Palestine link

We've been here in Jerusalem almost a week and I haven't really blogged about it yet...partially this is because we've been super busy and I haven't had tons of free time. But mostly it's because I'm still trying to process all the information and stories presented to me. We've heard from a professor at Hebrew University about his opinion on the settlement "expansions", visited Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum), saw the motivation for Zionism in the Hertz Museum, and talked to Palestinians living under what they call an occupation of East Jerusalem. We visited the City of David, a tourist site run by Israelis where King David established his claim to the ancient holy city...and saw the surrounding poverty-stricken Palestinian village of Silwan. We sat on the roof yesterday listening to one Palestinian and one Israeli from and organization called Combatants for Peace talk about their passion for nonviolent efforts toward peace...and we heard when the bomb exploded in West Jerusalem, killing one and injuring many Israelis.

There are many narratives on the conflict and many opinions on the situation. I'm just beginning to delve into the sticky mess to figure out what is truth and what is politics. I can't say that I have opinions what should be done yet--I felt sad seeing the horrors the Jewish people went through in the Holocaust when I was in Yad Vashem, and I felt sad watching a documentary that showed a Palestinian family crying after their house was demolished by Israeli bulldozers. I haven't blogged about all this yet because I haven't figured out what to say.

If I've learned one thing for sure it's that I was very ignorant of the situation before this trip. When I set up this blog, I made links for all the countries I thought I might visit, so I could link the posts to their respective countries. I included an "Israel" link, but no "Palestine" link. That right there proves my limited knowledge previously--Israel is not an undisputed area. The fight over what is technically Israel and what is Palestine is one of the key issues. We will be visiting Palestinian land on this trip--East Jerusalem (though it has been annexed and is illegally occupied by Israel currently) and the West Bank. I'm adding a Palestine link for those blog posts.


In the meantime, I'm learning how much I didn't know about the truth on the ground here.

Living between two fires

"Being a Christian in Palestine is like living between two fires: the Israeli occupation and the militant Arabs."
-Hanna Massad

Our second talk in Aman on March 19 was from a pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church, now living in Jordan after conditions and persecution made it necessary for him to leave the Gaza Strip. A few things struck me from this discussion:
-Issues of identity are difficult for Christian Arabs in Gaza
-Gaza Christians try to have grace and forgive the Israelis for taking their homeland, but non-Christians have a harder time with grace
-"I've never been in prison, but I live in one in Gaza."
-Persecution for Gaza Christians began in 2000, from their neighboring Muslims. It got increasingly worse because the police in Gaza do not protect the Christians. Hanna's family evacuated Gaza for Aman because of this intense persecution, and he now pastors a church of Iraqi refugees here in Jordan.
-He requests prayers for safety for Gazan Christians and the population living under Israeli siege--often unable to receive basic humanitarian aid and living in poverty because goods are blocked by the siege.

Hanna also spoke a bit about the Christian Zionist movement, in the United States especially. It's very hard for Gaza Christians who belong to the Baptist Church and are living under occupation from Israel to read that American Baptist Churches support Israel unconditionally. It struck me that as a Christian in America, I usually found that often the church voiced support of Israel on the claim that God gave the Israelis the land. Hanna responded to this: "You are telling me that my Christ wants to take away my home and my land and give it to Jews who do not believe in Him?" Who are the people of God now really, he questioned. Are they still the Jews? Or did the New Testament redefine the promises of God and make the Church in Christ the new People of God?

Food for thought for me as I struggle with these questions and am learning more about the conflict every day.

Jordan: "Words have different meanings here."

Our second day in Jordan, we visited the UN Palestinian Refugee camp in Jerash. My first reaction was to compare the camp to Ensenada, Mexico--dirty, poor, crumbling concrete buildings, tons of little kids running around in the dirt. The camp was set up in 1968 after 11,000 refugees were forced to flee from the Gaza Strip area into Jordan. These refugees are denied Jordanian citizenship (even their children born in Jordan) and have no papers, which makes it hard to travel or get jobs. The government gives the camp no assistance--it's all funded by the UNRWA. 

