Roots Of Hebron

Before going to Jordan, I (Matt) had no idea where Hebron was or why it was relevant to Chris' family.  I left with the answers to both questions.   When we arrived, all we knew was that Chris' Uncle Jamal had arranged for us to meet his sister, Najah, and her family, who lives in Amman, but that was the extent of it.  We had no idea that they (through her daughter, Safa) had arranged for a private driver to take us to the Dead Sea and Baptism Site of Jesus and that after they would have us for dinner at their house.

They were beyond generous and hospitable in every way possible.  The best part though was that they made us feel at home, in a way that only family could.  We ended up going over for dinner twice and both visits were spent getting to know Chris' extended family and where they came from.  That's when I learned that Jamal wasn't from Jordan at all, but instead from a town in Palestine, called Hebron.  Unfortunately, due to the political conflicts with Israel, his family ended up fleeing Hebron (with the roots of a Hebron grape vine in tow) and taking refuge in Jordan.  There's no doubt though that Najah and her husband are passionate about where they come from.

 

 

Top Left Clockwise:
Hijazi Family, Najah's husband wearing black and white head piece (representing Palestine), Grape vines from Hebron, Najah and her family.

Independent of how much you read or watch on the news, there's nothing like visiting the Middle East region to get a real understanding of the difficulties there.  I for one never realized that so many Palestinians left to Jordan because they considered their territory occupied by Jewish settlers.  It's sad hearing stories of the conflict in the region, but we still really appreciated visiting and listening to different perspectives on both sides of the issue.  More importantly though, it was nice just getting to share stories over a home-cooked meal, baklava, and some fresh picked grapes from that very same vine they grew up with.

LOGISTICAL STUFF:
CROSSING THE BORDER FROM ISRAEL TO JORDAN:
There are three points of entry from Israel into Jordan -  Sheikh Hussein (north), King Hussein Bridge / Allenby Bridge (central) and Wadi Araba (south). The NAME border is by far the most popular as it's more of a direct line into Amman (57 km / 35.4 miles away), the capital of Jordan and great jumping off point to various sites around northern and eastern Jordan. However, you will need to visit a Jordanian embassy to obtain your VISA before crossing. We chose the Sheikh Hussein border, mainly because we're lazy and didn't want to have to obtain our visas beforehand - VISA on arrival for U.S. citizens.

SHEIKH HUSSEIN - NORTHERN BORDER CROSSING:
We took 2 buses and a taxi to get the border - Bus #1: Tel Aviv - Jerusalem (18 ILS), Bus #2 - Jerusalem to Bet She'an (42 ILS), Taxi: In Bet She'an, take an overpriced taxi (40 ILS) straight to the border - there is no local bus that we found that will take you there, after asking around for 30 minutes. Go to www.egged.co.il/eng for bus schedules - super easy website and the air conditioned buses DO run on time.

When you arrive to the border patrol office on the Israeli side, you may wonder if you're in the right place. Matt and I made up of 66% of the patrons, with the only other person of Palestinian decent, crossing for work purposes. After exiting Israel, you'll have to wait approximately 45 minutes for a bus to take you 100 yards to the Jordanian border patrol office. Leave your bags/luggage at the door when you enter.

OBTAINING A VISA ON ARRIVAL / STAMPS INSIDE YOUR PASSPORT:
It's very straightforward to obtain a visa on arrival at this border crossing. Now, stepping back when we were first entering Israel, we were very specific in requesting to have our Israel entry stamped on a separate piece of paper, i.e. not in our passport. After explaining that we were on a long trip and could potentially visit countries that will not allow us entry with the stamp, like Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc. The officer obliged  although not without a little Spanish Inquisition. 

Fast forward to the present, entering Jordan overland via Israel. The Jordanian officer asked me TWICE if I (Chris) wanted to have my visa and entry stamp included in the pages of my passport. Without thinking it through (blurred by my excitement), I replied, "Of course!" But, after the fog cleared, Matt and I quickly realized why he had asked. The officer explained that since the stamp specifically names the border we used to cross into Jordan, it was obvious that we have visited Israel, regardless of not having an Israeli stamp in our passport. In other words, all that work and worry about the Israeli stamp was moot, now that we had that particular entry stamp. 

Thankfully, it appears that border patrol officers are only looking for the Israeli stamp itself when thumbing through your passport. I only say this because we had someone specifically ask us if we've been to Israel, and we simply said, "We do not have an Israeli stamp." That seemed to suffice. (Phew!) 

