History in the making.
Jerusalem
7/29/2008 5:21:52 PM - Day 134 - Jerusalem, Israel
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this is the spot where many believed Jesus was crucified.
I had only planned on staying a couple of days in Jerusalem (Jerusalem , Israel City Information and Review) since I heard that it isn't a very enjoyable place to stay since there is almost no nightlife, people are trying to rip off the tourists left and right, the prices are super overinflated and you can see all the main sites in the city in one day. Having been here for a bit, I am glad that I planned it out this way because everything that I heard was right.
I was staying at a place called the "Jaffa Gate Hostel" (Jaffa Gate Hostel Review) that was alright, but a bit to crammed in the dorm rooms for me. It was however located right inside the old city of Jerusalem very close to the city's sites. I woke up early in the morning today to check them out. As I was walking to the "Wailing Wall" (a major religious site in Judaism) I was approached by a local who said he would show me the way. I should have known better than to say "yes", and sure enough, after he showed me how to get there he asked for some money. I could have found the place myself, but that's what I get for letting my guard down. The Wailing Wall was interesting to look at, but I'm not Jewish so I couldn't appreciate it that much since to me, it is only another old wall. It was interesting to see all the Jews praying at it though, I could appreciate how important it is to them.
After that I headed to the "Temple Mount", it is one of the most important sites for Islam and Judaism. In Judaism, they believe that it is from here that God gathered the dust to create man. In Islam, they believe the Muhammad started his ascension to Heaven from here. The Temple Mount area was nice, especially since it wasn't super crowded. You have to get there kind of early to since they shut the area down in the afternoon. I couldn't go into the areas Mosque however since only Muslims are allowed inside.
After the Temple Mount, I headed to the site that held the most significance to me, the "Church of the Holy Sepulchre". The Church is where most believe Jesus was crucified at and also where his tomb was. Being Christian, it was an amazing experience to be there. Inside they were playing some very depressing organ music (what do you expect, Jesus was crucified here) and many people were there praying and checking the site out. Right when you enter they have a piece of board that they believe Jesus was laid to rest on after he was taken down from the cross. Many people would knell down next to it, touch it and say a prayer. You could then walk up some stairs to see the spot where it is believed Jesus Christ was crucified at. There was a long line to be able to kneel at the exact spot to say a prayer. After that, you can visit one of the Church's many other sites, but the last "big" one to see is the Sepulchre itself, which is the supposed location of Jesus' tomb. There were all quite amazing, and even though there is evidence that all these locations are accurate, there isn't definitive proof that this actually is where he was crucified, but that isn't as important as the emotions and feelings that this site instills in Christians and others who visit the site, myself included.
One thing I noticed that makes me wonder was that at the Wailing Wall and Temple Mount, you were checked by Israeli Defense Forces for weapons, however at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, you weren't. I wonder why that is? Is that one the least important to Israel or do they feel that there is a really low chance that anyone will attack it? Who knows.
After leaving the Church, I headed back to the hostel to gather up my stuff, take a bus back to Tel Aviv to spend the night before having to wake up at 3am to get to the airport to deal with the 3 hour compulsory waiting time for those leaving Israel on international flights. Ahhh, the pleasures of traveling in and out of Israel.
This is the inside of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the place believed to be where Jesus' tomb was located.
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I can't get these darn Christmas songs out of my head!
The Church of Nativity, Birthplace of Jesus Christ
7/28/2008 10:56:01 PM - Day 133 - Bethlehem, West Bank
A nun praying in the Grotto of Nativity, in front of the exact spot many believe to be where Jesus Christ was born.
I got into Jerusalem in the early afternoon today and read from my guide book that doing a day trip to Bethlehem from here was easy and the best way to visit the area. I asked my hostel staff if they thought it would be better to visit Bethlehem today or check out the old city of Jerusalem and they said it would be better to go to Bethlehem since the "Temple Mount" in Jerusalem closes very early in the afternoon and was thus already closed (it is the biggest Muslim site in the city). Based on that, I decided to cross over to the West Bank today and check out Bethlehem to visit the Church of Nativity, which is placed on the site believed to be the very place where Jesus Christ was born and is the oldest running Church in the world.
Getting there I got packed on to a bus with a bunch of Palestinians and we started making our way towards the West Bank. I got a taste of what the Palestinians have to go thru entering/leaving Israel to the West Bank at an Israeli Defense Force checkpoint. Israeli soldiers made us all get off the bus to check our "papers" or passport in my case. The soldier started asking me questions in Hebrew as to why I didn't have an Israeli entry stamp. I tried explaining to him that I didn’t get one when I entered and that I was already entered into their immigration system (as if I was the first tourist who didn't have an entry stamp, I'm sure they only want to give me a hard time). He didn't speak a word of English though and one of the Palestinians translated for me and we were soon back on the bus and headed to the West Bank. One of the Palestinians even saved my seat (the bus ended up being standing room only since it was so packed) which I thought was pretty admirable.
Entering the West Bank, you can't help but notice the huge fence the Israelis have built on the border, it is gigantic. It makes the fence with the United States and Mexico look like a stepping stone. Also, there is a huge sign from the Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority stating that it was illegal for any Israelis to travel beyond this point. That was a pretty blatant signal that I was headed to a tumultuous area, I was going into the West Bank.
The bus eventually stopped in Bethlehem and I was left to figure out exactly how I was going to reach the Church of Nativity. I had my guidebook in hand which told me which direction to go and I also luckily ran into a group of three travelers who had just been and gave me some directions as well. With that, and the help of a Palestinian guy who stopped me from going past a turn off for the church, I was soon standing in front of the site known by many in the world as the place of Jesus Christ birth.
The walk over there itself wasn't that bad at all, in fact, Bethlehem seemed like any other Arab city that I had come across and seemed very safe. I think the only problems that arise here are when there is fighting with the Israeli forces or internal fighting amongst the Palestinians, otherwise, the area is fine to walk around. I guess during a time the Israelis were coming in here and demolishing houses with giant fortified bulldozers all the time (they even killed an American activist named Rachel Corrie, granted, she shouldn't have been there but that doesn't give them the right to bulldoze her) or blowing up walls with grenades to get from home to home since it was safer than using the door, I could see why some Palestinians would be pretty damn angry. It’s a rough area with a lot of shit going down all the time, I'm always reading about the West Bank, Israel and Gaza on the news but today everything was fine and getting to the church was pleasant and hassle free.
