{"id":8379,"date":"2019-06-14T13:08:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T13:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8379"},"modified":"2020-10-11T15:57:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T15:57:05","slug":"back-from-three-weeks-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8379","title":{"rendered":"“Back from three weeks in Israel\u2026\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The night-dining area, St. George\u2019s<\/a>.\u00a0 (28 shekels at the bar – lower left – gets you a Taybeh<\/a>\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

I did my last post in this blog on May 3.\u00a0 Since then I spent three weeks \u2013 18 or 19 days \u2013 on a pilgrimage<\/a> in Israel.\u00a0 (Including traveling to and from.\u00a0 I left the night of May 10 and got back the night of May 29.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And while I got back home on May 29, since then I’ve been preparing for a two-week road trip, up to Massachusetts, for my niece’s wedding, in June.\u00a0 I’ve also posted My first full day in Jerusalem<\/a>, in my companion blog.\u00a0 (About the trials and tribulations of that first day of my pilgrimage, which included hearing a mysterious “explosion” at 4:08 on the morning of Sunday, May 12.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This<\/em> <\/strong>post will focus on my last day in Israel.\u00a0 (In Tel Aviv, where I got lost walking, took the wrong train, and later spent\u00a0some\u00a026 hours straight without sleep before finally getting home to the <\/b>ATL<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

This\u00a0pilgrimage<\/a> was part of a course given by\u00a0St. George\u2019s College, Jerusalem<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0the \u201cPalestine of Jesus<\/a><\/em>.\u201d \u00a0 <\/em>And a side note:\u00a0 For visits to many churches and all<\/em><\/strong> Muslim areas in Jerusalem, you\u2019re expected to \u201cdress modestly.\u201d Ladies showing bare knees get brown frumpy skirts to cover the “limbs” from hip to below the ankle.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem experience was wonderful, overwhelming, intimidating and enlightening.\u00a0 But like I said, let\u2019s start with the most recent \u201ccluster\u201d (half a word) part.\u00a0 It came on Wednesday, May 29, the day I spent 11 hours flying back home.\u00a0 (And considering the time change, 26 hours straight without sleep before I got back home.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The problem was: I got all cocky from the day before, when I\u2019d made an easy connection from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.\u00a0 (On Monday the 28th.)<\/em>\u00a0 After parting ways with the other pilgrims in my church group, I made a fairly-easy two-mile trek from the College to the central bus station in Jerusalem.\u00a0 (Lugging 30 pounds in a back-pack and large gym-bag to be checked at the airport.)<\/em>\u00a0 From the Tel Aviv bus station I hiked a \u201cmere\u201d mile, to my night\u2019s lodging at \u201cYavne 26.\u201d\u00a0 (They list the street number last.)\u00a0<\/em> On the way I managed a visit to the <\/b>Haganah Museum<\/a>, right around the corner from Yavne 26, at \u201cRothschild Boulevard 23.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that evening I managed to hook up with eight or nine fellow pilgrims from Georgia. Unbeknownst<\/a> to me they were staying at the Abraham Hostel in Tel Aviv, two or three blocks from my place on Yavne 26. They were headed to an extra added attraction, a side trip to\u00a0Petra<\/a>, in Jordon, that country’s “most-visited tourist attraction.” And here’s something I didn’t know. Google Maps has it as between 274 to 303 miles from Jerusalem to Petra, but there’s no direct route. From Tel Aviv they say it’s 297 miles, which explains why my fellow pilgrims traveling there had to end up in Tel Aviv for the evening of May 28.<\/p>\n

I ended up finding the eight or nine fellow pilgrims at a restaurant around the corner from Abraham’s Hostel. I had to do that – search for them – because\u00a0the guy at the front desk wouldn\u2019t take a message, let alone make contact. So I checked the local eateries, and found them just across the street.<\/p>\n

I ended up at the bar in the basement\u00a0at Abraham\u2019s, but my visit was cut short because I was all hyped up to get to Ben Gurion airport early enough to get through the <\/b>vaunted Israeli airport security<\/a>.\u00a0 All the guides said you should get to the airport at least three hours ahead of time. Since my flight was at 9:55 a.m., I figured I should be at the airport by 6:55 a.m.<\/p>\n

Another side note:\u00a0Gentlemen<\/em><\/strong> who wear shorts \u2013 or otherwise show their knees at \u201cmany churches and all<\/em><\/strong> Muslim areas in the city\u201d \u2013 are also given \u201cskirts.\u201d\u00a0 (Like the two dumbasses in a photo I took but got “erased” some time after posting.)<\/em><\/p>\n

So anyway, to get to the airport on time, I got up at 4:00 a.m. and started hiking back to the Haganah train station on Levinsky Street.\u00a0 (Where I\u2019d just hiked up the previous day.)<\/em>\u00a0 But I missed the intersection \u2013 \u201cwool-gathering<\/a>\u201d I suppose \u2013 and had to double back.\u00a0 As it turned out I hiked an hour \u2013 with the same 30 pounds of baggage \u2013 but got to the train station right about six a.m.<\/p>\n

