Anticipation!

6 months

2 hearts

1 big tent

Limitless JOY!

It is incredible to think that 6 months from today I will be back in Freeport IL, preparing to walk down the aisle and marry Nick!  Before departing on this trip we spent countless hours thinkinng about and comparing colors, completing rentals, making reservations, ordering sunflower seeds, etc. etc. and it all paid off.  I’ve hardly thought about the wedding at all these past few weeks, secure in the knowledge that all the BIG stuff is taken care of J.  There are to-do lists awaiting me upon our return that leave about one day to get over the jet lag and get busy, but until then I’ll just shoulder my pack and hold hands with my boy as we walk around the world.

Israel to Jordan

After two weeks in Israel we are moving on to Jordan!  I failed to blog about Jerusalem or Bethlehem…. But it was predictably incredible.  In a nutshell, we explored the Mount of Olives, Garden Tomb, Via Dolorosa, Dome of the Rock, Wailing Wall, Church of the Ascension, Church of the Sepulcher, Church of the Nativity etc. etc. and learned a lot about the history of the Jerusalem and it’s many past rulers.  Everything is very walkable but it is a hilly city so our legs got a good workout every day! 

Anyways; yesterday we traveled from Jerualem to Eilat, Israel where there is a border crossing into Aqaba, Jordan.  On the way we made a pit stop at the Dead Sea for a final dip (the weather was cooperatively warm!) and a nice hike in a nature preserve. 

We spent the night in Eilat at a FABULOUS hostel- hot water for showers, warm rooms, quiet, it had it all!

In the morning we walked to the border crossing – about an hour hike- and found to our delight it was deserted (unlike our crossing from Egypt to Israel which was chaos due to massive tour groups) we were through the checkpoints and in Jordan in a matter of minutes.  From Aqaba we got on a bus to Amman where we will spend time at my cousin’s home, and are riding on  the 4 hours journey right now!

The desert outside the window is beautiful and barren.  Since I have time and since I don’t feel I did Jerusalem/Bethlehem justice, I will make a list of highlight experiences from that portion of our trip below:

1.       Hiking up the Mount of Olives… 3 times… because we kept on going up when the Church of Ascension was closed and we really wanted to go inside! 3 hikes later and sporting newly toned legs, we got in and were duly rewarded by the views from the tower there- the highest point in Jerusalem.  There were also some really crazy paintings of what one artist envisions the end of time to look like.

2.       Eating some “chalky white substance” from the walls of the Milk Grotto Chapel where legend has it Mary and Joseph stopped to feed baby Jesus and some milk dripped onto the once red rock turning it white.  Legend also has it that eating a bit of the wall will guarantee your fertility, so how could I pass up an opportunity like that?



Guaranteeing the expansion of my family

3.       Couchsurfing with a Palestinian man in the West Bank and learning about Palestine’s history and present day situation.  Feeling outraged at the ridiculousness of it.

Nick and I with Zafer, our couchsurfing host

4.       Cooking amazing dinners from food bought at the “market of chaos” just outside our hostel in Jerusalem- street vendors all hawking their prices at full volume!

5.       Eating delicious pastries from a bakery in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem

Now we are on the embarking on our fourth country on this tour, a new currency, and many new adventures around the corner!

Galilee

Today we walked in Jesus footsteps literally, as we strive to do every day, figuratively. 

We are driving around the Sea of Galilee, armed with a map that a tourist info attendant madly circled things on… points of interest, places to sleep? And we’re not quite sure what else.  We spent the night in Tiberius, a city steeped with Jewish history and dating back to Jesus time.  Here are graves of many important Sanhedrin, but we didn’t visit them.  Tiberius today is kind of like the Rockford, IL of Israel.  No one is very happy to be there, and the only thing it has going for it is the history and the beach front. 

We drove from Tiberius to the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.  There is a beautiful church erected there by the Italian Catholic Church, and lovely gardens and walkways overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  It was beautiful, and moving in it’s silent spiritual splendor.

