Would you believe I'm watching the first World Cup right now with some Germans (and other foreigners). Score just became 4-2 Germany. Fun b/c we're watching in the International Center where my friend Matt works.
Big day visiting MCC'ers for lunch, back to the Church of the Nativity again, to the Milk Grotto, and for a bit of shopping. It's my last day (I think) in Bethlehem so I've tried to make the most of it.
Tomorrow, I'm headed for Jerusalem early in the morning. I have to be there at 7am! But it will be worth it b/c I'm going on a day-trip to the northern part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I'll be riding in a car with some other MCC'ers.
After that, I'll be staying in Jerusalem for the rest of my time (I think). I plan to go all around the old city, the Stations of the Cross, Mount of Olives, etc. I have until next Friday morning when I leave, so I think it'll be OK.
This is an amazing place with wonderful people. Palestinians have lived through a lot, yet they continue to be creative, vibrant human beings. Pray for them.
Everyone needs to come here and experience what it is like. Words, pictures, and video cannot convey the reality of it all.
Friday, June 09, 2006
More about Egypt?
Busy around Bethlehem
Wow, tons going on. Let's see if I can tell the short version.
Wednesday, I went to the Old City of Jerusalem in the morning for some shopping and looking at sights. I made it to the Armenian Quarter and the Garden Tomb. In the afternoon, I met up with Sri, the MCC'er in Jerusalem and we went to Ramallaha to the Quaker Friends Center for a talk by a visiting American professor on Christian Zionism.
I couldn't find one good website with a biography of the speaker (Rev. Dr. Don Wagner of North Park University in Chicago), but if you Google him you will find links to books, lectures, etc.
On the way back to Jerusalem on the bus, it took Sri and I 90 minutes to go about 10 kilometers. This was due to multiple "flying checkpoints" put in place at random by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Why?
From what I have seen, it is to humiliate and degrade Palestinians.
Thursday, I went to Hebron to see the Old City, mosque, and situation there. (good article at BBC)
What a situation. The Old City is quite nearly a ghost town. It once was a busy place with thousands of shops and people all around. Now, tensions are high with Jewish settlers both inside and around the Old City. We met a man who lost 2 children to violence from soldiers and faces daily harassment. His story was featured in a documentary called "In the Spider's Web". We were given a copy, but unfortunately the subtitles are only in Arabic. I need to see if I can track down a copy in English to share once I'm back in the U.S.
Last night, we went to a great art exhibition on Peace and Non-Violence.
More later, if I can get to a computer...
Wednesday, I went to the Old City of Jerusalem in the morning for some shopping and looking at sights. I made it to the Armenian Quarter and the Garden Tomb. In the afternoon, I met up with Sri, the MCC'er in Jerusalem and we went to Ramallaha to the Quaker Friends Center for a talk by a visiting American professor on Christian Zionism.
I couldn't find one good website with a biography of the speaker (Rev. Dr. Don Wagner of North Park University in Chicago), but if you Google him you will find links to books, lectures, etc.
On the way back to Jerusalem on the bus, it took Sri and I 90 minutes to go about 10 kilometers. This was due to multiple "flying checkpoints" put in place at random by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Why?
From what I have seen, it is to humiliate and degrade Palestinians.
Thursday, I went to Hebron to see the Old City, mosque, and situation there. (good article at BBC)
What a situation. The Old City is quite nearly a ghost town. It once was a busy place with thousands of shops and people all around. Now, tensions are high with Jewish settlers both inside and around the Old City. We met a man who lost 2 children to violence from soldiers and faces daily harassment. His story was featured in a documentary called "In the Spider's Web". We were given a copy, but unfortunately the subtitles are only in Arabic. I need to see if I can track down a copy in English to share once I'm back in the U.S.
Last night, we went to a great art exhibition on Peace and Non-Violence.
More later, if I can get to a computer...
Monday, June 05, 2006
Made it to Israel!