Then the real<\/span> trouble started\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I got a ticket easily, but only after gashing my left forearm.\u00a0 (I was rushing to \u201cunpack\u201d at yet another security check-point, just inside the train-station entrance.)<\/em>\u00a0 To make the lugging easier I\u2019d tied together the upper arm straps of my pack with a knotted handkerchief, but after a sweaty hour\u2019s walk it got \u201cun-tieable.\u201d\u00a0 So to get the pack off I had to lift it up over my head, and in the process gashed my forearm.\u00a0 And<\/em><\/strong> got blood all over the upper-leg portion of my jeans.\u00a0 (I could just hear Israeli security:\u00a0 \u201cAnd where have you been to get all that blood all over you?\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Then I got on the wrong train.\u00a0 It was on Platform 3, like the ticket guy said, but it ended up going the wrong direction.\u00a0 The train I got on \u2013 at the wrong time, it turned out \u2013 went to Lod<\/a>.\u00a0 That\u2019s a beautiful city 9.3\u00a0miles southeast of Tel Aviv<\/a>, but it\u2019s not the Ben Gurion airport.<\/p>\n

Once I found that<\/em><\/strong> out \u2013 after finding someone who spoke English \u2013 it seemed like forever to get back to the central station.\u00a0 On the way a friendly uniformed Israeli suggested I take a taxi from the central station; about 65 shekels, or 22 dollars.\u00a0 I was all set to do that, but getting off the train another Israeli \u2013 in blue jeans and flip-flops \u2013 fell down right behind me, missing the first step down.\u00a0 I helped him up and asked if he was all right.\u00a0 Then he asked if I was trying to get to the airport.\u00a0 (He probably overheard my plaintive cries for directions somewhere along the way.)<\/em><\/p>\n

He helped me get on the right train, the 7:09 going in the right direction, so I suppose there\u2019s a lesson there.\u00a0 Then while waiting for the 7:09 train, two lovely young Israelis in brown uniforms sat next to me while we waited.\u00a0 (Incidentally, I\u2019d done a lot of praying on the train to and from Lod.)<\/em>\u00a0 Then the 7:09 got delayed an extra six or seven minutes, so I got to enjoy their company even longer.\u00a0 (Another note:\u00a0 Tel Aviv in general was a nice change from Jerusalem, appreciating-the-opposite-sex-wise.\u00a0 I.e., there were fewer women all covered up with burkas and such.)<\/em><\/p>\n

That pleasant \u201caccompaniment<\/a>\u201d wouldn\u2019t have happened if I hadn\u2019t gotten on the wrong train, going the wrong direction, so I suppose there\u2019s a spiritual <\/b>object lesson<\/a> lesson there too\u2026<\/p>\n

The end result was that despite getting to the airport at 7:35 a.m. \u2013 instead of 6:55 like I should have \u2013 I got through the numerous layers of the \u201cvaunted Israeli airport security\u201d in plenty of time to get to Gate C-6.\u00a0 (I had time to relax for 30 or 40 minutes, and finally have some breakfast:\u00a0 <\/em>Mango juice and a \u201clox\u201d croissant.)\u00a0 <\/em>And to remember the time I\u2019d just spent in the company of two lovely Israeli Female Soldiers<\/a>.\u00a0 (Not unlike the one shown below, from 1948.)<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be writing more \u2013 lots<\/em> <\/strong>more \u2013 on other lessons learned (and experiences experienced)<\/em> from my pilgrimage to Israel.\u00a0 But for now it\u2019s enough to enjoy the comforts of home once again.\u00a0 Here, on the functional equivalent of \u201cmy own back doorsteps,\u201d I can \u2013 a la<\/a><\/em>\u00a0 <\/b>John Steinbeck<\/a> \u2013 finally come to think about all I\u2019ve seen in the last three weeks, then \u201ctry to arrange some pattern of thought to accommodate the teeming crowds of my seeing and hearing.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, to make some sense of all I\u2019ve seen, heard and experienced those last three weeks.<\/p>\n

At least until my next<\/em> <\/strong>pilgrimage, to the Camino Portugues<\/a> in September\u2026<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A \u201cHaganah female officer in 1948\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of St. George\u2019s College Jerusalem Israel \u2013 Image Results<\/a>.\u00a0 See also Home | Saint George\u2019s College Jerusalem<\/a><\/em> for more on available courses and staff members.\u00a0 The course in question was \u201cThe Palestine of Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 (See the link at \u201cHome\u201d page.)\u00a0 Another note: This post is substantially similar to the one on my “spiritual” blog, DOR Scribe – Expand your horizons<\/a><\/em>…<\/p>\n

