Now I totally *get* Moses...
as well as the gravity of the decision to wander in the desert (in Egypt!) for 40 years. Geez, what punishment.
Well, everybody, the decision was made, and in the end, it was a good one--especially since I could barely hear out of my ears while driving past the Dead Sea. Yes, yes, I went to Israel!
Oh thank you G-d!
Seriously, this may seem melodramatic, but crossing the border between the two countries was the best thing that's happened to me in months! Hilariously (in a slightly sad way), as I was crossing these other people were trying to get into Egypt, and were standing at this office bogged down with an Egyptian official who was smoking, chatting on the phone to a friend and arguing with another official nearby...("Welcome to Egypt!" they said...I had to laugh).
So yesterday I took off from Dahab quite early in the morning. I avoided getting ripped off on my taxi drive over to the bus station by shelling out the proper amount of money and arguing/haggling with the driver while grabbing my things--until he was haggled to submission. (Mwahaha).
Then it was onto the bus itself, which was about an hour late (go figure). The attendants started selling tickets earlier than they would (usually they only sell when the bus arrives) because they were afraid their customers would get picked up by taxi drivers instead. Anyway, the bus arrived and we all piled onto it. Once you're getting onto the Tabah bus, it's pretty clear to everyone that you're either an Israeli, Jewish, Christian, or have some plans to pass through Israel. At that point it was kind of like...meh, whatever. The other people going on into Israel was this Austrian dude living in Tel Aviv for the year, a German guy who lives in Dahab but was crossing to go shopping in Eilat, four Japanese travelers making their way to Jerusalem and an American couple (and one of their mother's) from Los Angeles (but living in SF now) finishing up a year-long voyage with about 10 days in Israel. Not bad.
Our bus stalled at least a dozen times on the road while this one Egyptian guy kept hopping off to deliver packages (he's with FedEx apparently), and another guy was waiting for a bakery to finish baking bread, etc, etc...Actually, I got a few perks out of this--free bread and food on the bus from these guys--other passengers weren't so lucky. The bread, by the way, tastes exactly like matzah! Except it's leavened. Another mystery solved!
We were dropped off about 1 km from the border crossing. And off we went with our packs, into the hot sun, down the strip of road lined with palm trees and taxi drivers trying to hound us into our last rip-off. No cigar.
The border itself was a gate with a group of Egyptian officers standing around smoking cigarettes and giving passports a cursory glance before charging everyone 2 Egyptian pounds for a visa stamp and paper to get out of the country. From there it was about 20 meters to the "Departures" building (none of this was very clearly marked, so there involved a lot of stumbling about with my pack and guesswork...). At this building we waited around while the Egyptian officials there finished arguing with each other (do I sense a pattern?--btw, I forgot to mention the same thing happened at the bus station when I first got there to leave Dahab, except that time it last 45 minutes and the police were called). Afterwards, we dumped our bags in the x-ray machine, picked it up and continued on to get our passports stamped (or not, in some cases). I walked forward and didn't see a single person at the station (a repeat of the airport when I'd first arrived). I was told to go to an office, and after much hanging around and impatient glances at my watch (I had a bus to catch to get to Eilat and another from Eilat to Jerusalem at 4:30 p.m. and it was 2:30 p.m. and I had not yet gone through Israeli security!).
Anyway, the man finally stamped my passport and I wandered past a group of guards and out of the "Departures" hall, wondering if I'd forgotten to do something. No one stopped me though, and I continued down a path until I saw a hi-tech building up ahead with an Israeli flag atop it--guards at attention by the gates and well marked signs telling people where to pass through. Heaven already. I was hard put to not cry when I saw the flag and later I teared up a bit when I finally got into Israel.
Now for the next ordeal. Israeli security and actually getting into Israel.
Though, as my friend said, "Israel's a democracy, you have nothing to worry about. Worry more about places like Egypt." And it is indeed true. The truth sometimes works out the best. And so, sure enough, I walked into the place and was taken to the interrogation stand. I was wearing these shorts with a tie thing in front, that kind of bunches up, and after we moved over to the interrogation stand (while everyone else simply got a couple questions and a quick entry)...the lady asks me if I'm wearing anything under my shirt in front of my waist-area...Oh, like a bomb?! I left that at home... Just kidding. I didn't really mind. I felt kind of like a little puppy, eager to please, and I responded to all her questions clearly and comprehensively (sometimes a tad too much, I feel). At the very end she asked me if it was hard traveling with my last name (yes, sometimes), and why I didn't change it: "Why don't you change your last name? You should change it! You're Jewish, and that's a Muslim name."