One thing I noticed as I was about to walk into the church was all the Muslims who were also walking in to pay their respects. Jesus Christ is a very important figure in Islam as well, and thinking how much some conservative religious people back home in the United States would flip to find out that Muslims also revered him made me chuckle on the inside. The outside of the church was plain, made of thick, fortified stone with high walls and had some damage to it from the time when the Israeli Defense Forces laid siege to it in 2002 to get Palestinian militants out that had taken refuge inside. The inside is actually made up of a couple churches and chapels run by different denominations of Christianity. Inside the main church is "The Grotto of Nativity" located in an underground area that has the exact spot that many believe Jesus was born at, as well as the spot that Mary laid Jesus down in the manger to be visited by the "Three Wise Men".
One can't help but be touched when entering one of the holiest of holy sites in the entire world. I felt very humbled walking into the Grotto and happy that I made this journey, and at the same time thankful to God that so far it has been safe and very fulfilling. The inside of the Grotto itself wasn't as crowded as I had expected. I had visited Churches in Europe that didn't have an inkling of the religious value as this, yet they were packed to the brim with tourist. I imagine that it was because not too many tourists make the trek to the West Bank of Palestine. It was nice, being able to enjoy this place, those moments with only a few others. There was a small group of people down there, it was totally quiet and people would kneel down in front of the spot that is said to be where Jesus was born (marked with a 14 pointed silver star inlaid in the ground) and bow their heads in prayer. There were nuns there, other travelers, some were quietly sobbing while others sat in complete awe. The experience was amazing to say the least and I have never had one like it. At one point, I was the only person in the Grotto. Can you imagine what it felt like to have that place, the site of Jesus Christ birth all to myself, to contemplate and enjoy? It was surreal. I paid my respects, and exited the Grotto up stairs that lead back into the church. Once there one of the priests smiled at me, and wished me well on my journey.
I caught a bus back to Jerusalem, dealt with more Israeli border guards asking why I didn't have an Israeli stamp on my passport, but luckily this time they could speak a bit of English so they let me pass thru without incident and I was soon back at my hostel in Jerusalem left to think about the great experience that I just had. Not only did I get to visit the West Bank, a part of the world most consider a "No Man's Land", but I also visited one of the holiest sites in many of the world's major religions, including my own. I was able to sit alone in the "Grotto of Nativity", the site of Jesus Christ birth, and simply take it all in.
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Bad first impression for a nice city.
Getting Into Israel was Rough
7/28/2008 6:42:54 AM - Day 133 - Tel Aviv, Israel
Some cool Israelis I met the first night I went out in Tel Aviv.
I've been in Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv, Israel Travel Information) for close to a week now, and I think the city is pretty nice, but I'm ready to move on. There really isn't much to see here in terms of "sites" but they do have some nice beaches and good clubs and nightlife. The one thing that does suck however is the prices! It is a lot more expensive here then even in the West Coast of the United States. I don't know if it is normally like this or only because of the weak dollar but man it sucked! Also, getting in to Tel Aviv was a story in itself.
I decided to take the more expensive route and fly into Tel Aviv from Amman Jordan to guarantee that I would get an "exit stamp" on my passport from Jordan's immigration officials so I wouldn't have to worry about problems with entering Israel and not getting the exit stamp from Jordan. If you don't know why or what I am talking about, check out the BLOG previous to this one. On the plane, I met some Americans who were working abroad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and because of their jobs, they did a lot of traveling around the Arab Gulf States so they too did not want to have Israeli stamps on their passports since having one would bar them from entering a lot of Gulf (Arab) States.
The story is, that as soon as you hand your passport to any Israeli officials at the border, you have to immediately tell them that you don't want your passport stamped otherwise sometimes they'll stamp it super fast before you even realize what happened. This seems to not be an uncommon request from various travelers to Israel so normally, although they might ask you a couple questions, they'll oblige and let you thru without the stamp and will instead put you into their computer system and then look you up again when you leave the country. However, when I got to the window, told them I didn't want a stamp, the girl gave me a bit of attitude (understandably) and after looking thru my passport and seeing what countries I had visited, she sent me to secondary questioning, probably because I had visited Lebanon and Syria which are two countries they still have problems with. "Great" I thought, but I had expected this and planned on getting questioned. Funny enough, I saw the other two Americans from the plane in there as well, seems one had visited Bahrain and Saudi Arabia while the other one had been to Iraq and Afghanistan.
That left us wondering which was the worst: Me with Syria and Lebanon, one person with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain or the other one with Iraq and Afghanistan. We figured we would find out by who was let out of secondary questioning first. Sure enough, the guard came and let the other two Americans go. It looks like I was the winner! Syria and Lebanon was the worst according to Israeli Immigration. One thing is that the Americans ended up leaving with Stamped passports. Sucked to be them! They were both very angry saying now they would now have problems going back home to the UAE because of this, and I felt somewhat bad for them. They worked for big corporations though that they said would sort it out, but it sucks that they are now going to have to deal with this. Then the guard came to me, a dude named "Uzi" to start my questioning in some private room. It lasted about an hour and they asked me where I was staying, why I was visiting Israel, why I went to Lebanon and Syria, if I made any friends there and what my plans were after Israel amongst a bunch of other things. It wasn't that bad though, just time consuming and I was getting interrogated by a girl around my age so I started pouring the charm on and by the end of it she was giving me advice on what clubs to hit up in Tel Aviv, hoo-rah! I was soon out and on my way to Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv is a pretty new city and the one thing I noticed as soon as I got in was how much it reminded me of a beach side city in the United States. It was nice to be somewhere that reminded me of home since I do miss the place. I arrived on the "Sabbath" though and everything was closed! Seems like they really take that day seriously in Israel. The first day I was there I stayed at the "Lusky Suites Hotel" (Lusky Suites Hotel Review and Information) since the dorm I wanted to stay at was totally booked. It was a nice place, but super expensive so the next day I switched to the hostel that I would be staying at the rest of my time in Tel Aviv, "Sub Kuch Milega" (Sub Kuch Milega Hostel Review). To say it was an "interesting" place would be an understatement. It is like the hippy Mecca of Tel Aviv. It is an Indian vegetarian restaurant first and a hostel second. Because of this, it had some good food and great/retro/weird common areas. I sometimes would walk up to the rooftop terrace and they would have "Woody Woodpecker" the cartoon from the 60's playing on projector screen. Hmmm, I wonder if anybody is doing drugs here. Speaking of which, a ton of people in Tel Aviv seem to smoke weed. I didn’t think it would be so common and when I asked about why so many people smoke weed, I was told because it was a way to escape from the problems of the world. It seems that a lot of Israelis are paranoid, and for good reason. I normally don't hang around "hippies" since I have strong reservations against that style of life, but for the most part the people I met there were pretty cool. It was cool meeting people that I normally never would talk to.
