Ashdod where we dock is really a working port and we dock next to several hundred cars on their way from the far east to Europe. They do not go through the Suez Canal as the rates are too high so they get taken off before get moved overland and back onto the same ship at Ashdod thus avoiding the charges. You would think the Egyptians would be smart enough to reduce the rate and at least get some money. Anyway today we are heading off to Jerusalem possibly the highlight of the tour and a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. Our tour is really only centered around the old city and the more prominent sites.
We are picked up at 7:30 with lots of security and I mean lots these Israelis don’t take chances. They have been fighting someone since the day Israel was declared a state by the UN so they know how to handle themselves. Our guide gives an informative view of the country on our one and a half hour journey into the city. She seems more than a little biased against the Arab population maybe with good reason but at first hearing it does sound a little harsh and somewhat “I’m right so you must be wrong” sort of scenario. Out first stop is the Mount of Olive’s which is the place all people of the Jewish faith want to be buried. The Jews are still waiting for the Messiah who is supposed to throw open the Mercy gates and the graves packed all along the mount face this way. The gates are bricked up so when he come it is liable to be spectacular. We are interrupted several times by the Arab hawkers trying to sell postcards (does anyone buy postcards any more) or have camel rides. They were a little heavy handed and unnecessarily loud even when asked to hang on. Not the most subtle sales people if they think they can bully people into purchasing things.
We get a briefing of the City of David which is much smaller than I imagined. The old city walls whilst spectacular cover a small site which has not only been expanded multiple times but also torn down and built over by which ever group captured the city last. The Romans were responsible for tearing down the walls leaving only a part of the western wall now commonly known as the Wailing wall. This in itself is not particularly holy however it is the closest place Jews can get to their holy place on the other side which is in Arab hands. we stand and watch and push little notes into the crevasses of the wall with our hopes and wishes. This area is specifically Jewish and their link through history to their heritage and identity.
We move off not far to find the Via Dolorosa which marks the Catholic “stations of the cross” which we follow. This one is a little strange for me being Catholic as I have known the stations all my life and to physically be there and to follow the winding path is really weird. The route is not particularly long and ends inside the “Church of the holy Sepulcher” which is built over the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. This place is strange indeed. One because you naturally think the crucifixion happened outside so building a church over it somehow spoils the vision. The other is that the church houses six or seven denominations of christian faiths. Catholics, Coptic, Armenian and several others each has their space and style and it shows clearly how even with the same spiritual link how people can differ in their interpretation. (I think even the priests have problems, YouTube the place as I think there was a fight between the clergy only a couple of months back). The place is heaving with people from the different denominations all rooting for their particular version or Religion and nothing like the peace and tranquility you would have expected given the reverence of the location. If this is truly where Jesus died you have to wonder if his preaching are really being followed and that we all share the common bond or as it would seem that everyone is trying to be the dominant force at the expense of the others. It sort of spoiled it a little for me.
The Garden of Gethsemane on the other hand was a quiet garden with some ancient Olive trees. It is easy to imagine the trees in front of me have been here for a couple of thousand years and the simple church on the side was more like my expectations. A place more for quiet reflection and one of peace and tranquility.
All the while our guide is informing us the border used to be at this point and that point and those holes in the wall are shell marks. There are a lot of soldiers on the streets all looking pretty relaxed more a deterrent than actually expecting trouble. Israel has conscription so all men and women spend some time in the military hence most of the ones we see with their machine guns casually slung over their shoulders are what I would describe as kids. There was one ally way in the bazaar where the Jewish sector ends and the Arab one begins where I saw a soldier with his pistol out and poised ready for anything “unexpected” one learns to protect oneself if you had been through what they have in their history.
Lunch is at a Kibbutz which is a collective farm. There were set up to encourage people to emigrate to the new state as well as to cultivate the land. They have done an extremely good job in the 30 – 40 years and the land is well tended and managed. Lunch is good and at the end we get taken to a vantage point to see Bethlehem. Again you really don’t expect it to be that close but it is. Back on the coach and off to King David’s tomb (thats the David and Goliath one) and the site of the last supper. Well not quite the site but they think it was there so they built a church just in case and incorporated a mosque as well.
We round off the day with a sort of tour back through the countryside which is on the one hand fascinating and on the other disappointing. The Jews are building a huge concrete wall to “manage” the more sensitive areas and keep Jews and Arabs apart. We are confidently told the wall does not go all the way and when it ends there is electrified barbed wire. We are also quickly informed the current is not meant to harm just inform the nearest army post of something happening. Sorry but barbed wire is barbed wire electrified or not. We pass a couple of check points and given our status as tourists we are waved through. Not so for others and there is a line of cars who are going through the daily ritual of being “processed” which I think is a euphemism for being delayed.
I am by no means a historian but it is very clear that what ever fate has dealt to the Jews throughout the centuries this time they mean to keep what they have.
I suppose whilst I am sort of fulfilling a bit of a dream on this leg of the trip it also serves to shatter some illusions. This was a battlefield throughout the ages and to some degree still is. The three faiths Muslim, Jewish and Christian all purport to have teaching of peace and harmony and tolerance. What I saw today did not lead me to believe that these wishes will come true any time soon. It seemed people were prepared to go to any length to defend their particular inch of ground even if they have no way of proving that this particular inch is the right one or not. I think that they are quarreling over the physical aspect and have long forgotten the spiritual aspect of the faith they say they are serving. There was no laughter today no serenity no peaceful coexistence.
Lets hope someone reads the note I left in the wall.