To be honest, I was a bit offended, but let it pass. I told her "But that's who I am, I'm proud of who I am, to be Jewish, with my last name, to be a mix--American, Iranian, Chinese, Jewish--Hebrew first name, Arabic last name. I like it."
And she let it pass. She smiled, and that was the end of the interrogation. She walked over to the other Israeli security people and told them "Yehudi--"She's a Jew"...and when they questioned her on it, she laid it to rest. "She's Jewish...let her pass." Ah, you don't even know how great that felt. And, in addition, most Israelis like Americans. I love it here.
After that it was only a matter of getting my passport stamped--they can only grant me one month at the border, which means if I want to stay--as planned--until Oct. 16, then I must go to the Internal Affairs office in Jerusalem for those extra three days (B.S. bureaucracy crap, no way will I do that--and it's all moot since I'll be heading to Greece for a couple days before returning, more on that later).
My passport properly stamped, I headed out to catch the bus into Eilat. I spoke with the Dahab guy who told me that diving in Eilat wasn't worth it and a waste of money, but that Israelis probably felt safer doing it there. No kidding. For all the importance of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, there's something to be said about feeling comfortable when it comes to life/death issues.
As the bus drove through Eilat I was awed by the modernity of everything. The bus itself had AC 100 times better than any building or bus in Egypt. Everything was so clean, big, working, modern, Western...it was like back to civilization. From third world to first world in...like 10 minutes. Now all of the problems between the Arab world and Israel become a lot more clear. On the other side, as in Dahab where we could see Saudi Arabia, here we could see Jordan...and this gigantic flag that looked like it'd been made for the sole purpose of permitting Israelis across the way to see it.
The drive into Eilat reminded me of the one time in Hurghada when I'd gone into a high-class tourist hotel there. I felt like I was entering a different, more relaxing world. I felt so grungy...and just...out of place. It was the same feeling, except in Israel I felt like I belonged--it was like home. Hard to convey that feeling.
In Eilat I bought the bus ticket to Jerusalem and went off to get food and ice cream (they even have a larger selection of ice cream bars!). I asked for the bathroom, "Efo ha sherutim?" and then came back to get onto the bus, which was dead on time. When I got onto the bus a guy let me borrow his cell phone to call up Devora in Jerusalem (who I would be staying with), and get her address info, etc. Halfway through the ride we stopped at a rest stop that reminded me of the rest stops in France...better than average, with a restaurant, coffee shop, gas station, and store. When the bus stopped a man on board turned to me and told that we were stopped for a 15 minute break. Throughout Egypt, not a single person ever bothered to let me know what was going on. When we got back on the bus, the guy--Idan Leviadam--gave me a piece of chocolate and we chatted for a bit. Apparently, he was head of security for some large hotel in the Dead Sea area, and he traveled a lot around Israel giving security talks to people. He was amused by my last name and security ordeals, which I explained to him in good humour before finding out his occupation. Then he got off the bus and we continued onto the last leg of the journey.
It was so refreshing to see people wish Jewish stars, kippot, religious gear, and even the military uniforms I was previously so accustomed to seeing. It was, as always, quite a shock to see young teenagers toting rebelliously saggy military uniforms, and guns. But I'm slowly getting a bit more used to it again. It was just nice to be back.
When I got into Jerusalem I found the taxi stand and halved the figure the taxi driver offered me (I was too tired to find the bus place, wait around and lug my stuff about in search for Devora's place). The taxi driver was so easy to haggle with after my experiences with Morocco and Egypt, and after 20 seconds I got my taxi, chatted with the driver who was really glad I was visiting, and got dropped off 10 ft. away from Devora's place. Clean streets, no smoggy cars, AC, cooler weather (but still nice), better cars, everything works, fast Internet...laundry...my first fresh-water shower in days (not diluted salt water as it was in the Sinai), a real meal (Devora cooked Mexican in preparation!--Oh how I missed it)...and I feel a million times better.
Thank G-d for Israel.
I'll do a follow-up post on my final reflections on Morocco, Egypt and the last-minute plans for Greece. But I think I'll end this post here.
I am glad to be back.