From the Mount we proceeded on to Tagbah, the location of the feeding of the five thousand (According to two of the gospels and numerous historians).  Again, a beautiful church has been erected over the sight, with the alter being the rock that Jesus is supposed to have been sitting on that day while teaching.  From Tagba we went on to St .Peter’s Church, located on the site where Jesus was supposed to have made his third post crucifixion appearance.  (This is where he appeared to Simon Peter and Andrew who were fishing and told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat than they had been, after which they caught over a hundred fish and then realized it was Jesus).  Again, a lovely church right on the beach, with beautiful gardens you can walk and pray in.  From here we moved on to Capernaum,” Jesus’s Town” as the welcome sign proudly proclaimed.  Here there are ruins from Peter’s home, and ruins of other parts of the city of Capernaum.  There is part of an old temple which Jesus used to teach in quite often, which upon closer inspection of the outer wall revealed hundreds of notes from visitors tucked in to the cracks- prayers for their families, supplications to God.  We had no paper handy with which to participate, but it was cool just to see.

After Capernaum we continued to head North, stopping to look at the Jordan River as we crossed it.  We branched away from the coast to head into Golan to find lodging for the night.

Welcome to Israel!

Welcome to Israel!

The last few days have been absolutely amazing.  Israel is a country so rich in history and with such a ruggedly beautiful landscape that I feel like I could happily stay here for months!  We have only been here two nights but have already done so much. 
We arrived in Jerusalem by bus from Eilat at about 9pm on Saturday, and were delighted by the abundance of Jews bustling about in their Jewish garb.  Our hostel was located in the Old City, and in the morning we were able to climb up on the roof top and see the city spread out below- as well as the Mt. of Olives!  As enticing as it was to stay and explore all the sites of the city, we decided to rent a car for one week and explore the rest of Israel before coming back and spending time in Jerusalem.  We walked across Jerusalem to the Hertz rental location (beautiful weather and orderly street traffic) and then we were off!

We drove to the Dead Sea coast and spent several hours exploring and hiking at Quman, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  We were able to hike up into the craggy mountains quite a ways! There were no other people hiking, and the silence was incredible.  Just the two of us up on the vast landscapes.. it was awe inspiring to say the least.

Hiking up above Qumran

After Quman we continued to lazily make our way along the Dead Sea coast, exploring side roads and points of interest as the mood struck.  We did have to go through a few security check points complete with several heavily armed guards, but had no trouble and didn’t even have to come to a complete stop before we were waived through.

We weighed a few options for lodging and dinner before deciding to indulge in a nice hotel that came with a glorious dinner and breakfast buffet and was right on the beach.  It was nice staying in such comparative luxury with our very own bathroom and real towels!  We stayed up late playing Rummy, which Nick continues to dominate me in (though I hate to admit it!). 

We woke up to a disappointingly overcast and chilly day, but went down to the beach anyways determined to float in the Dead Sea.  Nick was successful in doing so but it was simply too cold for me to handle, so after he had experienced it we went inside to the heated Dead Sea Pool in the hotel, and had great fun floating about it the water.  The feeling is so unreal!  You can just lay flat on your back and float like a boat.  You can even “stand” up straight and float that way like a bouy.  We finally left our luxurious hotel and drove on to our next destination- Massada.

At Masada

Massada is on the Dead Sea Coast, and if you haven’t heard of it (as we hadn’t) it’s worth reading up on!  A fortress high up on a plateau , it is covered in ruins from a great palace King Herod built and is the site of the Jew’s final stronghold against the Romans where they committed mass suicide when defeat (and therefore a future of slavery) became imminent.  The views from the plateau were incredible, and the ruins were just as wonderful.  We rode up in a cable car since the hiking path was closed due to the “severe weather” (it was drizzling).

