General thoughts on Israel: My need for an ACT V

My mind is racing so I'm just going to list out my thoughts:

- I think the Dead Sea made my hair extra curly!  Why won't anybody believe me?
- I could've skipped Tel Aviv and went straight to Jerusalem.  I love places that are very "different" and Jerusalem was just what the doctor ordered.
- Overall, I preferred Israel over Turkey.  I found the people to be more pleasant (with the exception of our lovely friend Dogan in Istanbul).
- I would highly recommend studying up on Israeli history before going.  I regret not doing that and just felt like a dumb dumb in most of the places I went to.  I did all of my studying afterwards, but now am itching to revisit the places with my new found knowledge.
- Why don't other countries offer Birthright trips like the Israelis do.  Especially seeing how many immigrants there are in America, it would be nice for these kids (including myself) to go back to their respective countries and be educated about the cultural, political and social aspects of their roots.  So jealous of my Jewish friends!
- When I mentioned I was going to Turkey and Israel to my friends, many of them questioned why I chose Israel.  Honestly, I had never thought about visiting Israel as it was never top of my list.  But now having been, I am so glad that I did.  Israel had everything that satiated my different travel needs: scenery, history, culture, food, and most importantly, an Act V.

In any Shakespearean play, the last act, aka Act V, provides the "surprise" element after the good guys have already won.  I feel like every country I've been to has gone through the first 4 acts: conflict, suspense, bad guys take over, good guys win.  And I find that in most of these countries, their story rests at Act IV.  The country is "complacent" where they are now that the "good" guys won.  Cambodia is a prime example.  The country has been through years of turmoil and poverty and now that it's a rising tourist attraction (could it have anything to do with Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider??), the country rests still. Without much conflict.

Maybe I'm a sadist, but I enjoy going to countries with conflict.   I feel that Israel is a country that does not have a clear "good guy" or "bad guy" and operates on a daily basis with opposing religions, cultures, and ideologies co-existing in a country the size of New Jersey!  Epic battles have been fought but what has been won?  It's fascinating to watch a country that is evolving, molding, and shifting every day.

That concludes my adventures to Turkey and Israel.  Next up? Asia for a month.  Countries TBD.

Masada: ancient fortress and symbol of unity (in my mind)

The #1 place I wanted to visit was Masada, because 1) I wanted to do some hiking after all the hummus I've been eating and 2) it was highly recommended for its view of the Dead Sea.

So, Masada is about 1300 ft high and you can either take a 2 minute cable car up (lazy asses), or do a 45-minute hike up the Snake Path like they did back in the day.  Of course, mom and I opted to hike up.  Our tour guide (as well as others) kept saying it was a difficult hike and that my mom would have a hard time with it.  In my mind, I was like, "Bitch please, we're from Colorado."  And not surprisingly, it turned out to be a pretty easy hike with perfectly manicured trails and stairs.  With stops in between, we reached the top in 40 minutes.  So, if anyone ever tells you it's so difficult, don't believe them.  Many hikers were climbing in flip flops and long dresses.  No kidding.

The view from the top was priceless.  I first wanted to do the popular sunrise hike, but was told that due to overcast, it wasn't going to be worth it.  If you do go on a clear day, I bet that would be a pretty awesome view.

Masada is such an interesting place because of its historical significance (like everything else in Israel).  It's the site of first Jewish-Roman war, where it was overtaken by the Roman Empire troops.  Instead of surrendering as slaves, the Jews who occupied Masada committed mass suicide.  To me, a true symbol of unity.

Here's a great re-enactment of the last stand.

New City Jerusalem and Mahane Yehuda Market

With so much depth and history of the Old City, I was ready to explore the New City (which really just means anywhere in Jerusalem but Old City).  My mom and I enjoyed the spacious sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly shopping areas.  Our favorite part was exploring Mahane Yehuda Market that not only offered colorful produce, but colorful personalities as well!

The Western Wall

One of the most sacred sites for Jews is The Western Wall, is the remaining wall since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple.  "The Second Temple was the Temple rebuilt by Jews returning from the Babylon Exile in 517 BCE. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The site of the ancient Jewish Temple is now occupied, in part, by the golden-domed "Dome of the Rock" Mosque."

Again, without much personal religious history, I still found this site to be extremely moving.  The wall is divided up into 2 sections: male and female.  Men have to wear yarmulkes (which are provided) and women need to cover their shoulders.  Although there were a lot of tourists at the wall, there were also religious folks who were performing very animated prayers towards the wall (or hands on the wall), swaying back and forth and some even crying.  The cracks of the wall were filled with little pieces of paper of prayer.  Quite a moving site to see, like the historical significance of the wall totally possessed my body and mind.  It made me think of everything and everyone that meant so much to me that it moved me to tears.

After being at the wall, I recalled my friend Shari telling me to walk backwards and "never turn your back to the wall."  And that's exactly what we did.

Afterwards we tried going into the Dome of the Rock, which unfortunately was closed.  If you go, definitely double check when it's open, because it's only open to the public for select hours during the day.

Old City Jaffa (and a quiz for my gamers)

Jaffa is believed to be one of the oldest port cities in the world and the main tourist attraction of Tel Aviv.  It's very quaint with narrow winding roads and great views of the ocean.  The clocktower is how you know you're in Jaffa Old City, but the non-developed parts are very run down.  My mom and I checked out the famous flea market*.  As mentioned in all tour books, it was filled with 90% junk and 10% invaluable historical treasures, such as the game controller I found.  What system is it from???  Anybody?

*The flea market is worth walking through just for the people watching.  We witnessed 2 women having a physical fight!  The bigger woman was throwing chairs and calling the other all kinds of names, especially a word that sounded just like "prostitute."  I really wanted some popcorn.