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The Open Road

Chris' Dad, Ryck "Polamalu," had to head back home to return to work, but her mom, Liz, stayed for an extra week with us to see Northern Israel- Nazareth, Tiberias, Sea of Galilea, Golan Heights, Akko, Haifa & Caesarea.  After battling with public transport during Sabbath and the holiday season, we quickly decided we would do the rest of the trip with our own wheels.  The open road gave us flexibility to roam freely and even drive out to Israel's borders with Lebanon and Jordan. Super cool.

Here are some of our favorite pics from the road:

Three Amigos

'

Border of Lebanon

Now where to?

Liz, experiencing the dorm life.

No, Liz. You can't escape us.

CLICK FOR MORE PICS: Tiberias | Nazareth | Haifa | Akko | Caesarea

Have Faith And Float

Floating in the Dead Sea is an unnerving experience. You have to trust that you will in fact float. It's not easy, when every billboard is warning you of the adverse reactions that can happen if you do any one of the following: jump in head first, float on your belly, get your eyes wet, get water in your mouth, stay in the water too long, shave any part of your body, etc. etc. From what I gathered, burning doesn't even describe the sensation you'll feel if you disobey any of these rules.

(ADVISORY: Please turn up volume & push pause to wait for video to load halfway before playing.)

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim, you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.
-Alan Watts | philosopher, writer, speaker

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Polamalu Vs Masada

We flew out of Armenia, our first flight since our initial flight to Russia, to Israel where we met up with both sets of parents.  My parents were going on a formal tour, but had built in time to meet up for dinner.  Chris' parents decided to have a go at 'budget style' travel with us.  Thankfully, we were able to get both sets of parents together for dinner before mine set off on their own itinerary.  It was really nice relaxing and catching up in Tel Aviv, but the real adventure started when we headed for Ein Gedi (Dead Sea area).  It was there that the saying, "If you can't run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch," would get played out on the big stage.  The following is a play by play account of those events. (NOTE: No professional football players were injured during the writing of this story.)

Team Leseman and Team Vasallo Unite

It's half past five in the morning and Polamalu positions himself squarely in front of his opponent. His rival stands as big as a mountain, daring him to take the first step. This foe laughs in his face, as Polamalu glares sternly ahead. He looks behind him to see the first haze of light high above the arrid land. That's the signal. The game has started. It's time to climb.

Masada Snake Path (Dead Sea at top of pic)

BLUE 42! BLUE 42! HIKE.....HIKE! That becomes his mantra, repeated like a tymphony in his head. Only a few more yards until the first down. He loses ground as he slips on the dry sand, falling back a few hash marks. But gotta push through. The clock is ticking and the ref isn't calling any timeouts.

The odds are against him. Drops of perspiration mark the ground like gingerbread crumbs, as they fall rapidly to the Earth. His heart is aching, straining for blood, but the sun refuses to stop the game. He crosses the 50 yard line. The giant sneers, but Polamalu isn't giving in to his intimidations.

He glances at the clock. Two minute warning. He can taste the chalk that marks the goal line in his mouth. Game on. With 43 seconds to spare, he passes the threshold of the end zone. TOUCH DOWN!!! During his dance, the sun breaks over the stands. BZZZZZZ!!!!! Game over. 

Polamalu 6. Masada 0.

Chris & Chris' Dad, Ryck "Polamalu"

LOGISTICAL STUFF:

If you want to climb "The Snake Path" up to Masada early in the morning, you have to take private transport, either a hired car or taxi. We took a taxi and prearranged for him to pick us up at 4:55am to arrive at Masada by 5:15am (15 minute drive from The Ein Gedi Youth Hostel). You buy your ticket for entry at the ticket office at the start of the path. (You then buy your cable car ticket separately at the top of Masada.) 

According to the driver, it would take anywhere between 45 - 75 minutes to climb to the top, depending on your athletic abilities. We reached the top at exactly 6:27am (72 minutes). We initially asked the driver to pick us up at 9:15 (giving us 4 hours for both the climb and seeing Masada), but that really wasn't enough time. In retrospect, we wish we had asked him to pick us up at 10:00am. Those extra 45 minutes would have given all of us time to watch the film down at the bottom of Masada (near the entrance) and venture down the stairs to the Northern Palace that clings to the cliff. 

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