We are now driving away from Masada and are on our way to Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee.  It is dark, and Nick is listening to his book on tape while I write.  I am tired, and will post this tonight or tomorrow, depending upon when we get access to the internet.

Nick Here

Nick here.

I'm on the mend from a pretty rough cold that has had me hacking, wheezing, shivering and sweating for the past 4 days.  Marli had it too, but I fear (or am grateful) that she is made of tougher stuff than I because she has borne it much more admirably than I!  My brother seems to have contracted the same cold and is just getting over it himself.  It has been interesting buying Egyptian medicines and negotiating with the local apothecaries on the prices of their pharmaceuticals.  I must say I was happy to be sick in the beautiful town of Dahab, Egypt.  It's a sleepy little beach town where backpackers abound and are mixed in quite readily with modern Egyptian entrepreneurs and the Bedouin locals.  Most of the three days we spent in Dahab consisted of pleasant strolls on the boardwalks, shucking off the restaurant touts (who are far less aggressive and much more pleasant than those in Cairo), rummy with Marli, laying in the sun and inquiries into possible activities on our return journey.  All in all it was a wonderful way to recover from a cold!  Today we decided to make the trip out of Egypt on a whim.  We weren't sure if we'd end up in Jordan or in Israel but we thought it would be ok anyway it panned out.  After chatting with some folks at King Chicken last night we decided to forego our prior plan of taking a ferry from Nuweiba to famed Aquaba in favor of a land crossing into Israel through the town of Taba.  We met a pleasant Egyptian fellow by the name of Ibrahim on the bus and I engaged him probably for the sum of an hour all said and done during the 2.5 hour bus ride.  We learned a lot about various things:

1. Ibrahim met his fiancee for 1 hour before agreeing to become engaged.  (this is pretty standard in Egypt)  It reminded Marli and I of something that Trale (Marli's brother) had pointed out in an evening discussion on love.  It was that if 2 reasonable people who want to make a relationship work there is no real reason (normally) that they should not be able to!  It seems to work for many of the Egyptians anyway.  I still prefer the American way of dating and choosing a mate, but am intrigued by the idea and encouraged by the thought.  Humans are very adaptable creatures after all.
2. Many people who ride buses work for airlines in Egypt (he is probably the 4th person we'd met like this.)
3. I learned that Christians believe that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham through Isaac, and Muslims believe that Muhammad was also descendant of Abraham through Ishmael.  Marli pointed this out as I was conversing with Ibrahim (Abraham) about the nature of his name and was talking about Issac when Ibrahim corrected me and said Ishamel...I was unaware of this key difference in tenets of the faiths.  Very neat!

So we've arrived in Israel with no plans but are formulating some goals.  We are very fortunate to be in the position we are in and are grateful for it!  We have some great ideas for Israel they include the following:

1. Float on the dead sea
2. Jerusalem for a while (don't know how long)
3. Avoid Gaza
4. Avoid Lebanon
5. Nazareth
6. Maybe Tel Aviv...maybe not
7. Maybe Bethlehem but maybe not, depending on the vibe we get in Jerusalem (Bethlehem is in the West Bank)

Anyway, I'm finding this rather fun so I may begin to post more often if I find the time.  Until then I'll sign off. And hopefully fall asleep and wake up healthy tomorrow.  There's a regular screech outside the window that we can't seem to identify as bird, monkey or baby...we may never know but I leaning towards bird.

Pictures from Turkey

Chai, Turkish black tea, was a prominent part of
 the culture and one we all took part in daily.

Lunch at the fishmarket in Istabul.

Playing games and enjoying a waterpipe at one of the many Nargile Cafes.

Turkish Baths and Egyptian Revolutions

It is difficult finding time to write about our experiences!  Nick and I are currently in Cairo, Egypt, having fled south from Turkey hoping to find warmer weather.  We were successful- it gets to be around 65 F during the day (compared to 32 F in Turkey), which is quite pleasant.  At night it is chilly since we are surrounded by desert, after all, but the hostel we have stayed in the last two nights provides thick wool blankets that keep out the chill. 

