Israel

I have waited until now to write something about my side trip to Israel as it is such a sensitive issue in the Middle East.

After my holiday in Asia and saying goodbye to my friends in Amman, I went down to the Dead Sea and crossed over to Israel, spending the first night in Jericho, which is under Palestinian administration. I had a friendly reception, even taken by a taxi driver to the outskirts of Jerusalem (he's not allowed within Jerusalem itself) and shown the dividing wall. A horrible sight. Has it worked anywhere else? Haven't we seen walls in other countries come down? Why? Why? Why? is all that goes round your mind.

Next day I cycled to Jerusalem. It was only 30 kms from Jericho, but it was tough. OK, I was going from below sea level to quite how up [no, I don't know the elevation! :-) ] and some of the gradients were pretty steep, especially after the turn-off from the main road towards Jerusalem itself; but also it was the day after my pretty bad fall on the downhill skating rink and I think I must have been physically shaken enough to have affected me the following day. As it was such a short distance I underestimated the time it would take and I ran out of water; but someone stopped to offer me a lift, which I declined, but they also gave me some water. Something always turns up.

Cycling down the hill into Jerusalem was great. It was one of the things on my trip to which I had been looking foward with enthusiasm and awe. It was great feeling to be in the Holy City. I was wondering around the area of Jaffa Gate looking for some accommodation, which is when I encounterd the endless numbers of cyclists, at the end of which was Tom, The Hungry Cyclist. I stayed in the Jewish Quarter in a comfortable hostel for girls/women for 3 nights; one of the people I encountered was a nuclear scientist spending a few days in Jerusalem after some conference down south.

The place I really wanted to go to was the Garden of Gethsemane, not for the church, but for the site where Jesus supposedly prayed in anguish to His Father, whilst his disciples slept, before being betrayed and arrested. A little stone carving depicts the place (I included it in my batch of photos for that part of my journey - see if you can spot it). I sat there in quiet reflection for quite a while, reading the passage in the Bible. It is such a poignant reading. Many people go past without even noticing the little shrine, going straight to the big church a little further on, but for me, it was a special time just being in that place.

I visited Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee. I wanted to stay on a kibbutz, but they are run on such a commercial basis now that they were well beyond my means; neither would they allow me to put up my tent in the grounds, even though I was told by some Israelis in Jordan that I would be able to do so! Humph! However, my last night in Israel, right at the border, I did end up staying in one, only because there was nowhere else and I had misheard the price the woman quoted me and so thought it was going to be much cheaper than it actually turned out to be! But, it was, after all, what I had wanted to do.

I was very glad to have been able to have cycled through the Holy Land. It was one of the important destinations for me on my trip. I met wonderful people. I feel so sorry for the limitations that so many nationalities have in their freedom of movement around the world. I realise how privileged I am to be born British, as it does not limit me in such a way. It is very humbling. I met an Israeli who dearly wanted to travel to Iran because he had heard of the friendliness of the people; but, of course, as things stand, there seems to be no chance of him ever being able to do that. And, likewise, Iranians wanting to visit countries such as Israel and unable to do so. Such a shame. Such a sadness. Why?