Weekend Excursions and Field Trips (Just like Middle School)

Let me tell you something…when Thursday comes along and the bus arrives to take us off the base, we are very happy campers! The ride to the Central Bus Station is 30 – 45 minutes, depending on traffic. The congestion around Tel Aviv looks like rush hour in any major city! Central Bus Station is another story: dirty and very confusing. There are up escalators, but none going down. On each landing of the bizarrely designed stairs is a toilet. They are difficult to distinguish: men/women, but it rarely matters, as they are nothing you would want to go near: one’s olfactory senses are on high alert.

Jerusalem was one of the first stops. The monochromatic limestone has a pink glow in the sunset. There are quarries around the city and all of the buildings are required to be built with this “Jerusalem” stone. The Old City is divided (not evenly) into 4 quarters: Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian and. From my room at the Beit Shmuel, I had a bird’s eye view of the Jaffa Gate. From this access point, you wander through the maze of narrow Armenian streets in search of the Jewish Quarter.
The Armenians are very polite and persistent in their solicitation of your business.

The Cardo, a former market that was excavated, has been recreated as a relatively new shopping area with many galleries. A 6th century mosaic map of the old city has been preserved on the inner wall. Needless to say, we all invested in the Israeli economy. My most favorite travel pix are those of brides and grooms….here they are in the Jewish Quarter.

During the Nurses’ Mission, we toured the Christian Quarter and explored the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Given that it was holy week, I felt a little guilty competing with the Christians to see 4 of the 12 Stations of the Cross. The few non-Jews traveling with us gave us special dispensation! It was an amazing experience standing on the most hallowed ground of Christianity.

Set high on the hill overlooking central Jerusalem is Mount Herzl, named after Theodore Herzl, the man considered to be the founder of founder of modern Zionism. The steep slopes are a cemetery for many of the former presidents and prime ministers. It is also the largest military cemetery.

Yitzhak Rabin’s headstone is most striking. Reflective of the controversy and division during and after his career, the headstone is designed with a split in the middle: half is dark stone and half is light stone. It is now cordoned off with a rope and has 24 hour video surveillance due to past episodes of vandalism.

One of the newer areas is designated for the fallen soldiers of the 2nd Lebanon war. The markers are covered with memorabilia: epilates, pins, pictures, cigarette lighters and medals. One in particular caught my eye: a picture of a father and son at one of the Eagles football games and a Phillies batting hat. Michael Levin, a young man from the Philadelphia suburbs was killed in the war. I pieced together that he was first in Israel during high school; made aliyah in 2003 and died in the war in 2006.

Therapeutic black mud is readily available in the Dead Sea area. Application of the mud takes a variety of forms: random application to the entire body; specific application to joints (elbows, knees, or along the spinal column for example), or mud fights! Waiting for the mud to dry is determined by then finesse with which it is applied. Thick applications take forever to dry. This is followed with a hot sulfur shower, which quickly dissolves the body mask but is caustic in close proximity to one’s eyes and face.

The Dead Sea is no ordinary body of water! Lets start with the fact that it is a lake, not a sea; half of it lies in Jordan, and the other half in Israel. At more than 1300 ft below sea level, it is the lowest place in the world. Sand is nowhere to be found, which makes some type of foot wear a necessity. The sea bottom is very hard, white and with ridges that can slice through the deepest of calluses. The makeup of the water is about 23% salts: this facilitates floating, leaves your skin with a layer of oil when you emerge and makes you see stars if you have any cuts. Do NOT under any circumstances shave your legs – ouch!

The Mediterranean is bee-u-t-ful. A walk on the beach to feel the sand in my toes was the first activity after checking into the hotel one weekend. Tootsies in the water felt great! Tel Aviv or the Jersey shore - boardwalks and promenades are not much different.

Stay tuned for the highlights of Hadassah Nurses' Mission. It was a fabulous time seeing Israel through the eyes of a nurse. The drawback to the 4-star hotels is that WIFI is not included! Hence the delay in posting ...

The adventure continues....

Shabbat Shalom

Love from the Middle East,

Yehudit