People we talked to in the camp are still holding onto the hope of returning to their homes in the Gaza Strip, clinging onto the UN Resolution 194. We asked one of the leaders if they refugees wanted Jordanian citizenship, would that make things better? 

"No, even if they give us the whole world, it won't replace our homes," he said.

The Jordanian king has done his part, giving regular food packages to the camp, which now has a population of 27,000. Again we asked our camp representative a question: what message would you like to send to citizens back in America? 

"We hope for our kids to be treated like all other kids. We hope to see them happy and healthy." Children in America, he said, can look to their future and hope to be anything they want. Gaza refugee children in Jerash look to their future and feel hopeless. 

We visited the school in Jersah, where a kindergarten class of girls boasted their English skills by shouting at the top of their lungs the names of various clothing items. 

Teacher: "What is this?"

Girls: "THIS IS A SKIIIIIRT!!!!!!"

It was super cute.

Me and Paul in Jerash

Open sewage runs from each crumbling house to the main line, which runs through the middle of the street.

Streets of the camp

Leaving Jersah, I had a few questions still. How long, I wondered, will the refugees hold onto their hope of returning home? How long will the government deny them any papers? Will they eventually be integrated into Jordanian citizenship, or what will happen to them?

- - -

On a lighter note, we then bussed to the Roman Army and Chariot Enactment in the ruins of the ancient Roman city Gerash.

Watching the gladiators

Legion of the Roman army

Gladiator fights

Some of the best preserved ruins in the background

The gang

We then arrived in Aman!

Bruce and I on the roof in our hotel Aman

From the roof, we observed the overflow of prayers from one of the main mosques into the street.

The city of Aman behind me, from the top of the citadel.

While in Aman we had two really interesting lectures, one from a UN rep and one from a Gaza pastor who fled to Jordan. To keep their anonymity and requests for being "off the record," I won't mention names but just give you all some brief points that I found most interesting about the two talks.


First, the US Deputy Counselor at the UN Embassy in Jordan:

-Jordan has been, and is still (under the leadership of King Abdullah II), very committed to a 2-state peaceful solution for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
-The conflict is at the heart of all topics in Jordan; no matter what you talk about, people want to know your opinion on the I/P issue
-At the current time, the UN is still in the process of "talking about talks"
-Cross cultural issues come into play here, namely the emotionality of the Arabic language and how that can be misconstrued by Western ears
-The solution to the problem will be two-fold: five final status issues that need to be settled (including borders & settlements, Jerusalem, refugees, etc.) and bridging the cultural gap between the Israelis and Palestinians (to prepare the people for peace).
-"Time is on no one's side."

He left us with some closing advice that I thought was helpful, including encouragement to let go of our Western political frameworks while we're here and analyze issues on their own terms. "Words have different meanings here," he said--the context and figurative nature of Arabic makes some phrases difficult when translated. Events today cannot be separated from the past--all things come in the context of those before. He warned us to be wary of simple, singular, broad-sweeping explanations for anything. Everything is more complex than it seems. Finally, he warned that false "facts" will be presented as evidence or justification for certain acts. "Just because something isn't true here doesn't mean it's not sued as evidence and part of the discourse."

Welcome to Jordan!

My first thought in Jordan was not very profound. "I'm hungry." It was 2:30 in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten since 7:30 in the morning, when we left our hotel in Damascus. The crossing into Jordan was long but mostly uneventful.

My second thought in Jordan was a little bit more deep. "It's green!" The view from the plateau-top where we stopped for lunch featured Israel, the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights, and Syria to the north. All set in the context of green rolling hills and deep valleys--one of which is part of the Jordan Valley. This valley actually runs all the way down through Africa, and is the lowest point of the world.

