Fence Sitting Israel Palestine Styles...

As per usual Lou and I came to this area with a vague plan, and as per usual this ended up changing in its entirety.

We made it unscathed across the border and headed straight to Jerusalem. This is an amazing city and is an instant education from a historic and religious point of view. We visited the Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, Ancient Souq and much more. Also while in Jerusalem we attended a Yom Kippur Synagogue service and experienced the city shutting down for this day of atonement.

We then headed to Bethlehem where a fantastic taxi driver gave us a great introduction to this tiny town. We checked out Manger Square and then headed out to visit the Refugee camp and security wall – a sight that reminded me of the prisons I had seen in NZ. We were also lucky enough to be given a tour by a local student around Hebron - a city that lives in constant conflict due to encroaching settlers.

From here we headed up to Nablus where a two day stopover turned into a week-long volunteer stint.  We painted two murals with school children from the Girls’ School at the Balata Refugee Camp.  This was a fun time where we got to know the children and had a little insight into their lives. We also met a fantastic teacher called Raneen, and volunteer co-ordinator called Nizar who showed us the sights (and the delicacies) of Nablus.

Following a great Oktoberfest at the tiny Christian town of Taybeh, we headed back to Israel and hired a car for a couple of days. The north of Israel is green, lush and fertile. We tasted wine, hiked and explored the northernmost reaches where Lebanon and Syria almost surround you.

It is impossible to enter this area without having some idea that this is problem central. Collectively the ongoing conflict in this region has accounted for more headlines per capita probably than anywhere else in the world. What we came to realise whilst travelling is that it is not possible to understand the conflict from newspapers and books. And it has not been possible to understand it in the just over two short weeks that we have spent here. So what do we understand? We understand that there are many minority factions from both sides driving a lot of the violence and oppression. We understand the balance of power lies too much with the Israeli government. We understand that the security wall is an abhorrent injustice serving only to suppress, humiliate and strip people with no aggressive agenda of their civil rights. And we understand that there are many people on both sides of this fence (excuse the pun) who sympathise with each other, and want to work toward a long term peace.

Remember that this is a country that prior to British and UN intervention had people from Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths living peacefully side by side. It is now a country where barbed wire and assault rifles are common place, held onto by soldiers that barely look old enough to be driving - let alone deciding over life and death. It is where our Palestinian guide was forced to walk down the non-settler side of the road, while we could walk wherever we wanted, and where a whole population has access to water, fuel, food and travel restricted. These restrictions are decided on by the same force that is protecting Zionist settlers who are slowly, but surely, encroaching upon and taking over land and homes that are not theirs, despite what they might say.

Little is offered from the international community to protect those who need protection and it seems now with so much bloodshed, injury and death sustained from both sides that a ‘one state’ solution just couldn’t work.  So what now?  We don’t have a solution and unless there is compromise we doubt anyone else will come up with one. We certainly hope for the sake of all those who have been affected, in all ways, that something is thought of soon. We also hope that more people read beyond the headlines to understand better the lives of those living in this awful situation, and perhaps offer some support to those that need it most.

A Journey through Jordan

This is a video summary of our time in Jordan - enjoy!

Jordan - "hop in"

Random Driver: Where are you going?

Us: Wadi Mujib (but the bus dropped us 25km short and here we were in 40 degree heat, 400m below sea level on the side of the road wondering how we were going to get there).

Driver: Where are you from?

Us: New Zealand

Driver: Hop in.

And thus to us the hospitable reputation of the Jordanians was reconfirmed.

As is turned out the two in the car were doctors on their way back to Amman after spending a week rostered to a small poor community hospital in rural Jordan. We stopped for roadside tea (tea always follows an introduction) before they dropped us at our destination, refusing all offers of payment but leaving with us their phone numbers, ‘incase you need anything.’

We had actually arrived a week earlier and were thoroughly taken by the country. Amman, our point of arrival was a take it or leave it kind of place and although we actually enjoyed it more on our return we left ASAP and headed to Petra, the famed Nabathean ancient city carved into the soft sandstone of the Wadis (valleys). After two days of non-stop exploring we still found surprises around every corner – and not just of the sandstone kind. After trekking through a very narrow valley we came across a local Bedouin family who offered us tea and a chat. And while walking up to one of the cave entrances we came across the famed Kiwi, Margaruite van Galdermalsen , who on a backpacking trip back in 1978 had met and married a local Bedouin man. Oddly we reminisced regarding Nelson and apple picking before getting a copy of her book titles Married to a Bedouin – a great read and insight into the recent culture and history of the place. 

