Easter Week

Despite having two final exams on Good Friday, my easter week in Jerusalem is ending quite nicely. I just got back from Midnight Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I have just under three hours before we depart for a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb. Tuesday brought an amazing day in Bethlehem where we saw the birthplace of Jesus Christ and spent an evening at Shepherd's field. The following day I visited the supposed birthplace of John the Baptist in Ein Kerem, which is a quainter and pleasant part of Jerusalem.

I can definitely say this is a week I'll never forget. Then again, that same statement could be said for every week I've been here.

Tomorrow we leave for Galilee for 10 days so future posts at this time are pending the strength of the internet connection there/price for usage.

HAPPY EASTER!

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

So apparently the 8 foot palm frond I bought for 10 shekels from a Palestinian boy on my way to the Mt. of Olives merited me and my friend Mark worthy of an EPA press photo covering Palm Sunday. Check out the original picture here. (It is from a news site called monstersandcritics.com) The caption provides a great explanation of Palm Sunday and the other photos in the album give a deeper glimpse into my crowded, sunny, and oh-so-memorable Palm Sunday experience in Jerusalem.

As our large mass of 80 American students walked over the the Mount of Olives, I had no idea what I was getting into. In a land where the most attention is given to conflicting interests of Muslims and Jews, it's easy to forget that Christians also have a large presence here in the Holy Land. Palm Sunday reminded me of that. While it seems that more Jews and Muslims than Christians live here in Jerusalem, I would guess that the most represented religious group of tourists here are Christians.

In addition, the most visited week by Christians to Jerusalem is the week leading up to Easter (aka right now). As I spent four hours walking a path that three days earlier had taken me about 30 minutes, I enjoyed conversation with people from all over the world. Though it was hot and crowded, the overall feeling was a relaxed one of rejoicing. While walking, I passed nuns singing hymns, uniformed Palestinian boy scouts waving flags and several different national groups joining together playing guitars and bongo drums.

The journey which begins at a church on top of the Mount of Olives and passes through the garden of Gethsemane ends at another church just inside the Old City. Here, the celebratory atmosphere continues in the courtyard with more music and mingling. Sharing the same Palm Sunday experience with such an eclectic mix of travelers confirmed once again my appreciation for diversity and also my gratitude for Jesus Christ's example. His golden rule, a simple but under-practiced truth, is reason for a lot of the good we see in the world.

This picture was taken after the procession in the courtyard of St. Anne's church, in front of the pools of Bethesda.

The Generation Gap...filled

The night I left my house in California to eventually come here, I hurriedly scanned some priceless pictures of my dad that illustrate some of his experiences (which are much more expansive than mine) in the Middle East. I'm not sure the story behind his gladiator shot. Mine was taken in Jordan after a Chariot show at the ancient Roman city of Jerash. The second shot commemorates his baptism at the Jordan River. Years later, I was there too. SWEET, huh?

I like it "Eilat!"

Last week while we were stuck inside the Center unable to go out into Jerusalem, we took a day trip down to the beaches of Eilat, the southernmost point of Israel. It is close to both the Egypt and Jordan borders, right on the Red Sea.

Eilat is known for really good scuba diving and snorkeling. While my limited snorkeling experiences in Hawaii have been wonderful, I must say that this exceeded all previous snorkel excursions. By a lot. Usually I look for beautiful fish which were plentiful in Eilat, but I have never before seen such beautiful coral reefs! They are an incredible animal (yes, coral is an animal. It eats plankton.) Anyway, I was so amazed and fascinated by the many different schools of fish all hanging out at the reef. A somewhat obscure but accurate comparison would be a popular high school hangout. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere, everyone is just peacefully enjoying good food, good friends, and good people, or fish, watching.

By the way, fish have no fear. On my first trip out, I became entranced by a large school of fish which swam directly in front of me. After admiring them for a few seconds and with my goggles blocking my peripheral vision, I used my arms to propel me in a different direction. As I continued to rotate more and more, I finally made a complete 360 and realized there was no opening among the fish. This giant school of fish had turned into a fish circle, which was eerily reminiscent of shark hunting behavior. I freaked out for about a second until I realized how cool it was. I floated idle for a short while, bewildered and amazed by the insignificance I was feeling from a group of finger-sized fish. I've never felt that way before and may never again.

Petra-fied!

When I was in 6th grade, Mrs. Hall, my favorite Social Studies teacher, taught me about Petra. To me, it was the coolest idea ever - an ancient city built out of rock. For twelve years now, I've marvelled at the idea of a city just being built right into the rock where it is founded. No need to haul any huge stones, just use tools to make buildings and homes out of what you already have. What a concept, huh?

Last week in Jordan, I actually realized my 6th grade dream of seeing Petra with my own eyes. Imagine hiking through a beautiful rock landscape in southern Utah and then deciding, "Hey, let's build a city here." That's basically what it felt like. The landscape alone would be enough to attract tourists to the area, then add valley after valley of major tombs, monasteries, stadiums, a treasury, altars and homes.

