To the land of milk and honey... and so much more.

It's finally time for some re-caps. A lot has happened in the past two weeks, and I need to tell you about it. Be prepared for another Egypt-style too-long post.

On August 20, Candace (another girl from my Arabic program in Jordan and I packed up our stuff, had a quick breakfast in our hostel, and jumped into a taxi headed for the Jordanian/Israeli border. It was an uneventful ride, and a chance for us to get to know each other, since it was really the first time we had ever talked alone. I admired the arid but beautiful scenery outside, learned a little bit about how cool my travel companion is, and before long, we were at the bus station.

We then took a bus to the actual border checkpoint, where we handed over our passports and apparently acted very suspiciously. We asked that our passports not be stamped, and our failure to come up with an adequate reason for this request seemed to be our first mistake; our second, bigger mistake was truthfully telling our patrol-ish interrogators that we were staying with a friend and her Palestinian family in Bethlehem. Big no-no. We were detained for an hour or so, asked some ridiculous questions like "what is the origin of your first name", and were then finally let into the country. Seems like the U.S./Mexico border isn't the only over-policed absurdity in the world. Gotta love border patrol.

After waiting for one thousand years for our shared taxi to fill up, we finally arrived in Bethlehem, hot and tired but welcomed with open arms. Our friend Laetitia's family owns an apartment building in the city, and she generously offered to let us stay there with her (she's going back to Amman for the fall semester, and relaxing in Bethlehem with her family in the meantime.) We dropped off our bags, guzzled some water, and then went into the old city for a quick stroll. The city was so charming and peaceful, a welcome change from Amman (and a wonderful break from Ramadan!) We admired the buildings and streets, old and new, and then went into the Church of the Nativity. SO AMAZING. It's supposedly the oldest continually operating church in the world, and is absolutely marvelous. The Byzantine church itself was breathtaking, and the Nativity grotto underneath was unbelievable - the first of many overwhelmingly holy places I'd get to visit over the next few days.


We had to get back to the house to get changed for... a wedding! One of Laetitia's family members got married that afternoon, in the Catholic Church of St. Elizabeth that's right next to the Church of the Nativity, and their reception was that night. We each took a refreshingly long, hot shower, threw on dresses and heels, and headed to the party. There was lots of confusion, lots of food, and lots of fun... quite an interesting cultural experience!

The next day, we had a leisurely brunch with the family, and then toured Bethlehem a bit, driving around the city, visiting a suburban refugee camp, admiring the incredible graffiti on the separation wall, spotting a Banksy work or two, and stopping by the church again for some prayer time. A group of Greek Orthodox pilgrims stood in the grotto and sang, and it was such a lovely moment; I couldn't help but be flooded with peace, joy, and gratitude. Later, we went to one of the city's most popular activities - bingo! It was good practice for Arabic numbers, and I even won a round; my super-exciting prize: toilet paper and dish soap (it was happily accepted by Laetitia's aunt.) We spent the rest of the night hanging out with the family, eating pizza and talking and enjoying each others' company.

After another night of restful sleep in Bethlehem, we packed up our stuff, ate a delicious breakfast, and took a bus to Jerusalem. We completely walked past our hostel, accidentally took a mini-tour of part of the Old City, and then, after realizing our mistake, finally located the hostel and checked in. We only had one night in Jerusalem, so after drinking a few cups of the free but rather suspicious juice in the lobby, we headed back into the Old City, where we proceeded to get lost again. Luckily, the winding streets were a sight in themselves, so the journey was not in vain, and we eventually ended up at the Western/Wailing Wall.

After that, we grabbed a taxi and rode up to the top of the Mount of Olives, where our first stop was the Pater Noster Church (commemorating Christ teaching the Lord's Prayer to the disciples.) The prayer was written in over a hundred languages on the churches walls, and it was a nice, peaceful start to an intensely amazing afternoon.

Then we wandered down the hill, stopping at the Church of Tears, encountering some of the most absurd harassment yet ("Come to sex?"), and making our way to Gethsemane. The garden itself was wonderful, and the near-by Church of the Agony was awe-inspiring - definitely a moment for reflection and prayer. This was probably my favorite site on the mountain just because it represents something so incredibly human: the hours when Christ himself was struck with fear and uncertainty, cried out to his Father, and continued on in faith - isn't that what we can all only hope to do?

Our last stop on the mountain was the Tomb of the Virgin. The site wasn't as religiously significant for me as I'm sure it is for most Catholics, but it was still so amazing.

We then walked the Via Dolorosa and passed by the first few Stations of the Cross - what a surreal experience. This ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which I have to say was the most divine and beautiful man-made structure I've ever seen, both in appearance and in spirit. We walked into this breathtaking church, and within a few steps, we were standing in front of the Stone of Anointing. Another surreal experience - bowing down in front of this slab, rubbing my unworthy hands on it and coming away with the scent of myrrh and a feeling of awe. We spent a long time inside the church, wandering into its various corners and levels, stopping to admire the artwork and pray. It was an indescribable experience.

Our minds and hearts were overflowing with wonder at that point, but our stomachs were empty, so we decided to wind down for the night and eat some dinner. After recharging, we wandered through the city a bit more, enjoyed some mint lemonade, and finally headed to bed.

The next morning, we woke up an hour late thanks to an unknown (and not discovered for quite awhile) time change (Bethlehem and Jerusalem are in different time zones - what?) After eating a surprisingly good free breakfast, we went over to the Temple Mount complex to admire the Dome of the Rock. Sadly, we weren't allowed inside, but we were still able to enjoy the gorgeous architecture.

Then, we grabbed some last minute souvenirs and rushed back to the hostel so we could get to the border before it closed. It took FOREVER to get back to Jordan, but we finally did, only to spend a few hours there, and then head to the airport for our respective international flights. That morning, we were in Jerusalem, then Amman, and then I was in Istanbul and Candace was in Germany. What crazy lives we lead!

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A last-minute aside for reflection: this trip will certainly be counted as one of the most inspiring few days of my life. I loved traveling with Candace, for whom I quickly developed an immense amount of respect and appreciation. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to share this experience with her, and to have been able to have this experience at all. I am Christian, and my faith is important to me, so each unbelievable biblical site was especially significant for me, but all personal spirituality aside, what we saw was just incredible. Even if you don't believe or care that Christ was born in Bethlehem, an intensely powerful movement was born there, a school of thought that controls so many people's lives and has influenced so much of what the world is today. Just to see how much people cared about these places, to watch them fall on their knees and cry, as they have done for well over a thousand years, is just completely insane. This trip is even harder to put into words than my weekend in Egypt. But I loved it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stories of my adventures in Turkey coming soon! For now, feel free to enjoy the rest of my Bethlehem/Jerusalem photos here.