Taking the local bus we then spent a couple of nights in Wadi Rum, staying in a Goat-hair tent on the edge of the desert made famous by TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). It was incredibly hot but amazingly beautiful, and coming from a temperate country obviously like nothing we had ever seen before. Our local guide showed us how people made use of the natural resources and we even followed in the path of TE Lawrence himself. The stand out in Wadi Rum was undoubtedly the sun rises and sets – not to mention the night we spent sleeping under the stars (and the occasional commercial jet liner…)

Via Aqaba on the southern coast where you can see Egypt, Israel and Jordan all at once (and Saudi is 20kms down the road) we ended up meeting our aforementioned doctor friends who dropped us at Wadi Mujib. Here we enjoyed a wet but awesome walk up the valley, an important nature reserve for Jordan, before settling into our chalet overlooking the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea experience was something we had been looking forward to and it did not disappoint. It is 423 metres below sea level and the water is almost oily in nature given its high salinity (8.6 times that of normal seawater). It is no problem to float completely unaided while reading a book – the classic photo op.

We got a taste of Christianity (all forms) in Madaba and some ancient mosaics before heading back to Amman. In Amman we ummed and ahhed regarding taking a tour north (as opposed to doing it ourselves) but were super glad when our guide for the day could not be kept quiet. He chatted openly about all aspects of Jordanian life, religion, politics and found us perhaps the best lunch that we have experienced in the Middle East. The tour took in several historical sights but perhaps most interesting was the ancient roman ruin that overlooked Jordan, Syria, the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee.

Our 10 days in Jordan were fantastic and flew by. The scenery, history and culture were phenomenal. But as always for us, we realise it was the people who made it so special – and Jordan did not disappoint.

Bienvenido a Cuba

After the most amazing medical elective / holiday in Cuba in 2008, we returned to visit old friends and make new ones. We danced on roof tops, partied in both the Santiago and Havana carnivals, had 22 hours of salsa lessons, drank rum, smoked cigars, talked politics, and spent time with good friends.

Turkish Delight

Turkey was the first Muslim country we had traveled to, and hitting Istanbul, we certainly noticed a change. But the change was akin to visiting Singapore before you travel to Asia – enough difference to be noticeable and exciting, but not too different as to be hard work or uncomfortable.

Istanbul is a stunning city where the European part has had a major influence over the Asian side. The whole city feels very accessible and Western with the added special element of being… well, Muslim. Beautiful mosques dominate the skyline and the call for prayer is heard five times daily.

We visited Topkapi Palace, and the underground waterways – the Cistern. We wandered through the Grand Bazaar, ate our way through the Spice Market, and had fresh fish sandwiches under the bridge over the Bospherous River. Of course, we also sampled as many kebaps as we could, and every variety of baklava.

Jono’s parents arrived a couple of days later and we spent a couple of days whizzing round the city with them. For the following week, we hired a car and had a glorious time exploring the Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts in our own time. 

Firstly we made our way to Galipolli. This was a very moving experience and somewhat of a rite of passage for us as New Zealanders. It was certainly a very important part of our time in Turkey for Maree, who had taught the ANZAC history to many school children. We had a wonderful tour guide, a Turkish man who had married an Australian lady and now splits his time between the two countries. He had a deep personal interest and understanding in the war between the Allies and Turks, and was a wealth of knowledge.

Our next stop was Troia/Truva (Troy) where, after our guide warned us not to get our hopes up as there was not much left of the site to see (and no Brad Pitt), we all did get excited about the ruins which dated back over 7000 years.

From Troy, we carried down the coast visiting the little towns that tumbled down cliffs, fishing towns, inland towns in amongst olive groves and ancient Greco-Roman ruins. At Pamukkale, we walked up over magical while terraces and swam in the turquoise water that flowed over them.

There was great excitement from all when we reached the Mediterranean Sea – our first glimpse of it – and we managed to have two nights in an apartment overlooking the Med in the lovely little town of Kas.

Our final day with John and Maree we spent at the Southern city of Antalya. This city seemed to have the perfect combination of beautifully preserved and restored Old Town, as well as a fairly liberal, very modern and seemingly wealthy new part. Our last supper was at a restaurant set over the Bay of Antalya, and we sat there drinking Turkish wine and beer as the sun set around us.

The next day we dropped John and Maree at the airport (setting off for the next stage of their European adventures!) and headed off to the Greek Island of Rhodes. Rhodes was all that we hoped it would be – history, sun, beaches, Mediterranean food, and mopeds. We spent time exploring the medieval city, visited little towns, swam, lay on the beach and explored the island by moped.

When we got back to Turkey (a short ferry ride), we worked our way to the central part of the country, staying in Goreme where the “fairy chimneys” are found. The terrain has been moulded over time into conical mounds which people have been dwelling in for centuries. We had two days in Cappadocia, staying in a (luxurious) cave, and visiting these amazing structures which also housed frescoed churches.

Three weeks was nowhere near enough time in Turkey. The people were the kindest and most genuinely interested in you that we have met, and their love of Kiwis and Australians is humbling considering we were the enemy over those WW1 years. The Turkish leader Ataturk famously told the mothers of the fallen ANZAC soldiers “Your sons are now living in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.” Turkey certainly made us feel like part of their family.