Re: Taybeh<\/a>.\u00a0 See Taybeh Brewery \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, on the \u201cPalestinian<\/a> brewery<\/a> founded in 1994[, at] the West Bank<\/a> village of Taybeh<\/a>,\u201d 22 miles north of Jerusalem<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cIt produced its first beer in 1995 and has since developed a global following.\u00a0 It is the first microbrewery<\/a> in the Middle East<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 The other beer available to St. George pilgrims is \u201cMaccabee,\u201d brewed by Tempo Beer Industries<\/a><\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cMaccabee (Hebrew<\/a>: \u05de\u05db\u05d1\u05d9<\/span>\u200e) is a 4.9% ABV<\/a> pale lager that was first brewed in 1968.\u00a0 It is distributed in Israel and is also marketed in the United States and Europe.\u201d\u00a0 I found Maccabee on draft at the<\/i> <\/b>LEONARDO MORIA CLASSIC HOTEL, Jerusalem 9 Georges St.<\/a><\/em>, a mere four-minute walk from St. George\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 Cover-leg skirts.\u00a0 Ladies are also cautioned not to have bare shoulders or visible cleavage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 \u201cVaunted airport security.\u201d\u00a0 The link is to What To Expect At Israel\u2019s Airport Security. | Bemused Backpacker<\/a>.\u00a0 See also Leaving Tel Aviv: My Experience Through Airport Security<\/a>, or <\/i>Google<\/a><\/em> \u201cvaunted Israeli airport security.\u201d\u00a0 Also, <\/em>I found out the next\u00a0 morning \u2013 Thursday the 30th, at home \u2013 that Lod is actually pretty close to Ben Gurion airport.\u00a0 It\u2019s a little over two miles as the crow flies, but walking the route involves \u201crestricted usage or private roads.\u201d\u00a0 See also Lod Airport massacre \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, about the \u201cterrorist attack<\/a> [on] May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army<\/a> \u2026 attacked Lod Airport<\/a> (now Ben Gurion International Airport) near Tel Aviv<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Now they tell me!!!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yet another note:\u00a0 \u201cWadie Haddad<\/a>, the primary organizer of the attack, was assassinated by Mossad<\/a> in early 1978.\u201d\u00a0 (Those guys don\u2019t fool around.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 “Pleasant\u00a0accompaniment<\/a>.”\u00a0 In the sense of \u201csomething<\/span> incidental<\/span> or added<\/span> for<\/span> ornament,<\/span> symmetry,<\/span> etc.\u201d\u00a0 See <\/span>Definition of Accompaniment at Dictionary.com<\/a>.\u00a0 The image is courtesy of\u00a0Israeli Female Soldier\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Steinbeck reference is to the Penguin Books paperback version of Travels with Charley: \u00a0In search of America<\/a>, detailing his 1960 road trip<\/a> travelogue<\/a>, at pages 108-109.\u00a0 He described the feeling \u2013 \u201clike constipation\u201d \u2013 of being overwhelmed by his experiences, as in going to the \u201cUffizi in Florence [or] the Louvre in Paris.\u201d\u00a0 In yet another memorable passage he made an apt comparison:<\/em><\/p>\n

M<\/strong>aybe understanding is only possible after.<\/strong>\u00a0 Years ago when I used to work in the woods it was said of lumber men that they did their logging in the whorehouse and their sex in the woods.\u00a0 So I have to find my way through the exploding production lines of the Middle West while sitting alone beside a lake in northern Michigan. [Emphasis added.]<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Re:\u00a0 The Camino Portugu\u00e9s<\/a>, also called the \u201cPortuguese Way<\/a><\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s the collective name of the \u201cCamino de Santiago<\/a> pilgrimage routes starting in Portugal<\/a>,\u201d beginning in either Porto<\/a> or Lisbon<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 (My companions and I will be starting in Porto.)\u00a0 As Wikipedia<\/a> noted, the Portuguese Way is the \u201csecond most popular route after the French Way<\/a>,\u201d which my Utah brother and I hiked-and-biked in 2017.\u00a0 See \u2013 from October and December, 2017 –\u00a0\u201cHola! Buen Camino!\u201d \u2013 Revisited<\/a>, and \u201cBuen Camino!\u201d \u2013 The Good Parts<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/em>A review of the posts shows that some of my pictures got\u00a0 \u201cscrewed up<\/a>\u2026\u201d\u00a0 But they’re still good for reference and informational purposes.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Haganah \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 Caption:\u00a0 \u201cHaganah female officer in 1948.\u201d\u00a0 For more on the topic, Google \u201cIsraeli women soldiers brown uniform.\u201d\u00a0 That led me to sites like Pictures of Israeli Female Soldiers In and Out of Uniform<\/a><\/em>, <\/b>Israeli female soldiers are not afraid to reveal their assets<\/a><\/em>, and 18 Pics Of Hot Israeli Army Girls IDF | Female Supermodel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The night-dining area, St. George\u2019s.\u00a0 (28 shekels at the bar – lower left – gets you a Taybeh\u2026) * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * I did my last post in this blog on May 3.\u00a0 Since then I spent three weeks \u2013 18 or 19 days \u2013 on a pilgrimage in Israel.\u00a0 (Including traveling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8379"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8379"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9744,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8379\/revisions\/9744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}