Leaving Israel

JUC booked my roommate's and my sherut for us - her flight was only an hour before mine, so they put us on the same bus. They normally book the sherut for four hours before the flight is scheduled to leave, the sherut tells us to be ready 15 minutes before they are scheduled to pick us up, and the school tells us to be ready 10-15 minutes before that, and since there isn't an 8 am sherut because of heavy traffic, we were standing below Jaffa Gate and 6:30 am ... and my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 12:30 pm! The sherut arrived at 6:35 am, so it's a good thing we were there that early.

We arrived at the airport around 7:50, but we weren't allowed to start the security/check-in procedure until three hours before our planes where scheduled to depart. Since my roommate's flight was earlier, we said our good-byes (in case I didn't make it through until after her flight had left), and she started the security screening at 8:30 while I sat and waited for another hour.

After sitting in the uncomfortable seats with all my luggage for almost two hours, I was finally able to line up for the first round of security. While standing in line, everyone gets questioned by security guards who also check your passport. The security agent I got asked a few basic questions (how long was I in Israel, what was I doing, etc.) while she flipped casually through my passport ... then she got an odd look on her face and started going through the passport again, this time a lot slower and stopping when she got to the page with the stamps from South Sudan. She then asked if I spoke Hebrew (no) and told me to wait there and walked off to the security desk with my passport. She came back a few minutes later, asked some of the same questions, including if I spoke Hebrew, and then some other girl came up and chatted with her in Hebrew for a while. I'm not sure what it was about, but I have a feeling it was to see whether or not I really spoke Hebrew or not!

A guy twice her size then came up and took my passport from her, and asked me the same questions again. Then started questioning the South Sudan stamps: Why are there so many? Why were you there? Where did you stay? I was getting some odd looks from the other people in the line ... they just got the basic questions like "did you pack your bags yourself?" He was finally satisfied, stuck stickers on my bags and passports, and then I continued with the line to get my checked bag x-rayed. My sticker started with a 5 ... on their scale of security risks, 1 is no threat, 6 is high threat ... apparently, I'm dangerous!

Most bags, after flying out the other side of the x-ray machine (they were airborne for about a meter!), got a security tag attached to them ... I was sent to another area to have my bag searched. It took about 20 minutes for the lady to go through all the stuff in my bag, swabbing everything and testing for explosives, I assume. Since I knew that I had plenty of time before my flight left (it was advertising that it was going to be an hour delayed), I didn't really care - it's for my own safety that they do all these checks. After everything got swabbed, she watched my pack up the bag and escorted me past the line-ups to the check-in counter. Again, I got some odd looks from the other passengers waiting in line - how come I got to jump the line? and why was I accompanied my a guard? She finally left after my luggage was checked-in, and I headed off to the next security inspection.

The next security check was closer to what is at every airport - my carry-on bag went through and x-ray machine (though they really take their time to inspect the images before the bag comes out), my boots and passport were swabbed. The big difference was that there were 6 armed security guards watching the whole thing and a big 5 sticker was put on my backpack ... just to make me feel special, I guess. I had no questions at immigration, just a stamp in the passport, and I was off to find my roommate. She also rated a 5! We chatted a bit, then she boarded her flight and I went off to find some food - I can only last on granola bars for so long.

It was a long wait at the airport - at 12:30 when the flight was originally supposed to depart, the plane hadn't even landed yet! It ended up leaving around 2 pm. Ben Gurion is a fairly nice airport - very clean and modern. But I had to laugh at their no smoking announcements - with the accent, it sounded more like they were saying "Your attention please. 'Smuggling' is permitted only in the designated areas." This is also the only airport where I've heard the announcement that "Weapons are not allowed in the terminal area."

The flight finally left, and I managed to have an empty seat beside me so I could spread out a bit. The flights was long (12 hours) but uneventful. My brother-in-law and niece met me at the airport and I stopped by my sister's place to chat a bit about Israel and to have a snack before finally going home.