After lunch we headed to an Ecopark in the Jordan Valley to stay the night. The winding drive down the mountain showed me how we've really entered the heart of the Middle East--Jordanians of all ages and gender stared and pointed at us as we drove by in the bus. It was strange to feel like a monkey in the zoo.

Finally we arrived at our destination, the Ecopark in the Jordan Valley. It's a tri-lateral organization set up with cooperation from Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leadership. The organization works to restore the natural ecosystem and resources (especially water) which have been depleted in the region. Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world in terms of water. The environmental degradation occurred from over-grazing and poor water management and have resulted in severe water issues in all the area (not only Jordan). The agriculture business is also to blame--using most of the region's water up and exporting crops (so doing nothing to sustain the community). The "Friends of the Earth - Middle East" works with local youth on issues of water and responsible environmental decisions. The water issue is one example of the many different shapes the local conflict takes in Jordan.

So we're getting this talk from the organization leader, sitting in a geological dome and watching the sun set over the green hills and yellow flowers. We hear cats and goats and coyotes in the distance. Suddenly a rustling in the bushes surprises me. Out pops a stooped old Bedouin man carrying a large silver tray of tea cups and a black kettle. He's a neighbor of the Ecopark and hard us talking, so he came over to bring us all some tea. I sip the delicious sugary goodness and think how nice the hospitality is here. Far from feeling unsafe or nervous here in the Middle East, I'm feeling more comfortable than some big US cities. People are certainly more friendly than they were in Europe!

Golan Heights (and Paul) in the background

Ecopark in Jordan

The wonderful land of Syria

Syria! Where do I start? Syria has been just incredible—I love it! We’ve seen so much and experienced the true Middle East. Not to mention GREAT food, beautiful lookout spots, and one really awesome city (Damascus). 

The first thing that must be reported about our experience in Syria is our border crossing ordeal. We drove to the Turkey-Syria border, disembarked the bus and put on our huge backpacks. As we waited in line to go through passport check, a slimy-looking Turkish man approached our group. Apparently, he was trying to sell us unnecessary exit visas (which we had already purchased ahead of time). We politely told him no and turned away, but the man would not leave! He was trying to scam us five dollars each to leave the country. No matter how hard we tried to walk away, he followed and kept poking his head in our faces trying to sell his scam product. “Five! Five? Five!” he kept shouting, insisting on our five dollar fee. Bruce proved to be the hero of the day, as he stared blankly at the scam man babbling on in Turkish,  then coldly removing his sunglasses to glare in his eyes and stated loudly and clearly, “NO FIVE.” After calling his buddies and trying to scare us by driving their car at us, we called over the security border guard and the scammer FINALLY left. 

After this first impression, things only improved. Here were my other first impressions of the country, as I wrote in my journal:

-Sheppards are grazing their sheep in the freeway divider grass…what??

-All the women are wearing headscarves or burkas…starting with girls as young as 8 or 9!

-Everyone stares at us…I feel like I’m a zoo exhibit.

-There are bloody sheep heads in a bucket in the market. Why is this necessary?

Our first stop in Syria was the city of Aleppo. We got some good exposure to the Middle East, and explored the citadel in the middle of the city. I learned some background info about Syria, like the fact it’s 10% Christian.

On Sunday morning we observed part of the liturgy at a Syrian Greek Orthodox Church. The service was in Arabic and a new experience for me, as I’ve never even been to a Mass. The church building looked a lot like the many Catholic churches we observed in Europe, with icons and Catholic-looking symbols. I found myself wondering about the actual differences between a Catholic service and an Orthodox one. 

Along our bus ride, we stopped at Crak des Chevalliers—an ancient castle on the hill overlooking that area. These castles we’ve seen are so clever—the engineering is so impressive and it was built so long ago! The castle made for a fun playground as we jumped and climbed over the fallen rocks.

 

Another pitstop was the Christian village of Ma’aloula, whose inhabitants still speak the traditional Aramaic language. The river had carved out a nice canyon through the surrounding mountainsides which reminded me of some of the National Parks back in the US.