One guy I met at the hostel who I became friends with was pretty "hippiesh" and one night he was there with a girl who asked me what I was doing since I was on my laptop all night while everyone else was drinking. I told her "I'm working, writing code." I'm a software engineer, I write code for a living and I had some work that needed to be done ASAP. She gave me a strange look, nodded her head and said "cool" and soon wandered off. About an hour later, the guy who I knew who was her friend came up to me laughing and said "You'll never guess it, but my friend told me to watch out for you! She said you were probably CIA since you said something about writing code and you're always on your laptop. Funny huh!? Anyways…you're not CIA right?" I almost keeled over in laughter on the spot. "No I'm not CIA" I said with laughter. It goes to show you how paranoid some people are around here.
I checked out the city, went out to see some of the nightlife, went on a day trip to Nazareth and hung around the hostel a bit which turned into a full on bar/restaurant at night. Now it is the early morning and I am headed to Jerusalem to see some of the most important and pivotal religious sites in the world as well as visit Bethlehem on a day trip. Bethlehem should be interesting since it is in the Palestinian controlled West Bank, another place I never thought I would visit.
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I feel like I am walking thru a history book.
In The "Promised Land"
7/27/2008 7:21:09 PM - Day 132 - Nazareth, Israel
Inside the Church of Annunciation. That is the spot where Mary's house was supposed to be. There was a small service going on when I arrived.
I'm now in the "Promised Land" of Israel. Needless to say, getting in here was a pain in the ass but I'll leave that story for the next BLOG. Being somewhat religious, one of the places that I wanted to visit while here in Israel was the city of Nazareth since it is supposed to be the place where Jesus Christ, a prominent figure in many religions grew up at.
Getting to Nazareth proved to be pretty easy thanks to Israel's well connected bus system. One thing I found interesting was at the bus terminal, there were loads of young adults walking around in military camouflage fatigues with M-16 rifles strapped over their shoulders serving as a constant reminder that you are in Israel, a place that is always on full alert. It makes sense considering they have many enemies in the region.
The bus ride itself took a couple of hours and I soon found myself in Nazareth. I was expecting a big dust-bowl of a city which is how the place is always portrayed in the movies. Really arid, hot and sandy, but Nazareth is actually a bit high up in the mountains with cool weather and a lot of trees. That must be left out of the movies because it doesn't fall into what most people (like me) stereotype the Middle East as.
Consulting my guide book I saw that there were a couple of sites to see in the city, all very close to one another so it would be an easy go of seeing them. There was the Basilica of Annunciation where Mary is said to have raised Jesus and been told of his coming birth, St Joseph's Church where he is said to have had his carpentry shop, a synagogue where Jesus was supposed to have taught people back in the day, as well as a couple other places. They were all cool to check out, and the cultural and religious significance made them that much better, however my favorite site that day was a collection of mosaics and sculptures sent in from countries from all over the world to the Church of Annunciation depicting Mary. For some reason, the one from Czechoslovakia (as it was then known) really caught me eye.
Now I am back in Tel Aviv for one more night before heading to Jerusalem and the West Bank to visit Bethlehem. I'm really looking forward to visiting some of the most historical (and tense) areas in the world.
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Just where the hell is Indiana Jones?
In Petra, One of the"New Seven Wonders of the World".
7/23/2008 10:25:41 PM - Day 128 - Petra, Jordan
At the treasury of Petra.
I came to Jordan to visit the ruins of Petra. A friend of mine named Tony who was originally supposed to come along on this trip mentioned Petra as being one of his top destinations for this trip. I did some research into Petra afterwards and saw that it was a pretty amazing place to check out. Tony didn't end up coming, but at that point, I was already decided that I wanted to go to Petra, so now I did!
Getting out of Syria and into Jordan proved to be easy enough. I once again took a service taxi to get out from Damascus to Amman (Amman, Jordan Travel Information), and getting the service taxi proved to be quite the experience. There were a ton of drivers at the service taxi pickup point, and unlike Lebanon where the drivers seemed to have a system setup where they would each wait in line for customers, in Syria it was total chaos with drivers almost coming to blows to get me into their taxi (and any other customers who showed up). Eventually some guy who must have been in charge came over to sort everything out and I was soon in a new Hyundai (they don't use the old American cars like Lebanon) with a couple Jordanians. After a short trip, I was all settled at my hotel "The New Park Hotel" in Amman, Jordan (New Park Hotel in Amman, Jordan Review).
I did some research into Amman, and there really wasn't anything in the city itself that I wanted to see. Plus, I found out that Amman is separated into two areas, the "Old" city and the "New" city. I was staying in the Old part and it was really congested, loud and dirty. The people were friendly, but the area itself wasn't nice to be in and coupled with the lack of places to check out, I decided that I wanted to go see Petra on a daytrip and come back the same day in order to move on from Amman in a short amount of time. In retrospect, I am glad that I did it that way because some people stay overnight at Petra and in all honesty, you can see the main stuff of Petra easily in a day. I asked a guide if it was worth checking out the more remote areas of Petra and he said "not really" since it is all more of the same.
