More photos from Israel

Here are some more photos I downloaded yesterday from my digital camera.


The Negev Desert in the dusk. The sheer size of it overwhelms you.



The Dead Sea, also in the dusk. And the mountains in the distance.



Roman Ruins outside the Old City in Jerusalem.



Remnants of Roman columns in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.



Excavated temple ruins, purportedly built by King David.



The Western Wall in the Old City, the holiest site for Jews. Jews come from all over the world to pray to it.



Prayers and soldiers at the Western Wall.



The Via Dolorosa. Retracing the foodsteps of Christ.



A peak of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ was buried, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City.



The courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church seems a little run-down and perpetually under construction apparently because the four denominations that control it could never agree on anything. They quarrel endlessly and get nothing resolved. One Israeli described how they are in the Supreme Court every other day over some minute details about the Church. The latest episodes: where should the second entrance to the Church be located (there's currently only one small entrance to the church. A second door needs to be constructed for safety reasons. Thus far they have not come to an agreement); to which denomination does the shadow of a tree belong to and who has the right to sit there; A ladder has been sitting against the wall for 17 years because they could not agree on to whom the ladder belongs.

When you think about it, it's kind of ironic that when the Christians quarrel in court, it's the Jews who get to arbitrate.



Interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.



Jerusalem from a distance: the white city on the hills.

Thoughts about Israel Trip

I'm still arranging my thoughts, but here are a few of them I thought I would write down:

This was one of the most meaningful trips I have ever taken. I have always longed for places with a lot of history and historical significance. Before I visited Israel, I have always felt that Germany was my spiritual home. I have always been drawn to countries that have suffered, because I feel like the suffering gives the culture depth. Well, few countries have suffered more than Israel, and few people are more aware of their turbulent history than the Jews. You can argue about causes and effect, but I love the depth and weight the sense of history gives to their national character.

Every Israeli I have met has been thoughtful, intellectual, and filled with opinions and knowledge about the state of their country. Talking to them has greatly enriched my trip.

Everyone in the U.S., including my parents, reacted to my decision to go to Israel with a horrified "but aren't you scared?" I guess I have been disarmed first by the fact that Boyfriend's brothers and father go to Israel twice a year. Terrorism was of course a concern, but the chances of one being injured or killed in one of them is so remote that it's probably more rational to worry about being killed or injured in a car accident. (And trust me, Israelis do drive like maniacs. More on this later.)

At no time in Israel did I feel unsafe. If anything, the security was far superior than the U.S. since it was clearly their number one concern. Outside every supermarket, cafe, and restaurant there are armed security guards checking bags. Boyfriend and I received a nearly 1.5 hour grill before we boarded the plane with El Al. We were so used to the thorough security that the "lax" procedure America alarmed us.

Some other observations:

- Israel is filled with stray cats! They are simply everywhere, even when you eat at restaurants. They would just come up and wait for you to give them food. Where are all the stray cats in America?

- Israelis also never put their dogs on leash. Their dogs are always extremely well-behaved and never chase squirrels or run up to other dogs. I have seen many, many times the owner leaving an unleashed dog outside a cafe or restaurant, and the dog literally just sits and waits. Amazing!

- I love the mandatory army trainings. Not for what it represents (militarism, necessity to protect country from terrorism, etc), but for what it does to people. Israeli women are tough and confident, and the men are very masculine. Apparently, for the male citizens they have to do 1 month of service every year until they are 45 or 50. I'm sure this is very disruptive for them, but the sense of responsibilty and stake in their own community you get from them are incredible.

- There is so much varied and beautiful landscape in such a small place that I'm amazed that Israel is not one of the most toured places on earth. The beaches at the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Dead Sea rival any beaches I have been to in Europe, Florida, or California. And they are completely empty at this time of the year, in spite of the temperate climate. The desert in southern Israel is simply breathtaking. And the northern parts, like the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee, are beautiful as well with their lush rolling hills, crystal lakes and waterfalls, vineyards, and a ton of historical sites as well.

- And Jerusalem! My God, I could spend 3 months there and not get bored! In fact, I want to be back there already! There are ruins literally every where, some labelled, some not so well-labelled. Boyfriend and I walked down the path where Christ carried his cross to his site of crucification, the famed "Via Dolorosa". We visited his tomb. We visited the Western Wall. We walked by 2000-year-old walls and 1,700-year-old churches and Roman columns and tombs and ruins of temples built by David and churches with every kind of significance to Christians. In the Old City there was literally a ruin at every step. It must be an archaologist's dream come true.