Well, I'm now sitting in Bethlehem. We left on a bus from Cairo at 11pm last night and arrived in Taba at about 6am. After a bit of struggling at the border due to the Syrian stamps in my passport, we made it across and to Eliat. They took me off into a little room and subjected me to all sorts of questions about why I had gone to Syria, who I saw there, what I was going to do in Israel, if I knew people, etc. Quite a process but it only took about 1/2 hour.
What a crazy place! Israel proper feels like Europe and people look/act like it, except for the automatic weapons that some are carrying around. That's going to take some getting used to!
From Eliat we took a 4-hour bus to Jerusalem, walked around town a bit, then took a bus part-way to Bethlehem, then a taxi. We had to do the 2 ways b/c you get to a point where the Separation Wall stops the road that the bus is on and there's no easy way to go around. So...you go through a check-point of security where everyone is screened and then taxis are waiting to charge you high fares to continue.
I came on the bus with my friend Lachlyn who has a friend Matt in Bethlehem. So, I'm staying there for the next couple of nights and then will be going to stay in Jerusalem after that. Hopefully, I'll get some people to stay with from Couchsurfing.com
Playing tourist around Bethlehem tomorrow. Matt works at an institute with a computer lab and 'net connection, so hopefully I'll be able to keep using that.
What a crazy place! Israel proper feels like Europe and people look/act like it, except for the automatic weapons that some are carrying around. That's going to take some getting used to!
From Eliat we took a 4-hour bus to Jerusalem, walked around town a bit, then took a bus part-way to Bethlehem, then a taxi. We had to do the 2 ways b/c you get to a point where the Separation Wall stops the road that the bus is on and there's no easy way to go around. So...you go through a check-point of security where everyone is screened and then taxis are waiting to charge you high fares to continue.
I came on the bus with my friend Lachlyn who has a friend Matt in Bethlehem. So, I'm staying there for the next couple of nights and then will be going to stay in Jerusalem after that. Hopefully, I'll get some people to stay with from Couchsurfing.com
Playing tourist around Bethlehem tomorrow. Matt works at an institute with a computer lab and 'net connection, so hopefully I'll be able to keep using that.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Wadi Natrun
That's where I went to day with some volunteers from the Presbyterian/Lutheran churches in the US. They're doing service in Egypt and I hang out with them every so often.
Today, we loaded up in a small bus with seats for 14. There were only 7 of us and this Mercedes-Benz bus had great air-conditioning, too! Great relief from the 100 degree heat today.
Wadi Natrun is a salt lake of sorts that dries up in the summer and then comes back each fall/winter. Due to mineral deposits the water appears to have a red/pink hue.
Take a peek:
I also posted pics from yesterday and included a link to those from a friend. See "Coptic/Old Cairo" on the right side of my Blog page.
Today, we loaded up in a small bus with seats for 14. There were only 7 of us and this Mercedes-Benz bus had great air-conditioning, too! Great relief from the 100 degree heat today.
Wadi Natrun is a salt lake of sorts that dries up in the summer and then comes back each fall/winter. Due to mineral deposits the water appears to have a red/pink hue.
Take a peek:
I also posted pics from yesterday and included a link to those from a friend. See "Coptic/Old Cairo" on the right side of my Blog page.
Before my trip, a new look!
Hi all,
I've been thinking about giving my Blog a new look. So, here it is... What do you think? I saw that Blogger had lots of choices of ways to change and much to my surprise, this one is by one of my favorite web designers (yes, I have a few), Jeffrey Zeldman.
This includes a change to the way the comments work, which for the time being means that any comments before today are gone. Well, at least until I go back and make links to find them. If you put any comments in about things I wrote on Friday or Saturday, please go back and write them again.
I've been thinking about giving my Blog a new look. So, here it is... What do you think? I saw that Blogger had lots of choices of ways to change and much to my surprise, this one is by one of my favorite web designers (yes, I have a few), Jeffrey Zeldman.
This includes a change to the way the comments work, which for the time being means that any comments before today are gone. Well, at least until I go back and make links to find them. If you put any comments in about things I wrote on Friday or Saturday, please go back and write them again.
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