I want to rewind for a little bit to talk about my experience taking a traditional Turkish Bath in Istanbul.  Then we can get to the Egyptian Revolution!

The Turkish Bath was everything I could ever hope for in a relaxing, meditative, introspective experience.  Upon entering the Hamam, which my friend Rob and I were led to by a Turk who snagged us on the street, we had to pick which level of bath we wanted.  We went for the whole shebang, which included a 1 hour bath and a 40 minute oil massage for a total of 90 Turkish Lira, or roughly $45.  None of the 4-5 seemingly bath employees around the entry way appeared to speak English, which suggests this was not a Turkish Bath frequented by tourists.

After leaving my clothes in a small room and wrapping myself in a scrap of cloth, I was ushered through a low door into a marble chamber with many alcoves.  I was led down a hallway and found myself in a 9x9 ft room made of marble with a low marble bench around the wall and 3 basins (one on each wall) with a hot water and cold water spigot into each.  The ceiling was domed and had round 6in holes connecting to the outside covered in colored plastic or glass, giving off a rudimentary stained glass affect. 

The girl who led me in indicated I should sit, turned on the hot and cold water, picked up a scoop of water and flung in on me, then handed it to me and indicated I should continue to bath myself.  She then bobbed her head and I was left alone to relax in the warm steamy room, letting hot water trickle over my body at a leisurely pace.  After the noise and bustle of Istanbul’s streets combined with the soreness of my muscles from all the walking and hiking, this was wonderful.  I’m not sure how much time went by, but I would estimate about 25 minutes. 

The actual bathing came next. I was laid on a marble slab and was scrubbed and buffed to perfection by a lady wearing a rough mit.  She left no ground uncovered.  After the srubbing, she rinsed me and then applied soap using an amazing pillow like contraption that was dipped in a sudsy bucket and then filled with air and rung out over my body.  There were mounds of bubbles!  The lady massaged the soap into me, flipped me over, and repeated.  Then she shampooed my hair, stood me up and rinsed me some more, and declared me “finished.”

I was then ushered (still in my little rag) across the building to the massage room.  I have only had two professional massages in my lifetime, but I have to say this was the best yet.  The lady was relentless.  She was actually out of breath from working on my muscles so hard!  Both hands, full speed, full pressure, for 40 minutes.  It was amazing.  She used an oil which when combined with my previous buffing resulted in the softest skin I have ever had.

After the massage Rob and I were served delicious Apple Tea and were able to sit and relax before entering back into the chilly busy streets of Istanbul.  Nick chose not to participate in the bathing this time since he has a scar that is healing on his back, but is looking forward to it on our return trip to Turkey in March!

Cairo, Egypt

Chaos.  Hustlers. Garbage. Horns. Delicious Food. Cheap.  Noise.

This is how I summarize Cairo after 2 days here.  We flew in from Istanbul, and are staying at a hostel about 2 minutes from Tahrir Square, heart of the Egyptian Revolution.  On 25 January there will be a big celebration of last year’s revolution, and already we are seeing signs of it.  People are camping on the square, and last night we saw a crowd march through the streets chanting and waving banners. The Egyptian Museum, which is right on the square, has been closed until after the “celebration” as a precautionary measure.  We have talked to several people about it and no one seems to know what to expect on the 25^th, so to be safe we are taking a bus to Dahab tonight and will see more of the sites in Cairo on our way back to Turkey. 

The food is absolutely AMAZING… and SO cheap.  Nick and I can get a large dinner for the two of us for the equivalent of just a few US dollars.  The currency here is the Egyptian Pound.  The streets are absolute chaos- you have to be really gutsy to cross and just run right out in the traffic!  I will upload some  pictures of donkeys pulling carts that I liked.  More later!