Crossing Borders

This trip has so far been a non-stop adrenaline rush that seems to be getting exponentially better with each passing day.

While I could have continued wasting away on Tel-Aviv beach for the rest of my trip, I decided it was time to take a few day trips before trekking to Jordan. After a great day trek to Herzeliyah (which, while getting out of TA, was still laying on a beach looking out at the Med), I took a spontaneous day trip to Jerusalem. After linking up with Basia, (a sweet woman from Poland who lives in NYC) on the bus-ride over, I met up with Sanaz, a friend of mine in LA who is studying in Jerusalem for the summer, at the Kotel (Western Wall). We spent some time at the Wall (which never loses of it’s awe-inspiring power) and then grabbed some Felafel nearby. Sanaz headed to class and Basia and I paraded around the Old City, visiting the Arab Quarter (bought a beautiful Star of David necklace), the Christian Quarter (visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher- where Jesus is believed to have been crucified), and finished out the day on the Old City rooftops which offered a gorgeous panoramic of Jerusalem.

Coming back to the city that night, a big group of us went to catch Dub LFO, an Israeli reggae band at this bar Lima Lima. Shirlee, who was leaving for Prague the next morning, played spectacular manager as she approached the lead singer of Dub LFO to say the following: “My friend Jay is a beat-boxer back in the States. Listen to him for a few minutes, and, if you like what you hear, he’ll open for you.” If you haven’t already guessed where this is going, I dropped a minute of beats for them, they loved it, and I had a 10-minute beat-box opener in my first week in Israel. I opened with Come Together, then the Sh’ma Israel beat-box, and closed with Moments in Love > Pony. As I was departing for Eilat and then Jordan the next day, I could not have asked for a better last night in Tel-Aviv.

Off to Eilat the following day. Basia was also planning on going to Jordan so we matched itineraries and met in Eilat for a night before cruising over to Jordan. Now, I’m not sure if I can verbalize just how bizarre of an experience crossing the Eilat-Aqaba border is. You taxi up to the Israel side, pay your entry visa, and then literally walk across a good 100 yards of “No Man’s Land” before arriving to the Jordanian side of the border. Quite bizarre, indeed.

Jordan has been serendipitous from the moment we arrived. We checked into the Bedouin Garden Village in Aqaba, right across the street from the beach, where we then snorkeled, laid out, and jived with two other travelers from Israel and Italy. Next day, we shared a cab to Petra to visit its famous monuments – Treasury, Monastery, and caves. However, better than any of the typical tourist stuff were the experiences we received by going off the beaten path.

On Day 1, we hiked up a bit to the Petra Museum only to find it closed. Seeing a small trail around the corner, our curiosity got the best of us. Circling about 200 yards around the perimeter of this mountain, we discovered the home of the only resident of Petra, Mefle Bedoul. About 70, he was perhaps the kindest and most gentle-spirited man I think I ever came across. I imagined someone stumbling into someone’s property back in the States where they probably would have received a shot-gun in their face and “Didn’t you see the ‘No Trespassing’ sign?” However, this man, fully employing the Bedouin lifestyle, invited us into his home for tea and cookies. If you’ve never met any Bedouins, they are some of the most interesting people planet. They tend to thrive in tents in the dessert and have very little but give whatever they have to complete strangers. They will bring you in, cook for you, offer you shelter under the premise that if they should ever be in your town, you will return the favor without hesitation.

So, Mefle told us the story of how his family purchased five caves in Petra seven generations ago in the 1400’s. He knew everything there was to know about this land and was eager to share it. He even remembered meeting Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg when they were filming “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” as well as Michael Jackson when he came to Petra to film a music video (I believe “Remember the Time”). Quite a meeting to say the least.

We then hiked up to the Monastery where we met some more Bedouins, these ones who played the “oud,” a guitar-looking instrument native to the Arab world. We hung out with them through a most incredible sunset before heading back down to Wadi Mousa, the town that houses Petra, where our hostel and warm beds were awaiting us.

Today, we spent Day 2 gallivanting around this amazing place. We started hiking a set of stairs and just kept on them until we approached a most incredible view of the Treasury from above (pics coming soon, I promise!). We then cabbed over to Wadi Rum, known in Jordan for offering the most expansive panoramic views of the dessert, ideal for a sunset viewing. And here I am now, back in Aqaba, tired after two very long, action-packed days. Tomorrow, we re-cross the border back to Eilat and then catch a flight back to Tel-Aviv. Turkey on Wednesday!