Sydney Brown Bar Mitzva Tour of Israel

I think it's time I admit I'm religiously ignorant. I know very little of Christianity and apparently absolutely nothing of Judaism. I already offended a bunch of Greek Orthodox at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem by yapping on about how it can take so frickin' long to go through the cave bit where Jesus was born. Well I guess they were French pilgrims and I guess they were praying. To be fair I wasn't being as obnoxious as I'm making it sound like, but it did take them a lot of time to look at these things. Which, incidentally, I never got to see because they were doing what ever religious thing they were doing. I suppose seeing the place where your saviour was born can be an overwhelming experience.

Today I accidentally ended up at the Wailing Wall. I was trying to get in to the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa area, but of course they wouldn't let me in as it was about the time of the Friday prayer (really I was just trying to see if there'll be a demonstration or any other kind of trouble). So I walked down the freakishly narrow alleys of the old city and ended up at a security checkpoint (surprise, surprise!). I went through it and found myself surrounded by tourists and Orthodox Jews. If I ever complained (which I did, a lot) that all the ruins I saw during my Middle East "Odyssey" were, basically, ruins then I think it's only fair that I utter these five words: It's a piece of wall! What I found most interesting was the bit with the excavations that caused the recent al-Aqsa riots and so on.

Anyway, later in the afternoon I got a tour of Jerusalem and for the first time I saw some of West Jerusalem, too. We had drinks at the King David Hotel, which is where all the rich American Jews hang out. There I saw a sign that said "Sydney Brown Bat Mitzva Tour of Israel". I'm sorry, but I laughed.

To be fair, the history of Jerusalem is incredible and it's full of incredible churches, synagogues and mosques. No wonder some people simply go crazy from all the faith that surrounds them there.

Pork! Pork! I want PORK!

I went to a friend's (a Finnish journalist who lives here) BBQ today and for most people there the highlight of the evening was PORK! Muslims ain't eatin' it, Jews ain't eatin' it but the Russian Jews sell it, of course.

Mayhem!

Well, not really. Just students chanting slogans at Bethlehem University's Student Election Rally. Yellow flags for Fatah, Green for Hamas, Red for the PFLP and DFLP (Popular Front and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Judean People's Party, People's Party of Judea, anyone?). Fatah guys wore black kefayas, PFLP/DFLP red ones and Hamas supporters had green scarves.

The entry into Bethlehem is gruesome. I'm glad all the tourists have to go through it too so that they see what the Palestinians have to go through every single day.

Yet again I find I don't have enough time to describe what I've seen, may need to write a monster post when I get home and can finally sort my thoughts. Now off to a BBQ at a Finnish journalists house.

Yaani

About the bloo: walking in the Old City of Jerusalem felt like coming home with the familiar smells and noises. Coffee-scent infused with spices and fumes, cars driving in the most narrow alleys you can imagine and people shouting loudly in Arabic. It also reminded me of the not-so-charming side, selling dead animals in the souq. Someone must have been transporting something dead (and/or bleeding), because walking back from Marwan's shop to the Damascus gate was easy: I simply followed the blood.

I realise this wasn't a very funny or insightful thing to read, but it kind of characterises the mess (albeit lovely) that is a souq in an Arab country: you can find almost anything there, including dead things.

I'm not feeling particularly funny right now anyway, it's been another long day, I drunk too much red wine last night with a Finnish journalist and just got back from a dinner with water sector specialists. My brain is whizzing with information right now.

Tomorrow I'm off to Bethlehem (or Bait Lahm, aka House of Bread, or meat, I never remember which...). Apparently the entry into B. is quite horrid with the wall and the "terminal" (the Israelis call the security check point waiting area terminals...) and probably tons of barbed wire. But, I will see it for myself now.

Good night, and good luck.

Follow the blood out of here

I've been gone too long. I forgot that you always, always have to carry toilet paper around you and I forgot that it helps to have a ring. Yesterday forgetting the ring meant that I spent 40 minutes talking to a Palestinian guy named Marwan who claimed to like me a lot. You don't say? I bet you tell every blond chick that walks past your store that you're a poet and a very romantic person. But seriously, Marwan was OK and it was insightful to talk to him about the situation here.

Which, by the way, isn't great (that saying it mildly). You don't understand what checkpoints and barbwire really mean until you've driven from Jerusalem to Ramallah and seen all the points where the IDF has just blocked the road to piss you off. And I do mean piss you off, there are places where security-wise you could let the traffic flow but no, not here. Block it! Wire it! Make if difficult! I wanna take Condi out for a ride...

I'll come back to the blood-following at some point. Now need sleep.