Week 7/8
A different experience over the last fortnight as I've just taken a holiday from my holiday. I parked the bike in Malawi and flew out of the country to join Megan in Israel for the week leading up to Christmas. Here she was booked on a "Highlights of the Holy Land" tour. Main reason for going was of course to see Megan again (especially as my return date to Australia is moving to the right) but the thought of learning more about the region which has dominated our news so often was also very tempting, especially as the practicality of getting there on the bike layer in the trip is looking questionable (currently the Egotism authorities Winn let motorcycles cross the Sinai due to terrorism concerns. This was first time I've ever been on an organized tour and I did have some concern as to his well I would cope - but fortunately we had a good guide and a good mix of people and it turned out to be much as I expected, a mix of great to have someone else organise your accommodation, travel arrangements and sights to see, and frustrating at the same time because you weren't in control. I only had one bad temper day!
In my travels I've visited many places and almost without exception I've seen beautiful things and met lovely people and come away feeling good. I won't pretend any great insights from it all but overall its helped me come to the view that people, whatever their politics and religion are good and basically want the same things, a roof over their head, food warmth, better lives for their kids, a little bit of money on the side for emergencies. It's always made me hopeful about the world despite the problems.
The visit to Israel has challenged that. Again people I met individually were lovely and there was undoubtedly beautiful scenery but I've come away depressed. I have never met or seen such deep seated, and to me such intensely irrational, intolerance between groups as I learnt about there. Intolerance that expresses everything as black and white, no shades of grey, that doesn't accept any part of history except that bit which supports your cause, that ultimately screams my (imaginary) god is better than your (imaginary) god, and that gives me the right to wish death and destruction on all of your kind. The feelings came to a peak in Jerusalem standing near the Western Wall and in front of the Temple Mount or Al Aqsa Mosque (depending on your religion) where the concentration of religious bigotry and armed soldiers, who are little more than kids with deadly guns, became to much. I had to turn and leave. You feel like banging everyone's heads together and telling them all to stop behaving like spoilt kids, if this is religion I want none of it, I'm staying atheist. In many senses Jerusalem felt one of the least christmassy place I've ever spent Christmas eve and Christmas day - very little feeling of peace and goodwill to ALL mankind on the air here - three people were murdered as part of the disputes in the time we were there.
Despite all the above I am pleased Megan and I met here, I've learnt more about the problems and fault lines that exist in the region in one week than I ever could staying at home, and doing it as part of a tour, where the guide impressively and skilfully managed to provide a relatively unbiased commentary on what we were seeing was a good way to get the experience.
That's this week's rant over and here are some photos of the tour highlights.
A different experience over the last fortnight as I've just taken a holiday from my holiday. I parked the bike in Malawi and flew out of the country to join Megan in Israel for the week leading up to Christmas. Here she was booked on a "Highlights of the Holy Land" tour. Main reason for going was of course to see Megan again (especially as my return date to Australia is moving to the right) but the thought of learning more about the region which has dominated our news so often was also very tempting, especially as the practicality of getting there on the bike layer in the trip is looking questionable (currently the Egotism authorities Winn let motorcycles cross the Sinai due to terrorism concerns. This was first time I've ever been on an organized tour and I did have some concern as to his well I would cope - but fortunately we had a good guide and a good mix of people and it turned out to be much as I expected, a mix of great to have someone else organise your accommodation, travel arrangements and sights to see, and frustrating at the same time because you weren't in control. I only had one bad temper day!
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| The reason for my good temper. |
In my travels I've visited many places and almost without exception I've seen beautiful things and met lovely people and come away feeling good. I won't pretend any great insights from it all but overall its helped me come to the view that people, whatever their politics and religion are good and basically want the same things, a roof over their head, food warmth, better lives for their kids, a little bit of money on the side for emergencies. It's always made me hopeful about the world despite the problems.
The visit to Israel has challenged that. Again people I met individually were lovely and there was undoubtedly beautiful scenery but I've come away depressed. I have never met or seen such deep seated, and to me such intensely irrational, intolerance between groups as I learnt about there. Intolerance that expresses everything as black and white, no shades of grey, that doesn't accept any part of history except that bit which supports your cause, that ultimately screams my (imaginary) god is better than your (imaginary) god, and that gives me the right to wish death and destruction on all of your kind. The feelings came to a peak in Jerusalem standing near the Western Wall and in front of the Temple Mount or Al Aqsa Mosque (depending on your religion) where the concentration of religious bigotry and armed soldiers, who are little more than kids with deadly guns, became to much. I had to turn and leave. You feel like banging everyone's heads together and telling them all to stop behaving like spoilt kids, if this is religion I want none of it, I'm staying atheist. In many senses Jerusalem felt one of the least christmassy place I've ever spent Christmas eve and Christmas day - very little feeling of peace and goodwill to ALL mankind on the air here - three people were murdered as part of the disputes in the time we were there.
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| Fortunately most of the time the troops are simply bored and on their mobile phones |
Despite all the above I am pleased Megan and I met here, I've learnt more about the problems and fault lines that exist in the region in one week than I ever could staying at home, and doing it as part of a tour, where the guide impressively and skilfully managed to provide a relatively unbiased commentary on what we were seeing was a good way to get the experience.
That's this week's rant over and here are some photos of the tour highlights.
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| Outside the shrine holding the Dead Sea scrolls - at the Israel Museum, which had to be the best museum I've ever been to, it need far more than the three hours we had. |
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| The only ones without a religious opinion |
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| Al Aqsa Mosque or the Golden Done on Temple Mount |
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| As confused by religion as me |
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| The reputed birthplace of Jesus (and two of our tour group for whom it was important) |
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| Palestine - West Bank |
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| Israeli solution to the problem (850 km of it) |
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| Add caption |
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| Masada - one of the most extensive and intact 1st century AD sites I've ever had the priceless to visit. One of the tour highlights (but now also caught up in the history war ) |
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| View from Masada looking out at the Dead Sea |
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| Fratenising not permitted |
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| A nice smile to finish with |
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