And by homes, I mean caves. Traveling out of the canyon on a horse, I made friends with my bedouin guide. He was 25 years old and was literally born and raised in a cave in Petra. He has since moved into government housing just outside of Petra but he said that some nights he still hikes back into Petra and spends the night in a cave because he just likes it.

I apologize for so many references to the Eagles lately, but this is a funny side story. When my horse guide asked me where I was from, I answered California and he replied, "Ahh, California's a lovely place!" Then his friend came up and independently asked the same question. He also replied, "Oh, a lovely place!" I noticed the similar answer and then laughed when they both started singing "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I joined in and enjoyed a memorable ride out of Petra, a great ending to a great day.

I found a cool and brief (5 photos) online photo gallery of Petra from National Geographic.

Back to Reality

After being somewhat on a high from my trip to Jordan, it didn’t take long for me to come back to reality. On Thursday night, the violence between Israel and Palestine, which since I’ve been here has only been present in Gaza, extended to Jerusalem.

After an Israeli military attack on Gaza last week killed 120 Palestinians, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem foolishly (and some Palestinians feel valiantly) responded by opening fire in a Jewish seminary, killing eight Israeli citizens.

The Jerusalem Center is located in East Jerusalem. Often when the violence gets bad in Gaza, we aren’t allowed into East Jerusalem or the Old City because many of the shop owners go on strike and the overall feeling of tension is just higher. This has happened a handful of times since we’ve been here, but even when we can’t go into East Jerusalem, we’ve always been able to go to West Jerusalem.

To hear that the violence happened in West Jerusalem shook us all a little more, and of course the sign “WEST JERUSALEM IS OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” went up right next to the more familiar “EAST JERUSALEM AND THE OLD CITY ARE OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” sign.

So, we’re locked in for the time being. It’s a good thing everyone stocked up on pirated (and legal by Jordanian law) DVDs in Jordan.

In case you’re interested in how the media shows bias, read this article about the shooting in Jerusalem and notice how the reporter chose not to mention the 120 dead Palestinians until the 27th (4th from the bottom) paragraph.

I found that Peaceful, Easy Feeling

in Jordan.  

The entire area of the Middle East has unfortunately been labeled by the media as a land of unsettled conflict.  I can feel the tension in Jerusalem; I even felt it in Egypt.  There are still 19 Arab countries left for me to visit, but using Israel and Egypt as a comparison, Jordan seems to stand out as a beacon of hope to its surrounding Mideastern counterparts.

Twilight is my favorite time of day.  Sunlight hits the earth, highlighting its natural features in the most beautiful way and people are out and relaxed, enjoying the beauty of the sunset after a good days’ work.  We first entered Jordan about an hour before twilight and I immediately felt the ease and happiness emanating from Jordanians walking out of their shops, going out of their way to wave at our American tour bus passing through. 

At one point we stopped the bus for about 10 minutes on the main road of a small village.  No one unloaded, but many students began exchanging smiles and “Keef Hallaks” with shop owners outside.  I smiled at one man and without thinking he brought me a falafel from his shop and handed it to me through the bus window.  His big smile showed that he didn’t expect anything in return.  This small gesture became so indicative of the overall hospitality and friendliness felt on for the rest of the trip (which included an unforgettable dinner with a good friend of my grandmother's, Leila Sharaf).

Jordanians are proud of their country and eager to share their culture.  Many of the military members we saw at tourist sites were more than friendly and eager to pose in a picture for us.  This was quite a contrast compared to some of the guards I've meet in other countries (I'm thinking England).  

If I were to judge a country based on my impressions of its people, Jordan is definitely towards the top of my list.  Its wonderful people combined with incredible natural wonders (Petra), great food, and modern political significance makes Jordan a country everyone should enjoy in their lifetime.    

The Gaza Situation - Not Easy

DISCLAIMER: I am very happy with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for everything I have in my life right now, BUT...

Since I've been here, I haven't exactly woken up with a special hop in my step every morning. I love Jerusalem and appreciate every amazing thing here, but it seems like that peaceful easy feeling (thanks, Eagles) hasn't been there the way I've been so lucky to feel as a free citizen of the United States. After trying to figure out possible explanations for this feeling, I think I've figured out a different answer. The reality of the conflict I am living in the midst of is difficult. I have become so interested in studying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but too much of it just makes me sad.

Please look at this article.
And this one.
And this one.

Back to the disclaimer at the beginning, all of this has made me even more grateful for everything I have been given, but as the LDS hymn says: Because I have been given much, I too must give. Last week, I was given lunch by a group of gardeners in Orson Hyde Park. Without question, they fed six hungry students Mansaf, an authentic Jordanian dish, which we ate with our hands. They not only welcomed our presence but invited us back every Thursday for their weekly gatherings. The food was the best meal I've had here. I don't know how much they've been given, but they definitely gave me a lot. Not only food, but friendship.

Now the big question remains, What can I give?