I organized a bus ticket to and from Petra and was soon on my way. On the bus ride I met a Palestinian and a Sudanese guy whom I ended up spending most of the day with. It almost sounds like the opening line of a bad joke: "So an American, a Palestinian and a Sudanese guy walk into Petra…" They both ended up being really cool guys and I am glad that I got a chance to meet them. They also had some interesting viewpoints on world politics. One thing I noticed was that when an Israeli family walked by the Palestinian pointed it out that they were Israeli to the Sudanese guy who was then in total awe. The Sudanese guy said "Wow, so that's what Israelis look like! I've never seen one in person". I pointed out that they don't all look the same and they are just like everyone else but he was fascinated none the less.
Petra itself was amazing. Up until this point I have seen a ton of ruins, monuments and artifacts and I have to say, even after all of that, I was still pretty amazed at the ruins of Petra. For those of you that don't know about Petra, it is an ancient city carved out of the sides of tan-red mountains on the slope of Mount Hor in Jordan. At one point, Petra was a city of great strength and influence but eventually declined into obscurity for one reason or another. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Jordan and even the world being dubbed one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". It's has also been in a bunch of movies and books with one of the most notable movies being "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
I spent the entire day at Petra wandering around with my Sudanese and Palestinian friends checking out the area. The Palestinian guy happened to be a history teacher so he was able to tell us a bunch of interesting information about Petra. We saw a good deal of the area and it was all pretty impressive. At one point I sat on the ridge of what used to be a courthouse carved high up into the side of a hill and looked down into the valley below me at all the ruins in the arid landscape and tried to imagine what life was like here hundreds of years ago when this empire was at its zenith. It must have been quite the sight.
After a long day, I got back on my bus and started my way back to Jordan. I have another day here before I catch a flight into Tel-Aviv, Israel. A lot of people have been asking me why I didn't just take a service taxi across the border. Thing is, if you do that you won't get an "exit" stamp from the Jordanian authorities. Most people don't see why this is a big deal, but if you have any evidence of having gone to Israel you will be barred from entering a lot of Muslim countries. Don't ask me why because it's a long story and all I can say is that it sucks that they put this restriction on tourists. When you enter Israel, it isn't uncommon to let the immigration customs know that you don't want an Israeli stamp which they will normally oblige to after some questioning but even if you don't get an Israeli stamp, if you don't have a Jordanian exit stamp that is direct evidence that you entered Israel via land border since that is the only place that you can exit Jordan without getting an exit stamp. Many countries that have this restriction on travel to Israel are quite aware of this and won't let you in if you don't have that Jordanian exit stamp. Since I don't want to restrict my travels, I decided it would be better to fly from Jordan to Israel in order to get that stamp so I wouldn't have to worry about traveling to Muslim countries in the future and dealing with this unfortunate restriction.
Going through the end of the "Siq" to the Treasury of one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World", the ruins of Petra, Jordan.
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Wow, I made it into Syria.
An American in Syria
7/21/2008 6:30:23 AM - Day 126 - Damascus, Palmyra, Homs, Hosn and Maalula, Syria
When you see signs like this, you know you're in for an interesting time.
I never in a million years would have guessed that I would visit Syria. The name Syria alone conjures up ideas of mystery and Muslim extremism with an intense hatred for everything Western, especially Americans. Now having spent some time here I have learned that this perception is very off base and the product of the sensationalized United States media that seems to be more concerned with presenting us with biased stories riddled with violence and fear in attempts to garner ratings instead of showing us the reality of everyday life for people in Syria (and most of the world for that matter). The truth is, I have found my stay in Syria to have been a very pleasant and enlightening one and I am very glad that I looked past my misconceptions and State department travel warnings and gave this country a chance to prove itself to be the welcoming place that it is.
Getting into Syria was the first hurdle. From what I understand, getting a Syrian visa back home in the United States is a very difficult process. I read online that you could possibly get them at land borders of Syria, with the Lebanese/Syrian border being the best one to try your luck at. There are however no guarantees so for all I knew, I could have been turned away on the spot. My service taxi from Beirut dropped me off at the border and continued into Syria while I was left to try and figure out how to go about getting my visa. I went inside, got the necessary paperwork and handed it in along with my passport. The customs official was a nice enough guy and the only thing he asked me was what my future travel plans after Syria was. I told him that I was headed to Jordan then flying into Ukraine. This was a lie because I actually planned on going to Israel after Jordan, but if you have been to or plan to go to Israel, you can't enter Syria. This seems to be a common scenario for many Arab countries because of the mutual animosity between them and Israel. It kind of sucks that they make tourists deal with this, but that's how it is, so I had to play along. I read that it is pretty typical for Americans to have to wait for a very long time at the Syrian border before finding out if they can get a visa or not since we currently don't have the best of relations with Syria and they fax all American's passports back to Damascus (Damascus, Syria Travel Information) to do some sort of check. I was there for four hours and was just about to fall asleep in my seat when the customs official waved me over, handed me my passport and told me to enjoy my stay in Syria. It was only a ten day visa, but I was simply happy to get it, in fact, I was elated! I went back outside, and with the help of a money changer, found a service taxi that was headed into Damascus that would drop me off at my hotel. Driving in, I could feel the wonder and awe inside of me growing, a feeling that I had the first time I went overseas to Europe four years ago, a feeling that I had long since forgotten. Traveling so much and seeing all these wonderful sites, cultures and monuments dulls you to the entire process, but entering Syria, having successfully gotten my visa, I was excited at the prospect of what awaited me in this mysterious country that so few in the United States ever visit.
It took a bit of time to find my hotel the "Afamia Hotel" (Afamia Hotel Review and Information in Damascus, Syria). It is centrally located but on a side street. The staff there has been amazing and gave me one of my first glimpses of Syrian hospitality. I cannot begin to express how friendly and welcoming Syrian people are. Every time I met a new one, usually at an eatery, shop or restaurant, they would say:
"Welcome friend! Where are you from? Italy, France, Canada…?"
"No, I'm from America!"
…short pause with a confused look on the Syrian's face that was soon replaced with a big smile at which point they would always say:
"WELCOME!"
This was the typical exchange I had with most Syrians. Fact is there aren't a lot of tourists in Syria, and BARELY any Americans, so they were probably shocked to actually meet one. They were always super nice, and most knew to and did make the distinction between the US government and the typical US citizen. Our foreign policy definitely has caused some problems in this area that the locals are not happy about, but they understand that it isn't as if I am getting phone calls from the US President asking me for advice on Foreign Policy. I have found out that hospitality towards foreigners is a tenant of Islam that Syrians take very seriously, and I can honestly say that the Syrian culture has been one of the friendliest and nicest ones that I have ever encountered in all of my travels.