The next three nights were spent in the capital city: Damascus. A short walking tour introduce us to the city. Here were some highlights:

-St. Anania’s House (the man who baptized Paul after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus)

-The Syrian National Museum, specifically the ancient wisdom tablets. One of these read: “Never marry someone you meet at a party.” Wise words.

-The Umayyed Mosque, where us girls donned ugly grey hooded cloaks. Observing the Muslims worshiping in this huge mosque, and praying at various shrines was super interesting.

-Azam Palace, with its beautiful garden and displays of ancient Syrian clothes and furniture. Unfortunately, when we left this palace we accidentally left Sarah Spencer behind…she had been sick so we forgot she was with us that day. So apparently she attached herself on to some elderly British women and found her way back to the hotel! The ancient Syrian saying: “Clean your house because you never know who will visit, and wash your face because you never know who will kiss it!”

-Meals of Syria. The food is amazing here, and mealtime is a community experience because you all share the dishes. Mealtime goes like this: Cold appetizers first (pita bread and 400 kinds of humus and dips, veggies, lentils, etc.). Then hot appetizers (rice or fried stuff), and the meat course (chicken, beef or lamb). Thankfully, they don’t eat much pork in the Middle East, because both Jews and Muslims don’t consume it. That is great for me, because I am sick to death of pork—it’s the go-to meat of France. 

Funny story: One night, we ate an amazing Syrian meal. Then we went to a hookah bar and got some great strawberry hookah. I’m sitting there sipping my drink and smoking my hookah when all of a sudden I feel super dizzy, and I start sweating and shaking…to spare you the gory details, four of us got sick from something in the meal. It was a great bonding experience all throwing up together in that Syrian bathroom. Not something I’d choose to repeat, but we felt fine after and I haven’t been sick again since!  

Turkish baths. An experience all their own. Basically it’s this: fifteen girls, wrapped in a tiny towel sitting in a circle in a steamy Turkish bath (like a spa basically). One at a time, we are called up to the front to a seat where a large Syrian woman removes our towel and scrubs us down. In front of everyone. This is followed by a nice massage. It was great bonding. I felt super clean after at least. Haha…

Shopping in Damascus is much more fun than at home. The bright colors, scents and sounds are overwhelming and make the experience exciting and exhausting at the same time. I had fun exploring the Souk market and buying some Syrian silk scarves, fake Ray Bans (called “Roy Boys” haha!), cheap Dior perfume, and other fun stuff. 

Hopefully some day I can come back to Damascus. Apparently it’s a hotspot for Arabic learners—how fun would that be someday?!

Photo's from Syria:

The citadel of Aleppo

View of Aleppo city from the castle

Class in the canyons of Ma'aloula

Some spices for sale in the Aleppo market

Ma'aloula city view

Our funny bathroom in the hotel in Damascus...Amy on the toilet.

Waterwheels in the city of Hama

An Arabic license plate

St. Anania's house

Davidson, Uhland, Sievers & Hempy in hoods in the Umayyed Mosque in Damascus

Pistachio ice cream in the Damascus Souk market

The Souk in Damascus

Syrian president--his picture is EVERYWHERE

Typical lunch restaurant in Syria

Girls in the Turkish baths, after our massages

Audrey and I in Damascus

Silk weaver in Damascus...scarves!

Roy Boy gang

Straight Street in Damascus

Discovering apple tea, the call to prayer, snow & Star Wars

Turkey is a fascinating country! If I had to describe our experience there using three phrases I would say:

1. Apple tea
2. Call to prayer
3. Turkish Christians

First of all, if you haven't tried apple tea, get over to World Market or Trader Joe's to see if they have it. It's great, they serve it after every meal (complimentary) and often at the hotels in the lobby. Basically, it's like really awesome apple cider.

The call to prayer was something new for me--I'd never heard it broadcasted across a city before. The call to prayer sounds out five times a day from loudspeakers mounted on the minerets (little towers) of every mosque--and there are mosques on like every street corner.

