end Israel as a Jewish State and will be meet with much resistance, but this is the only solution that I see to the apartheid that is currently in place.

Good, I'm glad that's over. I would like to apologize for the political nature of this post. I know little divides people more than politics and religion and in Israel and West Bank they are neatly inner woven. I hope I did not offend anyone. I by no means endorse violence committed by either side in this conflict and understand that heavy tolls have been paid by people on both sides.
That said, a United States policy that gives billions in military aid to Israel and allows inhuman treatment of Palestinians to be committed in the name of security is not the path towards peace. (There he goes again, alright I'm done.)

So Ramallah, I saw Yasser Arafat's tomb, had really good shwarma, and a really good desert called Kanafe.

Petra

Most people know Petra as the place where the holy grail was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but it actually has nothing to do with the Crusades or the holy grail. It was made by the Nabataeans in pre-Roman times.

The ruins in Petra are some of the most impressive that I've ever seen in my life. I went there with three other girls that I had met on a tour of Jordan on the way to Petra. Most of the facades where made as tombs, but there is also the treasury, monastery, and a few other buildings. The facades really are incredible, but unfortunately, unlike in Indiana Jones, the inside of most of the buildings are single small square rooms. There are a few great views at different points in the city and a couple great hikes. Particularly one to the "High Place", where you can see a sacrificial alter and a lot of the other ruins.


Some of these hikes can be a little far so there are people offering donkey rides to some of the locations. The group I was with took donkeys up to the monastery. This was one of the scariest experiences of my life! My donkey had a fetish for the edge of cliffs, and if he slipped, I was done. The guy that gave us the donkeys was like "Don't worry, the donkeys know the way." This gave me no comfort. All ended up being fine, and I would highly recommend the experience. Think of it like this, these donkeys do this everyday. If your donkey was prone to falling, he would have fallen a long time ago. (Sound logic...)

All throughout Petra there are a number of Bedouins trying to sell little trinkets. This can be a little annoying, but if you stop and try and talk to the Bedouins, they can be extremely welcoming. I ran into a number of travelers that were invited for tea and dinner by Bedouins even if they didn't buy anything. One girl told me that she tried to offer money for the dinner and they refused it.


I actually spent a little bit of time talking to a couple Bedouins. The girl in the picture got to hear a little bit of my Arabic. (I feel sorry for her too) While one of her brothers (assumed), stanched a bag of cookies out of one of the girl's in my groups hand. (After they had been offered) It was hilarious.

After our day at Petra, we went back to Wadi Musa, the city near Petra that people actually stay in, for a couple of drinks and sheesha. The little cafe that we went to served no alcohol for religious reasons so we had some really good tea. The no alcohol thing didn't surprise me too much because Wadi Musa seemed like a very religious place. During the evening prayers, it sounded like everyone in the city was chanting along. Anyway, while we were at the cafe a couple young (20 something) Bedouin guys talked to us for awhile about Petra and the tourist that came through the city.

Finally, the night ended with me going back to the hostel and meeting a girl that's spent the last three years of her life traveling to do humanitarian aid. I thought that was amazingly cool. What was most impressive is that she was only 19.

I know I'm still way behind on post, but I'm slowly catching up and should be good by Thailand.

Damascus

I really like Damascus. The old city has a very classic feel and has a couple amazing mosques and churches. The Umayyad Mosque is the most beautiful mosque I have been allowed to go in. And word on the street is that when Jesus comes back he's going to do it in this mosque (Lonely Planet). Next I went to Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque, which was a little too flashy for my liking, but had grown men crying at its sight. On the Christian side of things, I went to the church where Saul/Paul (Can someone explain to me the name thing?) got his sight back and escaped from the Jews. There's also a lot of shopping if that's your thing. Finally, the National Museum had a really cool early church (200-300AD I believe). The only issue with the National Museum is that the information plaques are in Arabic and Italian. ITALIAN!!! So I didn't get as much from it as I could've, so if you go, if is probably worth getting a guide if you don't speak either one of those languages.

Other than the amazing sights, the people that I talked to were all really nice. Almost every Syrian that I met, once they heard I was American, said "Barak Obama!" "Do you like him?" I'd reply, "Of course." Then they would say "I love him!!!" I'm so glad he won. Also, other than cab drivers, everyone gives you a fair price. I tried to tip a couple people, and they refused the money.

I also met a few Americans that had decided to move to Damascus to learn Arabic. Any perception that you may have of Syrians objecting to Americans in their country at least appears to me to be greatly exaggerated (Blast you Fox News!!!!). The one weird thing is that the president's face is everywhere.

Finally, I stayed in the Al-Rabie Hotel in a three person dorm room with a 60 something year old French man and a 70 something year old American man. They were so interesting. They just spent all their time traveling and had some really cool stories. Especially of World War 2 sights, which they both had an interest in.

Aleppo - Day 2

So my trip to Aleppo started off kind of rough, but it got somewhat better. The main sight that I saw was the citadel, which was very cool. It was used as a power base for the Muslims during the Crusades (Lonely Planet). It was built on a very grand scale as you can see from the picture. The interesting about it other than its historical significance is that it appeared to be a kind of a hang out spot for teens from Aleppo. It costs about $3 for me to get in, but if you're Syrian it's only 30 cents, and from what I saw it seemed unlikely that the kids even paid that.