Amman

Our last day tour as a JUC group started at the citadel and museum in Amman. The ruins were interesting but not spectacular (after Jerash, it takes a lot to impress us!) and the museum was pretty dull. Many of the display items were missing - moved to a new museum that hasn't opened yet. Leaving the city, we passed the largest Starbucks in the world ... sorry for the bad picture. Next stop was Mt. Nebo, where Moses viewed the land that he was not allowed to enter. From the top, he would not have been able to physically see all the areas mentioned, so it was either divine intervention allowing him to see these places, or he was remembering how they looked from having seen them from across the Jordan when fighting further north against the kingdoms east of the river. We weren't able to see much from the lookout, it was too hazy, but I'm sure that on a clear day the view is amazing. Our final sight-seeing stop of the trip was in Madaba, to see the mosaic map of the middle-east. It contains the oldest known map of the city of Jerusalem. While the others finished looking around the church, I tried to find a post office where I could buy a stamp, but when we finally found the post office (the directions we where given weren't exactly clear), they only had stamps for Europe, not North America. Guess the postcard will get mailed from home! We then went and had lunch at a fairly fancy restaurant - the appetizers (dips, salads, and pita) just kept on coming, then a main course of roast chicken, and finally desserts!

Then it was back on the bus for the drive back to Jerusalem. It took us over an hour to cross back into Israel - one girl's middle name is a popular Arabic name, so the immigration officials questioned her for quite a while to verify her ancestry (it didn't help that she's Hispanic, so has Arab colouring). Another person in the group was randomly pulled out to be questioned at a different part of the process. I got a few extra questions because I was a Canadian travelling with a bunch of Americans ... I think they just wanted to make sure that I was really with the group and wasn't just trying to slip through with them.

Our new bus met us on the other side for the ride back to Jerusalem. My roommate and I then headed into the Old CIty to exchange some money and for her to pick up a ring that she had ordered, then we met with two other girls for the group for ice cream and waited with them at the school for their sherut to arrive to bring them to the airport. After they had left, we walked up to the New City for supper - shwarma! (My roommates first! She's been missing out!)

Petra

Petra! The entrance gate was only a five minute walk from the hotel, so loaded up with water and a few snacks, we headed down the hill and towards the canyon. Our guide lead us on a slow two hour guided hike to the amphitheater. It was interesting to learn the history of the site and have the carvings in the canyon walls pointed out to us, but the pointing out of all the rocks that looked like something (a duck, a fish, an elephant, etc.), got to be a bit annoying after a while. I hiked with two other girls from the group up to the Monastery - 800 steps up in high temperatures with no shade! We took a while to get up there (resting in every tiny bit of shade we could find), but we made it! I then climbed up to two lookouts to look into the wilderness and the rift valley. It was a hot two hour hike back down and then up to the hotel. We had lunch, then headed north to Amman, taking the windy, scenic route (which was a bit of a scary drive) past Bozrah, where we talked a bit about the kingdom of Edom. They had a long, narrow territory, and controlled the trade routes through this area so became rich.

Dana Canyon

Bozrah

We had a super fancy hotel in Amman (and had to pass through metal detectors before we could enter), but the pool closed before we got there, so we were a bit disappointed with that! The four of us girls just hung out in one of the rooms and chatted, since it was our last night together.

Jerash

Day 1 of the Jordan Extension! We met our bus as 6 am and headed for the Jordanian border. We got there just before it opened, so were able to get through without all the pushing and shoving that is normally required! Our Jordanian guide helped get us through immigration, and our bus, with driver and tourist police officer, were there to meet us. After a short drive we got to the Roman ruins at Jerash. These ruins are the largest set of Roman ruins in the world! It was amazing to see how much was still standing after 2000 years. There is a large theatre with amazing acoustics - standing in the middle and talking in at a normal volume, you can be heard in the back rows ... and hear your voice echoing back. Luckily we got to test this ourselves before the drums and bagpipes started up. (Huh?) There is a large oval plaza just outside the theatre - it's lined with columns, and even has a drainage system under it! After lunch, we stopped at Dibon - an ancient city on the Madeba Plateau. This area was given to Reuben as an inheritance, but control of the area was always changing hands. There isn't much left on the site except a pile of rocks ... but we did see a shepherd leading his flock right through the middle off it! We spent the rest of the afternoon driving south, past the Arnon Canyon, to the town of Petra. We got to the hotel after 8 pm, had supper, then the four of us girls went for a late night swim in the cold pool.

Yad Vashem

I had the morning and most of the afternoon free (everyone else was studying for and then writing their final exam), so took a cab to Yad Vashem - the Israeli Holocaust Museum. It was interesting to see how they explain the process that led up to the holocaust and also very moving to read the stories of the people who suffered because of it. While it was interesting and worthwhile, I can't really describe the experience as "fun".