Our experience in Turkey can be divided up into two sections--the first five days in Istanbul, where we were with the Green Group (our other half of the semester), and the last five days in Turkey, where we traveled with Sarah, Matt and Bruce Fisk to Selcuk, Antalya, and Cappadocia.

First: ISTANBUL. It was a fascinating city, perfect for our half-way point because it really is like a meeting place for Eastern and Western cultures. The Muslim presence is very strong (Turkey is 99% Muslim) but the big city parts were familiar European styles. Istanbul is HUGE--something like 12 million people, and it felt huge!

Istanbul streets, out the window of my hotel room

The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market were experiences all of their own--getting swept up in huge crowds of thousands of people in a tiny narrow streets, washing past vendors all yelling loudly in competition for you to buy their Turkish tea sets, or scarves, or rugs, or dried fruits and nuts, or spices, or cheese or lamps or whatever.

The Grand Bazaar

Spices and nuts and dried fruit in the Spice Market

Being a blonde girl (a rarity in the Middle East), I got my first taste of being "hassled" by the street vendors. No one was pushy or uncomfortable, mostly it was just funny to hear the phrases they called out to me and the other girls in English...

"Hey Spice Girls!"

"Hey Angels, where is Charlie? You are my angels."

Or the favorite: "You dropped something!" (Then when you stop and look...) "My heart...come into my shop and buy this rug!"

The famous Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia were two sights we enjoyed. Hagia Sophia was originally a church, but had been converted to a mosque. According to Islamic law, no depictions of humans or animals are allowed on the walls, so plaster was put over the early Byzantine mosaics and frescos, perfectly preserving them so we can see them in the mosque today. We also enjoyed a boat cruise of the Bosphorus Straight, seeing the Topkapi Palace of the Sultan (where we also saw pieces of Mohammad's beard...supposedly), and the beautiful frescos of the Chora Church.

Inside the domes of the Blue Mosque

Me and Catherine outside the Blue Mosque, with its six minerets

Audrey and I outside the Hagia Sophia

Domes of the Hagia Sophia

Recovered Byzantine mosaic of the Final Judgment, Jesus at the center with Mary on his left and John the Baptist on his right, begging for mercy for the world.

Something I enjoyed both in Istanbul and again in Antalya was meeting with some local Turkish Christians and American missionaries living in Turkey. In Istanbul we got to hear from Tim Fearer, and in Antalya we had dinner at Renata and James Bultema's house. It was interesting to hear how they are doing mission work in a Muslim nation--to hear personal stories, learn more about religion in Turkey, and different approaches to foreign mission work. Something I found interesting was that Turkey is actually very secular Muslim--that is, not practicing. Kind of like the Catholic French...they never actually go to Mass (or the mosque).

The second half of Turkey featured the famous ruins of Ephesus (amazing!), the White Cascades, Antalya, and Cappadocia. Turkey is an awesome country and I definitely would love to come back here! Here are some more pictures:

I found Starbucks in Istanbul!

A view of the city on both sides of the Bosphorus Straight

Something fun I learned in the Istanbul Archeological Museum: Aslan (like from Narnia) is Turkish for Lions.

Me and Audrey with Matt Moore of the Green Group on the Bosphorus boat cruise

One of the many palaces lining the water in Istanbul.

It's kind of hard to tell, but this streets is PACKED with people.

The grave of St. John

Nike, goddess of victory and conquest, in the Ephesus Ruins...Just Do It.

The group in front of the Ephesus library.

The White Cascades--calcium deposits and hot springs overlooking the valley made for a fun pit stop on our bus ride.

Oh did I mention that it snowed like crazy in Turkey? Here we are in Cappadocia, in the snow.

Camel.

Rock dwellings of Cappadocia. They filmed the scenes of Tatooine in Star Wars here!

More pictures to come later! We made it to Aleppo, Syria this evening! We'll be in the country five days. So far, I love Syria because our dinner was awesome. :)