Other than the citadel, I just wondered around the city. It had a number of narrow roads and a not a whole lot of landmarks so I really feared getting horrible lost. Nothing stood out in particular, just a lot of people around. Most women with their head and face covered, especially in comparison to Damascus.

The hostel that I said in the second night was absolutely horrible. It cost $5 a night and I felt like I was getting screwed. I was in a room that was about 3ft by 8ft, but the worst part was the bathroom. The shower head was right over the toilet, and both looked gross. I ended up waiting until I got to Damascus to shower.

Update on the past week

Finding internet access in the Middle East has been much harder than I thought. I know I haven't updated as much as I planned, but I wrote down my thoughts on various places I saw and things that I did.

McDonald's Quest - Part One - Turkey

I have a love affair with McDonald's. It has made me more meals than anyone in the world, excluding my mother (but everyday it gets closer). My goal is to eat a McDonald's in twenty different countries on this trip. At each McDonald's, I will have the sandwich that is unique to that country or area and rate it on the McDonald's scale. The McDonald's scale is a 1 to 5 scale where 1 is the worst (Fish Fillet Sandwich) and 5 is the best (the ever elusive McRib).

In Istanbul, the McDonald's was right along the train track into the city. My eyes filled with delight as we rode by. Their special sandwich is called the McTurco. It's basically two patties (I'd guess beef, but not 100% sure) wrapped in pita bread with lettuce. It was actually surprisingly good. It had a brownish sauce that really brought it all together.

The McTurco gets a 4/5 on the McDonald's scale.

Note: This post was so enjoyable to write. I am looking forward to my McDonald's visits as much as anything else on this trip.

Istanbul - Day 2&3

On my second and third day in Istanbul, I just went around and saw the major sights, except the Palace - for some reason they wouldn't let me in. It was a lot of fun. The highlights for me are probably the Archaeological Museum and the Aya Sofya. The museum helped me realize how little I actually know of the history of this part of the world. The Aya Sofya was interesting because it displayed both Christan and Islamic images. The building was built as a church, but was later converted to a mosque in the middle of the 15th century. Before it was converted, it was the largest church in the world for 1000 years. Seeing this odd juxtaposition of art work was really very cool. Unfortunately, I only have pictures from the outside right now. I went to the Sofya with an Irish guy who has the pictures.

The night of day three was a lot of fun. Finally got to smoke Turkish Water Pipe, and had a fair number of beers with a number of other hostel dwellers. A good number of Americans came that day, so I felt like I had familiar company.

Istanbul - Day 4

I spent 6 hours at the bus station because I couldn't find the schedules online and once I got there I decided it'd be a waste to go back. I did explore the area around the bus station a little bit though. There was a number of hills and steps, which really sucked with my backpack on. I found a pretty cool looking mosque, but was troubled when I saw a man with a machine gun guarding it. I took that as my que to leave. On the way back to the station, I realized that the mosque was adjacent to a government building with several armed guards.

I will post more on my time in Aleppo and Damascus as soon as I get a chance.

Israel

Today I entered Israel. It took me about 4 hours to get across the border and I had to be questioned by two different security guards. I expected some issues because I had been to Syria and had those stamps in my passport. I don't really agree with that concern, but I understand it. However, that is not what caused them to hold me up at the border. Instead it was because my middle name is "Asare." The first security person checking passports asked me how to pronounce it, and I did. Then called someone else over to listen to me say it. I guess at this point it sounded potentially threatening, or maybe I looked too potentially Arab, because they felt the need to call in a security gaurd to question me as well as a large individual with a large machine gun to make sure I didn't try anything. I really don't know and can only speculate because they didn't tell me.

After questioning me about my trip for about 30 minutes, I was allowed to go through the metal dector and send my bags through. After my bags went through, they still wanted to search them so we went through all of my stuff. Finally they let me repack my bag, and there was one really nice security guard that offered to help.

Now it was one to the next point where they asked me about where I was staying. I told them and they started to ask about my trip so far. My explanation caused them to send me into a little office were another security guard questioned me for about 45 minutes about my trip. Then she told me to wait outside on the bench. As I did for the next two hours. Finally, they decided I wasn't a threat and allowed me to cross the border four hours after I arrived.

I went to a cab outside the border and asked him to take me to the bus station. At this point it was 12:30pm, he asked where I was going, and I told him the Dead Sea. He told me there would be no buses going to that area because it was too late on a Friday. So I took the cab to a hostel in Eliat to find that there was a festival in town and all of the hotels and hostels were booked. I still tried a couple more hotels - mostly out of my price range anyway. Next I went to an internet cafe, who's internet stopped working as I walked in the door. Finally, at 2:30pm, I decided to head to the bus station and just look for a bus to anywhere. At that point, I found out that the last bus to the Dead Sea area left at 1:00pm (blast that cab driver), but that there was a 3:00pm bus to Tel Aviv. I got the ticket and got on the bus. At this point in time, I still don't know where I'm staying, but the guy next to me has a Lonely Planet. I asked to borrow it, find a hostel, show up, and get a room.

All is well again.

More later on Petra, which was amazing, and Damascus.

See all the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/robert.aikins