I got back to the old city just before noon and headed down Jaffa St. to Ben-Yehuda St. for shwarma and bakery deserts. I made sure to take a few pictures for my sister, too - 12 years ago, she lived in this area! I returned to JUC later in the afternoon for our departure meeting, where we were given a good description of the security procedures that we would go through when leaving Israel, and a certificate "ceremony" (they just handed them out).

It was a Friday, so in the afternoon, everything was shut. We had supper at the hotel, then made our way down to the Western Wall with a bunch of the other JUC students, and said our good-byes in the plaza. I hate good-byes.

Samaria

Our course calendar originally had us scheduled to explore the new city of Jerusalem today, but since the site of Samaria had just been re-opened, we switched our trip to head north of the city. Our first site was Tel Shilo, where the tabernacle was located during the early years of Samuel. The people came to Shilo once a year for a feast and sacrifice and it was at one of these feasts that the "creative dating solution" took place in the vineyards near the city. Shilo was destroyed in the 11th century BC, when Eli was high priest of Israel and the Ark of the Covenant was lost in battle. The messenger probably took the Berzeith route from the Sharon Plain into the hill country, running to warn the population that the Philistines were coming behind him to destroy the city. The Bible does not say directly that Shilo was destroyed, but archaeological evidence supports the theory, as does Jeremiah when he refers to God's judgement on Shilo for it's wickedness in chapters 7 and 26. The first part of Jeremiah 7 explains the reasons for the destruction of Shilo, while warning Jerusalem to reform - their relationships with each other were broken, as was their relationship with God. In verse 11, Jeremiah calls the Temple "a den of robbers", which Jesus echos when he clears the Temple. In both situations, the people are being warned that the injustices being practiced will lead to the destruction of the Temple - a message which is not received well. After watching a video on the history of the Tabernacle at Shilo and exploring the tel (there wasn't much to explore!), we headed north to Mt. Gerizim, where the blessings were read after the Israelites entered the land, as instructed by Moses. (The curses were read off Mt. Ebal across the valley.) We walked to a spot overlooking Nablus (which was called Shechem in the Old Testament and Sychar in the New Testament) where our prof pointed out the various landmarks, including the location of Jacob's well. When Jesus meets the Samaritan women at the well and she says that her "fathers worshiped on this mountain", she is referring to Mt. Gerizim, where the Samaritans still gather to worship today. We then had the privilege of being able to hear a Samaritan priest explain their beliefs and how they differ from Judaism. There are only about 700 Samaritans today, descendants of the tribes of Levi, Ephraim, and Manasseh. One really interesting part of their religion is that they still gather for Passover once a year and sacrifice sheep. The sheep are lined up along a ditch and all the throats cut at once. The blood is used to mark the door frames of the homes, just like on the night of the Exodus. The organs are burned and the rest of the meat is cooked and eaten, the leftovers burned on the alter. They also dress as in the time of the Exodus, complete with a staff in their hands! One of the men in town had the key to the ruins of a 7th century Justinian Church, so we made a quick visit to the site. The Samaritans believe that their temple was located at the same spot, but there isn't any evidence to support this claim. We had lunch in the courtyard of the church of Jacob's Well, then a quick look around the church which was being kept open later than normal just for us! We weren't allowed to take pictures in the room with the well, but trust me, it's a deep well - they poured a cup of water into the well and it took several seconds for it to finally hit the water below! We left the church and had a quick visit of Tel Shechem, where the Israelites renewed their covenant with God, and where Simeon and Levi killed the inhabitants after one of them violated their sister Dinah. Jacob was afraid that this incident would bring trouble between his family and the Canaanites and Perizzites, but obviously it didn't affect relations too badly, as later, Joseph's brothers are grazing their flocks near Shechem when his brothers attack and sell him. It could be that some of his family had intermarried with them -this familial connection may explain why, when the Israelites return to conquer the land, there is no record of any conflict in this area - it seems to have been settled in a peaceful manner! Shechem is also the setting for the story of Abimelech, and the location of the northern kingdom of Israel's first capital, however, even though the city is in a good locations with respect to trade, it was not easily defended, so the capital was later moved. Our final stop was Sabastia, the site of Samaria. We were the first JUC group to visit in 10 years - there was a lot of violence in this area for a few years and now the main road to the site, which is lined with half buried Roman columns, has been chewed up by tank tracks. We took a back road up the hill - a tight, windy road that the bus just managed to squeeze through. Omri bought the land and built his capital here in the 9th century BC - an easily defendable position which took the Assyrians three years of siege to conquer. From here, Israel was able to maintain control over the Coastal Plain and the Jezreel Valley, controlling the trade along the Coastal Highway and becoming wealthy in the process. The city was rebuilt by the Romans whose temple to Augustus could be seen from Caesarea.