I would bet that many males who visited Syria would have a similar experience, but unfortunately I can't say the same for female Western travelers. Things are a lot different for them in the Muslim world, and I am not saying anything bad would happen to them, but they have to be much more careful about where they go and what they do as well as how they are dressed. I've noticed different manner of dress for woman in the various Muslim countries, and in Syria they dress the most conservatively that I have yet witnessed with thick wool trench coats over the usual robe and head coverings with some only showing their eyes. Keep in mind it is scorching hot and I can't imagine what it is like to wear that getup in the heat. I asked a Syrian guy about it and he said that they get used to it and it is no big deal…easy for him to say! Maybe they do though? Who knows?
There is a lot of stuff to see in Syria, however you could easily see the big sites in one day, except for the fact that they are all super spread out from one another. Syria isn't a huge country though, so it is possible to see those sites in one day if you are willing to or have someone who is willing to (for the right price) drive you to all of them. Probably the three biggest sites are the ruins of Palmyra in Palmyra, the "Krak des Chevaliers" crusader castle near Homs, and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. I was already staying in Damascus, so I had the mosque covered, but I wanted to see the other two, so after speaking to my hotel desk, I met a driver/guide and negotiated a price with him in order to see the other two in one day. The plan was to leave bright and early the coming day.
We started making our way to Palmyra early in the morning and stopped off at a Bedouin camp for breakfast. Breakfast was great, and I could get used to the food around here. One thing I found interesting was that any leftovers you had were stored away to be used to the next customers! I found out this is very normal in this part of the world at the Bedouin camps. It's good that they don't waste anything, but I was very glad to be the first customer they had that day. On the way to Palmyra I was looking at the freeway signs and noticed quite a few of them led to Iraq. It was a strange feeling to realize just how close to Iraq I was. I was even somewhat intrigued by the thought of going there. I asked my driver if it was possible to enter Iraq from Syria, and he told me that it was impossible since along the way they have numerous checkpoints, and unless you are an Iraqi or have business there, they will turn you away or possibly even throw you in jail for even trying to go to Iraq. Also, he told me all along the desert border there are checkpoints and guards' making sure nobody tries to bypass to usual crossing points and cross the border by desert. It looks like it isn't as easy as some might think to enter Iraq from Syria (at least according to him). Probably for the better anyways, and I doubt I would have followed thru since going there by myself would be total lunacy.
We arrived at Palmyra after an hour and a half and I had a chance to look around at my own leisure. It was an interesting site and had some pretty well preserved ruins. It also had a pretty intriguing history with a mad queen named "Xenobia" who ended up getting crushed by the Romans, along with a ton of other things that happened in the couple of thousand years that it was around. One thing I noticed, and that I have noticed a lot throughout my world trip was all the tour buses at this site that were mostly filled with very old tourists. I would see a lot of this in some of the harder to reach countries that I have visited. Always tons of tour buses with mostly old people and then there would be me. I almost NEVER come across any solo travelers such as myself, it seems that everyone sets up these easy to use tours. This always brings up a couple of thoughts in my head. First off, I'm glad that I didn't go visit these areas on a tour because you are always on a tight schedule and you end up paying a lot more money to see these places then you would if you had done it on your own. Besides that, I find that a lot of times when you figure these things out on your own not only do you get a chance to experience a lot more of the local culture, but one of the best things about traveling is having to deal with the hardships of getting from point 'A' to point 'B'. I feel the difficulties that arise from that are a healthy and valuable part of the traveling experience, and by not experiencing them, by having someone else plan everything for you, you'll never realize the empowering feelings of having done it all on your own and all the skills you acquire from the difficult process. At this point I feel like I could be dropped off in the middle of a foreign country, and as long as I had some money, I have the skills necessary to easily figure out how to get anywhere I needed to go. The other thing is that most of these people are really old, and every time I would see them I would only think about how lucky I was that I am seeing the same places they are, but now, when I am still relatively young. I don't want to save all of these things till retirement when I'll have a totally different experience than I would having done so now. However, these are only my opinions on how I prefer to travel. Of course, I give these people huge props for even coming out here and traveling, whether they are old or young, on a tour or not, they are seeing the world and enjoying themselves and at the end of the day, that is all that matters. I also realize that for these old timers It was a much different world then it is today in regards to money and freedom of travel (my generation doesn't have the same excuse however), I'm only illustrating the fact that that I am very happy with myself, having taken the necessary steps to make this dream a reality now, before I too am old and retired (at which point I plan on eating tons of pizza and beating my grand kids are their own video games).
After Palmyra we headed to the impressive crusader castle of "Krak des Chevaliers". This castle was so badass, that it was never captured. Even the legendary general Saladin couldn't take it. What ended up happening was that the other crusader castles in the area fell, and this was the last one left so when it was laid to siege by the Mamluks, they basically told the inhabitants that they were surrounded by enemies with no help in sight and that they could siege the place forever, or the castle inhabitants could give it up and be left to leave peacefully and unharmed, which is what they ended up doing. This is why to this day, the castle is so well preserved. This is one of the stories, I have heard two other ones as well, but the above story is what my guide told me so I'm sticking with it. I have to say, the Krak des Chevaliers has been the most impressive castle I have ever seen in my life. I could see how it was never captured. At the base of the south wall the wall is 100 feet thick! That's nuts!
After leaving in awe from the Krak des Chevaliers, my guide/driver told me he would take me to one more place to see something that most tourists never get a chance to visit, a Christian town in Syria. Christians in Syria!? What?!?! I couldn't imagine it. He told me that Christians and Muslims have been able to peacefully coexist in the area for quite some time and that when the crusades came to spread Christianity, the crusaders actually ended up also killing and subjugating a lot of Christians who in turn ended up helping the Muslims re-take the holy land. Ironic huh? I'm not a history buff, so for all I know he can be talking out of his ass, but I did do a bit of research and from what little I learned, it looks as if the Crusaders were not very friendly to the Christians who were already in the area (like Syria).
