It was unfortunate that I was unable to post information on Israel more closely to the trip itself, but now that I am in Oman on yet another trip and finding myself in need of a little break I'm taking this opportunity to do a little catching up. Without giving a day-by-day narrative on every move we made, I would like to hit the highlights.

First and foremost, Israel is a completely different country from all of its neighbors. Western style, influence, and to a large degree, behavior, are far more prevalent in Israel than in the surrounding countries. Now you might be thinking that this is common sense, and you would be right. However, the degree to which this is true is striking. Almost immediately upon crossing the King Hussein / Allenby Bridge north of the Dead Sea I realized that I had left the Middle East and gone to Europe. That idea did not change as I drove onward to Tel Aviv. It felt like I was driving through different parts of the U.S.. In fact, it was kind of spooky at first.

As I stated in a previous post, I was meeting up with two other FAO's, Tom and Sean, as well as Tom's family, for this particular trip. It can not be overstated how much better it is to travel with other FAO's on the same mission, and this was no exception. Combining trips gives everyone the benefits of added support, increased research, balanced judgement, shared expenses etc. And lets face it. It's always better to travel through foreign countries with someone you know. We complimented each other's abilities on the trip and it all worked out very well. We were able to get a lot of things in and make adjustments on the fly that made sense, like stopping to see Caesarea (Tom's idea), Nimrod's Fortress (Sean's idea), and cutting a day short in Tiberius to give us an extra day in Jerusalem (my idea). Everyone contributed something positive to the experience.

One of the biggest disappointments of the trip was our inability to get any attention from the embassy in Tel Aviv. Normally, a day of briefings is set up with various agencies throughout the embassy in each of the countries we visit, and we generally dedicate a day to moving from one of these briefings to the next. It is tedious, and sometimes boring, but very important because when you are finished you understand the bigger picture in a way that you would not before. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to meet many of the names and faces that will still be around when you come back for a future assignment. Well, such was not the case this time around. Although we didn't mind waiting a few days in Tel Aviv for the embassy folks to have some free time because Tel Aviv was an amazing city, it seems the recent activity with the Turkish flotilla demanded more of their attention than a few mere FAO's touring their way through town. I can't really be that upset about it because the opportunity to return to Tel Aviv to receive briefings at a later date is the perfect excuse to go back there again.

Perhaps the most rewarding thing we did was a day-long tour of the Golan Heights. We had no idea what to expect and our preconceptions were that it would be a day of frustration bouncing from one impossible checkpoint to the next, but boy were we ever wrong. We had no issues at all driving through the Heights, even passing straight down the middle of Israeli Defense Forces in the middle of field training exercises. They didn't mind us, and we didn't mind them. We began the day by driving to the overlook of Quneitra, followed by a visit to a very cool museum a little ways down the road from that point that showed us a short film documentary on the Yom Kippur War from the perspective of soldiers who fought literally a mile down from where we were, after which we crossed the road and walked some of the fighting positions we had just learned about. It was amazing to see it all up close, and the best part was it had been nowhere on our itinerary yet turned out to be one of the most rewarding sites of the whole trip. After walking some of the line and seeing the Valley of Tears below (where 800 Syrian tanks massed against the Israelis) we proceeded on to Nimrod's Fortress, drove around some other areas of the Golan, and ended the day with a winery tour and tasting.

Jerusalem, like its history, is too complicated an experience to describe in simple terms. Professionally it was satisfying to finally see how the Old City is organized and administered, hear some of the comments of the locals, and see it all in action from the street level. Personally, I was on a pilgrimage as well. It was beyond description to witness the holiest of places, and my personal feelings made me reflect on the personal feelings of people from other faiths, who all share the same emotion when thinking of Jerusalem. At the end of the day, however, I could not help but remark at how incredibly small the place really is, and how silly it seems that so much meaning is given to it. On a personal note, I was also very disappointed with the abysmal condition of the Holy Sepulcher, with every second or third lightbulb burned out, unpreserved paintings on the walls that have lost so much of their original form they now look like they have been burned, and Disney Land tourists running around taking family photos in front of every object. It is shameful that the Christian clergy that share ownership of the place cannot agree to do more for it. In fact, a ladder can be seen today under a window over top of the entrance to the Sepulcher. This ladder has been in the same position for almost 200 years, verified by early photographs taken of the entrance. Why? Because it takes unanimous decision from a half a dozen sects to make any changes to the church.

The last thing I will touch on briefly is the opportunity we all had to see some of the most critical issues in the Middle East up close. There, in front of you, were the walls being built around the West Bank. There, on the highway between Tiberius and Jerusalem was the West Bank itself. There, walking down the street, were Orthodox Jews holding banners saying something indecipherable in Hebrew, as if in protest of something. There, amidst the apartment buildings and old holy buildings, was East Jerusalem. Simply put, we were standing in the middle of everyone's thoughts and emotions, and it was good to be there. Talking to people was great, too. One Israeli bar tender in Tel Aviv gave me a passionate speech about how difficult it has been for the Jewish people following WWII in their struggle to survive. Another Palestinian restaurant owner in Haifa explained to me (in Arabic) how his father, uncle, and two brothers were killed by machine gun fire in 1948 by Israeli soldiers. Understanding this issue is difficult to say the least.

The scene in Tel Aviv was a bit more lively than we expected due to a national gay and lesbian celebration.
 

Preaching in the streets. A common sight.

The West Wall of the Temple Mount.

Haifa, from the hotel overlooking the city.

Caesarea... where Herod and Pontius Pilate resided at times. Also the location where Paul the Apostle requested an audience with Caesar after his arrest.
 

I could not resist the temptation to relive my tanker days when we saw this old turret overlooking the battlefields of the Golan.
 

Not in Kansas any more.

Nimrod's Fortress in northern Golan Heights.

Weapons were a common site just about everywhere. This young man is pulling security for a group of Jewish pilgrims going on a wine tour.