Returning to Jerusalem

Our first stop on the way back to Jerusalem was at Beth-shan. After Saul's death, his body was taken here and hung on the city walls before being removed by the men of Jabesh-gilead. Since it was the girls from Jabesh-gilead that were part of the "creative dating solution" used to find wives for Benjaminite men after they were almost wiped out, there were familial loyalties between Jabesh-gilead and Benjamin, which is why they, and not the men of other towns, would take the risk to remove Saul's body. David then thanked the people of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul, and in his words David showed respect and allegiance to Israel's former king, gaining him some of the loyalty of Saul's followers. After Saul's death, David cursed Mt. Gilboa, the mountain just west of Beth-shan, saying that dew and rain would never again fall on it's slopes. Whether because of this curse or some natural cause, the slopes of Mt. Gilboa are bare of trees and shrubs - a great reminder of the event that happened there. Joshua didn't conquer Beth-shan, and there is still evidence of the Egyptian governor's palace on the tel. When the Romans conquered the city, they built their city at the base of the hill, which had simply become too high, and renamed it Scythopolis. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD. Only the public areas have been excavated and restored, the surrounding houses are still buried. We had fun exploring the area - the large bathhouse, the theatre, and of course, the public toilets where everyone sits down together in a row.

Continuing up the Harod Valley, we reached Jezreel, the second capital of the Northern Kingdom. From this vantage point, you can see from the Jordan River in the east to the Kishon Pass, leading to the Mediterranean, in the west, and therefore the whole valley and the valuable trade route that runs through it can be controlled from this city. Jezreel was probably used as a winter palace, since it isn't as cold in this area as in Samaria. It's just outside of Jezreel that Ahab takes Naboth's vineyard from him. He wanted to convert Naboth's vineyard into a vegetable garden, which would make the land more valuable and also show off the King's status. Gardens require more water than a vineyard, meaning that it must have been close to the spring in Jezreel, which Ahab would have had control over. (The vineyard was probably close to the clump of trees in the valley on the right side of the picture.)

We tried to have lunch at the Gihon Spring, where Gideon sorted his men before battle, but there were so many mosquitos that we fled to a hill beside Zippori, our next stop.

Herod Antipus was rebuilding Zippori in the time of Jesus, and it's likely that Joseph worked on the site. The word used to describe Joseph's occupation is "tecton", meaning not only carpenter, but also mason; he was probably more like today's general contractor. There are a few well preserved mosaic floors, but there's nothing too exciting about the ruins. From the roof of a Byzantine tower, we were able to look across the valley to Cana, where Jesus did his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding. The wedding took place on the third day - Tuesday - which is still seen by Jews to be a good day to get married. That is because, during creation, God said "It was good" twice on that day and on the sixth day (but a wedding on Friday would interfere with the Sabbath day rest), but only once on the other days.

Our final stop in the Galilee was at Beth Shavim to explore the tombs of some famous rabbinical families. The tombs were carved into the hill and contain rooms filled with large, stone ossuaries. It was interesting to see the size of these tombs and the small entryways to get in. The stone door used to seal the tomb was still referred to as a "rolling stone", just like the one that closed Jesus' tomb.

We had some issues getting back into Jerusalem with the bus. June 1 is Jerusalem day, where Jewish Israelis march into Jerusalem to celebrate the reunification of the city and declare their intent to never let it be divided again, causing several roads to be closed, but the list of closed roads isn't released due to security reasons. They like to march through the Arab sections of the city, which obviously leads to tension, so there was extra security throughout the city. We were dropped off a few blocks north of Damascus gate (the closet the bus could get us to the city), so we had a 15 minute walk back to the hotel - I'm happy I had my travel backpack and not a suitcase that had to be pulled down the bumpy stone streets!