The name of the town we went to was Maalula. It was strange to be somewhere in Syria where Christianity was the dominant religion. Seeing girls walking around in normal clothes, guys not wearing robes and churches all made for a strange experience. I can only imagine how tightly knit this community is. Another trippy thing is that they still speak the ancient language of Aramaic there. I heard some people speak it and thought it was a very beautiful language. It is too bad it has faded away into obscurity. Makes you wonder where English or any other major language will be a thousand years from now.
After Maalula, the sun had long since set and it was time to head home. I got to know my guide/driver pretty well over this journey and he really gave me a lot of insight into Syrian culture and the national psyche. One thing that I noticed the whole ride there (and I have also seen in Damascus) was how animated and vocal he was when telling a story. He was a great story teller and it seems to be a skill that is ingrained into the culture around here. After a few more laughs on the way back to Damascus, he dropped me off at the hotel and I had a long nights sleep.
The next day I just relaxed and got some work done. I had seen a ton of stuff the day before so I wanted to take it easy. I went to do some work on the internet and wanted to check out YouTube to see a video on video editing for this website and it was blocked! It seems that YouTube and a lot of other sites here in Syria are blocked. That must fucking suck for the people around here and little things like this really makes me appreciate how much freedom we have back in the United States. Another thing I noticed was the Syrian leaders face was plastered all over the country. I asked someone if they had to post his picture up in their store and they said "No, we only do it because we want to". I suppose they really like their leadership over here.
The next day I headed to the old city or "Medina" to check out the souq (the name of an area full of shops) and the Umayyad Mosque, one of the largest and oldest Mosques in the world. The souq itself wasn't anything special, just a ton of shops with people trying to sell me all manner of things. The one thing I got which was delicious was the local pistachio nut ice cream. After that I headed to the Umayyad Mosque. The Umayyad Mosque was huge! They also had some pretty important shrines on its grounds. One was to "John the Baptist" who is also an important and revered figure in Islam. At his shrine they claim to have his head. They also had the gravesite of Saladin. One thing that struck me was how humble Saladin's grave site was. It was simply a wooden casket with a green covering in a small, non-descript building. Saladin was one of the most notable generals and sultans in Arab history, and here he was in a tiny building in a plain wooden casket. I thought it was pretty neat how humble it was. If you go to Europe, people who have had less than a fraction of the impact on history that Saladin did, have enormous and overly grandiose mausoleums that probably cost more than what a thousand peasants could make in a lifetime. Go to Europe and see for yourself, it's almost ridiculous how much money some of these people spent on themselves for their burial tombs. These are people that nobody can remember today whose only deed in life was somehow having a ton of money, and then you have someone like Saladin, someone who changed the course of history whose final resting tomb was a wooden casket. I found the dichotomy of the two to be fascinating, and at the same time, it made me gain a lot of respect for Saladin.
After checking out the Medina I headed back to the hotel to get some work done and do some planning for the next destination. Another day has passed and here I am getting ready to leave for Jordan. Syria has been a country full of surprises. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would be here, but I am glad that I decided to take a dive into the unknown to see a part of the world that I know almost nothing about except all the bad things I hear about it in the news. Now that I have spent some time in Syria, I can say that the Syrian people are some of the friendliest that I have ever met and there are some amazing sites to see here. Hopefully relations improve between the United States and Syria (and a lot of other countries for that matter) and then maybe more people will be able to get a chance to see the good side of Syria like I have.
The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. The Umayyad Mosque is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world having both architectural and historic importance. On its grounds is a shrine that is said to house the head of "John the Baptist" (an important figure in Islam) and the final resting place of Saladin. In this video you can hear the service that was being given from loudspeakers that were spread out through its grounds. I thought it created a very cool and surreal atmosphere.
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I'm I really in the Middle-East right now?
Changing Perceptions in Beirut, Lebanon
7/17/2008 8:03:37 AM - Day 122 - Beirut, Lebanon
Sitting on my hotel balcony. Across the street were pro Hezbollah flags. You don't see that every day!
I'm really glad that I decided to come to Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon City Information), and after spending some time here, I can see that my worries about visiting here were completely overinflated. Everyone has been super friendly, and as far as I can see, Beirut is totally safe (many of the locals attest to that) and I have not had one single problem being an American here. In fact, Beirut has been one of the cities that felt the most "American" that I have been to with many of the younger generations speaking perfect American English and a nightlife scene that made me feel as if I was back in Los Angeles, California.
Speaking about the nightlife in Beirut, man oh' man it was awesome! I ended up going out by myself because the hotel I am staying at "Embassy Hotel" (Embassy Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon Review and Information) isn't good at all for meeting people, but even by myself, I still had a good time spending most of it with my jaw on the floor from the surprise at how similar the bars were to what I have back home in Southern California (minus the fact that everyone in the bar is Lebanese). The music was great (like really, really, really good, best I have heard in all of my travels), everyone was slamming alcohol like it was going out of style and people were dressed in the latest fashions. Plus every other person around me was speaking perfect American English! Was I in the Middle East? Isn't this the stronghold of the militant Muslim group Hezbollah? All the drinking and dancing wouldn't lead one to think so. I was in complete shock.
Of course, this is in fact the country of the militant Muslim organization Hezbollah, and in fact at the time of writing this there was sporadic violence with pro-Hezbollah and pro-Government supporters. Mainly in the northern areas of Lebanon, so it seems that the government stronghold of Beirut was safe. I was instructed by the locals not to venture to the North near Tripoli, and I heeded their advice. However, I felt very safe in Beirut and one local even told me that "Beirut was the safest city in the world!" …Really? …Alright buddy, it's cool to be a bit nationalistic but now you are taking it a bit far.