- Jerusalem really does shut down on Shabbat. Not even gas stations are open! I was impressed.

- Tel Aviv, on the other hand, has an insane nightlife. The part of town Boyfriend and I went to on Saturday was so crowded that it was almost unpleasant to walk in the shopping centers and the stores.

- Israelis are insane drivers! This is one thing that I didn't like so much about them, because since we rented a car and had to drive, it put some unnecessary stress on our trip. They speed; they tailgate; they go through dangerous mountain curves at 70 miles per hour and attemtp to pass you; they honk their horns as soon as the light turns to sound their impatience. Added to all this is the narrowness of many streets and even highway lanes, and I was left to wonder why my parents are worried about terrorist attacks when they should be worried about crazy Israeli drivers.

- Artificial palm tree forests in the desert! Every single one of those trees are neatly lined up, like soldiers! I have always associated palm trees with the leisurely, lazy beach culture of Florida or California. Who knew that palm trees could look so... disciplined?

Those are all the thoughts I have time to write down for now. This has been a perfect trip in every way, and one thing is clear: Boyfriend and I are definitely going back to Israel before long.

Some Photos from Israel

Negev desert, inside the world's largest crater. This one was taken from atop a mountain




The bibilical mountain of Sodom, which was destroyed by God, and where Lot's wife turned to salt. (Sodom apparently means "salt" in Hebrew, though in English it sadly has other connotations).




The Red Sea at Eilat, the city at the southernmost tip of Israel in between Egypt and Jordan. The distant lights belong to Egypt.




The white and salty beaches of the Dead Sea, where the salt content in the water is 40 times that of normal sea water. It was the low season so Boyfriend and I were the only people on the beach.




The Dead Sea. The mountains in the distance belong to Jordan and mark the Israeli-Jordanian border.




Israeli flags flying in the Old City in Jerusalem.




Arab women buying and selling vegetables at the Arab Market at the Damascus Gate in the Old City.




Arab children posing for the camera in the Muslim Quarter in the Old City.




Beautiful streets inside the Old City.

Last Day in Israel

Today is my last day in Israel. I'm flying out of the country at 7 PM.

I had an amazingly meaningful time here. Out of our 9-day vacation, Boyfriend and I spent 1 day in the mountainous Negev Desert, two days in Eilat (the southern touristy city by the Red Sea, neighboring Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Jordan), one day by the Dead Sea, one day visiting his various relatives in the vincinity of Tel Aviv, and then remaining time in Jerusalem.

And today, we hope to spend the afternoon in Caesaria, an ancient Roman town on the Mediterranean Sea.

So far, my favorite has been Jerusalem. Boyfriend and I spent nearly every day wandering around in the beautiful Old City, with all its houses built in the yellow-white stones . I'm not exxaggerating when I say that every inch of the Old City is covered in history. There are ruins everywhere, some labeled (like the Roman Columns in the Jewish Quarter), some unlabeled (like the over 20 different layers of the city wall that was built and rebuilt over the past 2,000 years.

The Arab markets were particularly fun, and lined all the major and many minor streets and alleys in the Old City. Boyfriend and I spent considerable time walking through them, not because we particularly wanted to buy anything (I for one was terrified of haggling with these aggressive and sophisticated sellers) but because to get anywhere we seemed to have to go through their streets).

We also went to the Western Wall (of course), and the Via Dolorosa (re-traced Jesus's steps) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We wanted and tried several times to go to the Temple Mount, but it was open only at very limited times during the year, and we were never able to make it.

We also spent considerable amount of time in the German Colony, wtih nice cafes and restaurants. Locals told us that nearly all of the cafes on the streets were subject to either deadly bombings in the past few years or unsuccessful bombing attempts. It's amazing that the street was as lively as it was.

On Shabbat, everything really did shut down in Jerusalem. Not even gas stations were open. However, in the considerably more liberal Tel Aviv, we were able to find coffee shops and stores that were open even on Saturday morning. And then, after Shabbatt on Saturday evening, all the stores were open once again and the streets were filled with cars and shoppers.

Our flight is going to reach London this evening and we are spending 12 hours there, then flying tomorrow morning. I'm missing my first day of classes at school, but I don't feel to bad about it since I sourly needed this vacation after the hellish Christmas break I spent studying for torts, crim, and civ pro.

And this has been such a meaningful experience. I really hope to come back someday, and soon.