Well, everybody, the decision was made, and in the end, it was a good one--especially since I could barely hear out of my ears while driving past the Dead Sea. Yes, yes, I went to Israel!
Oh thank you G-d!
Seriously, this may seem melodramatic, but crossing the border between the two countries was the best thing that's happened to me in months! Hilariously (in a slightly sad way), as I was crossing these other people were trying to get into Egypt, and were standing at this office bogged down with an Egyptian official who was smoking, chatting on the phone to a friend and arguing with another official nearby...("Welcome to Egypt!" they said...I had to laugh).
So yesterday I took off from Dahab quite early in the morning. I avoided getting ripped off on my taxi drive over to the bus station by shelling out the proper amount of money and arguing/haggling with the driver while grabbing my things--until he was haggled to submission. (Mwahaha).
Then it was onto the bus itself, which was about an hour late (go figure). The attendants started selling tickets earlier than they would (usually they only sell when the bus arrives) because they were afraid their customers would get picked up by taxi drivers instead. Anyway, the bus arrived and we all piled onto it. Once you're getting onto the Tabah bus, it's pretty clear to everyone that you're either an Israeli, Jewish, Christian, or have some plans to pass through Israel. At that point it was kind of like...meh, whatever. The other people going on into Israel was this Austrian dude living in Tel Aviv for the year, a German guy who lives in Dahab but was crossing to go shopping in Eilat, four Japanese travelers making their way to Jerusalem and an American couple (and one of their mother's) from Los Angeles (but living in SF now) finishing up a year-long voyage with about 10 days in Israel. Not bad.
Our bus stalled at least a dozen times on the road while this one Egyptian guy kept hopping off to deliver packages (he's with FedEx apparently), and another guy was waiting for a bakery to finish baking bread, etc, etc...Actually, I got a few perks out of this--free bread and food on the bus from these guys--other passengers weren't so lucky. The bread, by the way, tastes exactly like matzah! Except it's leavened. Another mystery solved!
We were dropped off about 1 km from the border crossing. And off we went with our packs, into the hot sun, down the strip of road lined with palm trees and taxi drivers trying to hound us into our last rip-off. No cigar.
The border itself was a gate with a group of Egyptian officers standing around smoking cigarettes and giving passports a cursory glance before charging everyone 2 Egyptian pounds for a visa stamp and paper to get out of the country. From there it was about 20 meters to the "Departures" building (none of this was very clearly marked, so there involved a lot of stumbling about with my pack and guesswork...). At this building we waited around while the Egyptian officials there finished arguing with each other (do I sense a pattern?--btw, I forgot to mention the same thing happened at the bus station when I first got there to leave Dahab, except that time it last 45 minutes and the police were called). Afterwards, we dumped our bags in the x-ray machine, picked it up and continued on to get our passports stamped (or not, in some cases). I walked forward and didn't see a single person at the station (a repeat of the airport when I'd first arrived). I was told to go to an office, and after much hanging around and impatient glances at my watch (I had a bus to catch to get to Eilat and another from Eilat to Jerusalem at 4:30 p.m. and it was 2:30 p.m. and I had not yet gone through Israeli security!).
Anyway, the man finally stamped my passport and I wandered past a group of guards and out of the "Departures" hall, wondering if I'd forgotten to do something. No one stopped me though, and I continued down a path until I saw a hi-tech building up ahead with an Israeli flag atop it--guards at attention by the gates and well marked signs telling people where to pass through. Heaven already. I was hard put to not cry when I saw the flag and later I teared up a bit when I finally got into Israel.
Now for the next ordeal. Israeli security and actually getting into Israel.
Though, as my friend said, "Israel's a democracy, you have nothing to worry about. Worry more about places like Egypt." And it is indeed true. The truth sometimes works out the best. And so, sure enough, I walked into the place and was taken to the interrogation stand. I was wearing these shorts with a tie thing in front, that kind of bunches up, and after we moved over to the interrogation stand (while everyone else simply got a couple questions and a quick entry)...the lady asks me if I'm wearing anything under my shirt in front of my waist-area...Oh, like a bomb?! I left that at home... Just kidding. I didn't really mind. I felt kind of like a little puppy, eager to please, and I responded to all her questions clearly and comprehensively (sometimes a tad too much, I feel). At the very end she asked me if it was hard traveling with my last name (yes, sometimes), and why I didn't change it: "Why don't you change your last name? You should change it! You're Jewish, and that's a Muslim name."