While here, I witnessed a somewhat important event where Israel and Hezbollah had a prisoner exchange. In fact, a year earlier Israel came into Lebanon and attacked it trying to get back a couple of soldiers that were kidnapped by Hezbollah. In the war, they never got them back, however during my stay, Hezbollah agreed to swap them for the remains of Muslim fighters and a pretty dastardly prisoner (according to Israel). The Israeli soldiers ended up getting swapped back in coffins though which left Israel pretty bummed out. It was pretty big in the news over here and internationally, and it was really interesting to hear both sides to a story. It seems that in the West, we are subjected only to the viewpoint that is "Pro Israeli". I'm not condoning any of the violence that the Muslim extremists bring about and I think it is horrible and counter-productive (fuck, every time I think about 9/11 my blood starts to boil), but at the same time, we never hear about the things that Israel does over here, which I am finding out to be quite a bit, especially in Palestine. I don't want to get into the things I have heard and read since that is a very complicated subject where both sides share blame and it is not meant for a travel BLOG, but suffice it to say that in America it seems we only really only hear one side of the story (for the most part). Besides that, it is a bit strange to be reading about the country and region you are in every day on the news. It seems like every time I log onto CNN.com, there is a story about Lebanon or one of its neighbors. Thus far I have only had to deal with this for a short amount of time. I can only imagine what it is like for people who live here in the Middle East and have to deal with it day in and day out.
Besides going out and seeing a bit of the city, there isn't much else to do in Beirut except possibly taking trips out to the mountains or the beach. There is however a lot of cafes to go to in the "Hamra" district (which is where I was staying), and they are a good place to spend the afternoon if you don't feel like walking around in the scorching hot sun. Plus most of them have free Wi-Fi for those of you who have laptops.
Today I head off for Syria in a "Service Taxi". "Syria? Wait, did Mattis just say Syria?" Yes, Syria, one of the countries that Bush labeled part of the infamous "Axis of Evil". Scared yet? My Grandpa told me he went there on a tour and that it was safe, so I figured if he went, why can't I? Also, a lot of Lebanese tell me that Syrians are the nicest people in the world. Lastly, from what I read crossing into Syria and trying to get your Visa at the border is most easily done at the Lebanese/Syrian border. I'm not guaranteed to get a Visa when I get to the border, but I hope I do since it is really going to mess up my plans if I don't. As for the "Service Taxi", I have never taken one, but from what I understand, they are huge, old American sedans here in Beirut that the driver will fill up with people who are all going to the same destination and everyone shares the price of the car. Since there is no rail or really good bus system, it is a very common way to get from city to city, country to country here in the Middle East. I'm looking forward to it because I am sure it will be an experience all of its own.
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Problem is, there isn't much left to see.
I Came to Tunis to See the Ruins of Carthage
7/13/2008 12:33:41 PM - Day 118 - Tunis, Tunisia
What is left of Carthage. To think this once used to be a huge city.
When I was planning out my trip, somewhere along the way I read that the ruins of Carthage were in Tunis (Tunis, Tunisia Travel Information), Tunisia. I'm not a big history buff, nor do I have any huge interest in that era of time, but for some reason after reading that I felt compelled to go check the ruins out. Plus, this gave me another reason to visit another part of North Africa.
I ended up flying into Tunis from Marrakech. The flight was far from cheap. It seems like getting flights into and out of Morocco can be a bit pricey. I've found that my highest expense on this trip is the travel costs. The airport in Tunis was pretty nice and when I got to my hotel the " Carlton Hotel" (Carlton Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia Review and Information) to have a look around the central part of Tunis I was a bit surprised. The layout of this area around the city's main Boulevard, Avenue Bourguiba was very "Western European" in regards to the city planning, all the café's as well as the shops. Of course it had its own North African touch, but if you took Western Europe and Africanized it, you would have Tunis. It probably has a lot to do with the French Influence during the colonial times. Also because of that, all the Tunisians speak French and are even a bit unfriendly compared to those in other Arab countries. They weren't rude, but I definitely didn't feel that level of hospitality that I normally come across in the Arab world. Also, they seemed to prefer to speak French rather than Arabic which I found to be a bit odd.
One of the first things I did was to go visit the ruins of Carthage. Getting there I took the suburban train with all the locals. While jostling with everyone in "line" to buy a ticket (since lines are almost non-existent in the Arab world) a guy was getting yelled out by the police there to leave. He stood there though and kept talking to them for whatever reason and after a minute, the police officer simply slapped the guy in the face and the cup of tea out of his hand and dragged him into a room by the neck where he and some co-workers began to slap the guy around some more. Nobody in line seemed to notice so it must have been a normal occurrence around here. I read that the government in Tunisia is pretty repressive. Note to self, don't fuck with Tunisian police officers.
The actual ride to the ruins was pretty interesting. I was the only foreigner on the train filled with mainly young Tunisian males who were headed to one of the beaches that were on the way to the ruins. I've noticed that you don't see too many girls out and about in Arab countries which must suck for the male population. The train was packed with standing room only and as it started going one of the guys on one end of the train started beating on the wall in rhythmic succession. Soon after he started, some of the other guys in the train began to follow suit beating on the walls, clapping their hands and stomping their feet. Soon the whole train was going on like this with some finally joining in with a chorus of singing. It went on like this until we came to one of the beach stops where everyone for the most part exited the train. They way everyone joined in almost seemed routine and made me think that this kind of thing happens a lot on the train. I thought it was pretty cool that people were able to let loose like that. Makes for a much more enjoyable train ride.
The ruins of Carthage themselves weren't anything special. In fact, everything that I read about them said not to go there expecting much. Fact is the ancient Roman Empire and Carthage were huge enemies. At the end of the third Punic war, the Roman armies completely obliterated Carthage razing it to the ground. They did such a good job of destroying the city that there is close to nothing left today of what was once one of the most important cities in this part of the world. The end result is that the ruins consist of a couple stone pillars, a grouping of stone structures and some other structures that have been excavated here and there. To be honest, it was pretty anti-climactic to visit, but at least I got to see some part of it, even if all what is left is so small.
After visiting Carthage there wasn't much left to see or do in the city that really caught my interest. I did get some great food however. I normally think couscous taste like crap, but it is a specialty here in Tunis and I have to say that it was pretty damn good. The one thing I noticed though each time I went to get food, whether it was at a sit down place or a take away kebab shop was that they served you a TON of food. The portions here are huge! I thought they were big in the United States, but in Tunis they have us beat in that regard.