Done with Finals, and in the Promise Land

60 hours ago, I was typing furiously into my laptop as everyone around me finished up their torts exam. The proctor called time. We saved the file into our flash memory drive and handed it in. And then I was the first one who jumped up and hugged C, who sat in front of me.

"It's over! It's over! It's over!!!"

Now, I am in Israel, in a Kibbutz hotel in the middle of the desert, watching the sunrise over the enormous crater

We flew into Tel Aviv via London, and with the help of 2 exedrin PMs I was able to sleep for both legs of my trip. The first leg of the trip to London was the most pleasant flight I had ever taken. There were so few people on the plane that each of us had the entire row of seats -- 5 of them -- to ourselves, and I was able to lie down and even stretch out.

London-Heathrow was deserted as well. The second flight was delayed for a bit, so I used that time to call my parents with Skype (Boyfriend recently got this service and loves it. The quality of sound is amazing and it is so cheap). My dad sounded very worried about me and kept on telling me to not get kidnapped. He also read somewhere in the newspaper the previous day that 300 pilgrims in Mecca was trampled to death, and since in his mind (and really, in mine, as well), the entire Middle East was this vague glob of land, he was worried that it might affect me.

I promised that I would call him as soon as I got into Israel.

The Ben Gurion Airport at Tel Aviv is beautiful. Gorgeous. I think it's new, since not even Boyfriend's father who's here like 3 times a year has seen it yet. The entire building is paved in golden and tan marble slabs, with enormously high ceilings and water fountains in the middle of the hall. All steel and marble and glass.

We got our rental car and started driving south. Soon we were in the middle of the desert. I had never really been in a desert before. There was an endless stretch of yellow and gold and white. In the distance there are rolling golden hills of sand, and still further you can see the green shadow of the mountain. At first, we could still see factories and scattered farmland from the road, but soon there was nothing but sand and the occasional gas station.

Soon we were driving inside the sandstone mountains, up and down, up and down. When we were at the top, the view down across the sandy plans was breathtaking. There were very few cars on the road, and the highway stretched endlessly before us into the next curve. Our car was so small and the sandstone mountains were so enormous. The clouds had interesting shapes and curled above the mountains and the plain.

I took over 100 photos, and will post some here as soon as I download them into my laptop.

The only scary parts: Israelis are CRAZY drivers. They tailgate and go 10-20 km above the speed limit. While I was driving, it occurred to me that the chance of some crazy Israeli driver driving me off the road is much higher than perishing in any terrorist attack. I told my dad this and he did not seem relieved.

We got to Mitzpeh Ramon, a small town in the middle of the desert, 4 hours later. I immediately collapsed upon getting into the hotel, around 4 in the afternoon, and slept for the next 10 hours. Today, we are going to drive south some more until we reach the beaches of Eliat.

I am reading Amos Oz's book "A Tale of Love and Darkness". It's about growing up in Jerusalem in the 40s and 50s. It's the perfect travel companion to a trip to Israel, and I am very much looking forward to visiting Jesusalem.

One Down, Two to Go

Today I took my first law school exam, in criminal law. It was an eight-hour take home exam done on my laptop. All of the eight hours were spent furiously typing into my computer, with no lunch and no breaks. And I still ran out of time in the end.

The exam was very much like all the other practice exams I took in the past. Perhaps too much so, which made me wish I studied harder, took more pracrice exams, and read the professor's analysis more carefully. Still, I am relieved that it's done.

And I feel just fine about how I did. Of course, that doesn't mean anything with a forced curve. I carefully avoided looking at all at either my answers, the crim law books, hornbooks, or outlines after the exam. Put them all away immediately upon coming back home.

After turning in the exam, went for a few hours around the Square, getting a haircut, and just puttering around. Had dinner with J and her husband. J apparently did not heed my advice, went back and read her exam, realized some stuff she's missed, and freaked out.

I was taught the hard way about how nothing good could come out of obsessing over exams after the fact. Better to put everything out of my mind and just let go. Let... go...

In other news, I am going to Israel for a 10-day vacation with Boyfriend right after exams! I'm soooooo looking forward to it. We are flying the day after my torts exam, next Thursday. I purchased a travel book to Israel today while I puttered around at the Square.

Came home and tried to finish my outline for torts, which wasn't very successful. Did one little page on Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress before I got totally bored. I think I'm going to go to sleep now and NOT dream about my first ever law school exam!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

A prosperous and happy 2006 to all my readers and friends. Wherever you are, I hope you are having a great time and an even better time in the coming 12 months!

And my 1,000th reader on New Year's Day! How special!