To be honest, I was a bit offended, but let it pass. I told her "But that's who I am, I'm proud of who I am, to be Jewish, with my last name, to be a mix--American, Iranian, Chinese, Jewish--Hebrew first name, Arabic last name. I like it."
And she let it pass. She smiled, and that was the end of the interrogation. She walked over to the other Israeli security people and told them "Yehudi--"She's a Jew"...and when they questioned her on it, she laid it to rest. "She's Jewish...let her pass." Ah, you don't even know how great that felt. And, in addition, most Israelis like Americans. I love it here.
After that it was only a matter of getting my passport stamped--they can only grant me one month at the border, which means if I want to stay--as planned--until Oct. 16, then I must go to the Internal Affairs office in Jerusalem for those extra three days (B.S. bureaucracy crap, no way will I do that--and it's all moot since I'll be heading to Greece for a couple days before returning, more on that later).
My passport properly stamped, I headed out to catch the bus into Eilat. I spoke with the Dahab guy who told me that diving in Eilat wasn't worth it and a waste of money, but that Israelis probably felt safer doing it there. No kidding. For all the importance of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, there's something to be said about feeling comfortable when it comes to life/death issues.
As the bus drove through Eilat I was awed by the modernity of everything. The bus itself had AC 100 times better than any building or bus in Egypt. Everything was so clean, big, working, modern, Western...it was like back to civilization. From third world to first world in...like 10 minutes. Now all of the problems between the Arab world and Israel become a lot more clear. On the other side, as in Dahab where we could see Saudi Arabia, here we could see Jordan...and this gigantic flag that looked like it'd been made for the sole purpose of permitting Israelis across the way to see it.
The drive into Eilat reminded me of the one time in Hurghada when I'd gone into a high-class tourist hotel there. I felt like I was entering a different, more relaxing world. I felt so grungy...and just...out of place. It was the same feeling, except in Israel I felt like I belonged--it was like home. Hard to convey that feeling.
In Eilat I bought the bus ticket to Jerusalem and went off to get food and ice cream (they even have a larger selection of ice cream bars!). I asked for the bathroom, "Efo ha sherutim?" and then came back to get onto the bus, which was dead on time. When I got onto the bus a guy let me borrow his cell phone to call up Devora in Jerusalem (who I would be staying with), and get her address info, etc. Halfway through the ride we stopped at a rest stop that reminded me of the rest stops in France...better than average, with a restaurant, coffee shop, gas station, and store. When the bus stopped a man on board turned to me and told that we were stopped for a 15 minute break. Throughout Egypt, not a single person ever bothered to let me know what was going on. When we got back on the bus, the guy--Idan Leviadam--gave me a piece of chocolate and we chatted for a bit. Apparently, he was head of security for some large hotel in the Dead Sea area, and he traveled a lot around Israel giving security talks to people. He was amused by my last name and security ordeals, which I explained to him in good humour before finding out his occupation. Then he got off the bus and we continued onto the last leg of the journey.
It was so refreshing to see people wish Jewish stars, kippot, religious gear, and even the military uniforms I was previously so accustomed to seeing. It was, as always, quite a shock to see young teenagers toting rebelliously saggy military uniforms, and guns. But I'm slowly getting a bit more used to it again. It was just nice to be back.
When I got into Jerusalem I found the taxi stand and halved the figure the taxi driver offered me (I was too tired to find the bus place, wait around and lug my stuff about in search for Devora's place). The taxi driver was so easy to haggle with after my experiences with Morocco and Egypt, and after 20 seconds I got my taxi, chatted with the driver who was really glad I was visiting, and got dropped off 10 ft. away from Devora's place. Clean streets, no smoggy cars, AC, cooler weather (but still nice), better cars, everything works, fast Internet...laundry...my first fresh-water shower in days (not diluted salt water as it was in the Sinai), a real meal (Devora cooked Mexican in preparation!--Oh how I missed it)...and I feel a million times better.
Thank G-d for Israel.
I'll do a follow-up post on my final reflections on Morocco, Egypt and the last-minute plans for Greece. But I think I'll end this post here.
I am glad to be back.
posted by IJW at 1:26 PM
1 Comments:
Yay for leaving Egypt! I am sooooooo jealous that you got Mexican food. So jealous. Sooooo jealous.
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