Now I am getting ready to fly into Beirut, Lebanon. I have to be honest and say I am a bit anxious about going there. It seems like every other day I read some story from the news about fighting in Lebanon or some type of problem over there. Also, I saw that my government has issued a "travel warning" for Lebanon on the United States consular travel website. However, I met a couple of travelers so far on my trip, especially in Lisbon who had also been there and told me they had a blast and that everything is blown out of proportion. The last big conflict that occurred over there was when Israel invaded the country. More recently however they were once again on the brink of civil war after a couple of events, but at the current time it seems like everything has calmed down. I was going back and forth about going there, and finally said "the hell with it" and bought my airplane ticket leaving things up to fate since I knew at that point if I didn't go, I would always be left wondering what I had missed out on, good or bad.
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Why the hell are there cross dressing belly dancers?
Mystery in Morocco
7/9/2008 3:45:11 PM - Day 114 - Marrakech, Morocco
In one of the busiest square of Africa, "Djemma el Fna".
Morocco is an exciting place full of mystery and surprises around every corner. It was everything that I imagined it to be and more. I chose to visit Marrakech (Marrakech, Morocco Travel Information) since it is supposed to have one of the best Medinas (old city) in the country along with one of the busiest squares in Africa, "Djemaa el Fna". I was a little anxious about going back to Africa again having gotten used to the ease of life in Western Europe, but shortly after arriving in Morocco I got back into the swing of things. Also, since tourism is a big part of the economy here, the infrastructure isn't half bad. Although most people only speak Arabic and French, a good number also speak English making getting around pretty simple.
Getting into town ended up being super easy because I met a Portuguese guy on my plane who ended up giving me a ride in and saving me $50, thanks bro! Finding my hostel "Equity Point" (Equity Point Riad Amazigh Review) was another story altogether. I read online that finding places in this area was hard, and my hostel was no exception. I ended up paying some guy about $1 to show me the way since I didn't feel like getting lost in the souqs with all my luggage.
The alleys and souqs of the Medina were really interesting. They consist of winding pathways with shops and vendors on each side that you navigate with tons of other tourists and locals on foot, with the occasional car or donkey cart. Of course there are also a ton of bikes and scooters as well making for one busy area. They say you can find anything on sale in the souqs of Morocco, and after visiting the place, I would have to agree. There were some pretty mysterious stores with no visible signs along with dark entrances. They really added to the whole aura of the area.
I visited the main square of the city a couple of times to get food during my stay. It is called "Djemaa el Fna" and it is a pretty crazy place being one of the busiest squares in Africa. During the day it is filled with snake charmers, water sellers and drug lords. At night the whole place turns into one giant restaurant with food stalls everywhere selling all sorts of North African cuisine, a bunch of tea sellers, fresh orange juice venders and more. There are also a bunch of strange street performers and shows going on with weird acts like cross dressing belly dancers and a couple of guys who set up boxing matches between anyone that wants to go at it. I saw a fight between two old drunks that was pretty funny.
After spending a couple of days here I am getting ready to move on. My next stop is Tunis, Tunisia mainly to see the ruins of Carthage. Until next time.
In the main square of Marrakech, Morocco known as "Djemaa el Fna", a couple of guys would set up fights between two willing participants, collect money from onlookers then partially distribute it to the fighters. I saw all kinds of weird fights like girls vs little kids, two old drunks and normal people as well. This is a fight between two male youths.
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Rossio Plaza is one of the best hostels I have ever stayed at, ever.
Finishing this Website in Lisbon
7/6/2008 7:24:52 PM - Day 111 - Lisbon, Portugal
A great group of travelers in Lisbon, Portugal.
I have had a blast in Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal Travel Information). Not mainly because of the city itself (although it was a huge part), but really because the hostel I was staying at "Rossio Plaza" (Rossio Plaza in Lisbon, Portugal Hostel Review) has been one of the best hostels I have ever stayed at in all of my travels. One thing that I learned the first time I went thru Europe some years ago, staying in a good hostel can make or break how much you enjoy a city, and Rossio Plaza was no exception making my stay in Lisbon extremely enjoyable.
Most of my stay in Lisbon was spent in the hostel itself because I needed to finish this travel website. I was getting asked constantly by friends and family back home when I was going to have my travel website completed so I made a decision to get as much of it done as possible during my stay in Lisbon. It is pretty much done at this point with a couple other odds and ends that need to be completed before I can publish it.
Since most of my days were spent sitting in the hostel working on my computer, I really got to know the staff there. They were awesome. Super friendly and for once, I feel like I actually made some good friends on my travels. The manager of the hostel was a dude named Marco who was an awesome guy who I really got to know. An undercover computer geek like myself, he made sure everyone at the hostel had a great time by playing movies on the big screen at night along with making some strong batches of Sangria for free a couple of the nights and even made one hell of a dinner on Sunday for everyone since most of the restaurants were closed. You’re the man Marco!
I regret to admit that I didn't do much but work on this website for most of my stay in Lisbon. I went out and partied it up one of the nights in one of Lisbon's main party areas known as "Bairro Alto". It was pretty cool since the streets were lined with bars, no cars are allowed thru and they let you drink out in the streets. It was a good time. The only downer that night was the walk back to the hostel with two Australias. One was really cool but the other one seemed to have a chip on her shoulder along with a serious attitude problem that liked to make itself apparent after a couple drinks. Basically the walk back she told me how she thought that all Australians were "better" than Americans based solely on their nationality. This is the kind of shit I have to hear every now and then on the road from ignorant fucks like this bitch. It gets really tiring and you tend to hear it more in Western Europe then other places in the world because you tend to find more pompous people in there both in travelers and locals. I told her she was fucking clueless and kept on walking while the other Australian only shook her head in embarrassment after what the other bitch said. In all fairness, the next morning the insulting Australian apologized for her behavior, so I'll give her that. I'm just really sick of hearing this kind of crap though on my travels.
I was also bummed out to miss on the 4th of July back home in the United States, but what can you do?
Other than that, Lisbon has been awesome. I got a ton of work done, the Rossio Plaza hostel that I have been staying at is honestly one of the best places I have ever stayed at in my life, and I even got to see some of the famed nightlife of Lisbon. I wish I could have seen more of the surrounding sites, but after having such a good time here, I definitely plan on coming back someday and when I do, I'll make sure to see a couple more of the sites of Lisbon, but at the end of the day, I had a great time here and in my opinion, that's all that matters.
This is "Bairro Alto" in Lisbon, one of the best places to go out in. You can drink in the streets! Also, cars are't allowed thru.
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