Jerusalem

Trivia question: You're standing just outside the green line, inside the blue line, & looking at the red line...where are you?

a) METRO Center subway station in DC

b) Your child's latest hand-drawing of Candy-Land

c) East Jerusalem

If you answered C, you are correct! More on these colored lines below...

Recently I did 2 separate tours of Jerusalem. One was a spiral of historical sights that wound it's way around and then into the Old City. The other was a survey of locations around East Jerusalem where settlements, walls, and Arab & Jewish neighborhoods all struggle for not-too-much space on some very hallowed ground. This second tour was organized by Ir Amim, a non-profit organization dedicated to the idea that a peaceful solution in Jerusalem will lead to a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. [I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested--& it is free] Here are a few pics:

The Temple Mount & Dome of the Rock

Walking the outer wall of the old city

As you can see, the Old City is brimming with history, archaeology, and countless sacred sights for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. But more surprisingly, it is also brimming with normal, everyday life I did not expect to see.

Above, the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall)
Below, alley-markets in the Muslim quarter are still buzzing late into the afternoon

Below is our armed guard, Ori. He served 3 years in the IDF, & like many 20-somethings with military experience, pays his way through college while working security job on the side. He got to practice his English while he helped me out with my Hebrew (Note: I try not to offer grammatical advice to people with loaded automatic weapons).

There is only one word to accurately describe the overall political situation in Jerusalem: 'complicated'. In fact, that may be a bit too generous. For example, below is a map of Jerusalem. The Blue line is the Municipal boundary of the city. Everyone who lives in the line is a resident of Jerusalem and legally entitled to services and rights that goes along with that. The green line is the border between Israel and Palestine (the Occupied Territories). Yellow blotches are Palestinian neighborhoods, and light blue are Israeli settlements. Confused yet? Wait, there's more. So what's that big Red Line? 

 The Red Line in the above picture is the Fence. This is a 'Security Fence' (yes, it's called a fence). After seeing it in person I think this thing makes the Berlin Wall look like child's play. It weaves through neighborhoods, along ridge-lines, and will ultimately surround the Palestinian Territories altogether, separating Israel from their occupied neighboring land. I had definite mixed feelings when we saw this up-close & personal. On the one hand, it is effective at reducing terrorist violence. This a demonstrable fact. But after seeing neighborhoods divided, slums created, and a myriad of other issues arise, I'm forced to ask myself, "at what cost?" This wall actually separates certain Palestinian neighborhoods who are part of Jerusalem proper (within the Blue Line) from the rest of the city, creating a slum where unemployment is rampant, city services cease to exist, and pressure is mounting. People there feel like exiles in their own homes. The Ir Amim tours once toured some of these neighborhoods until their busses began being pelted by rocks thrown by 9 & 10 year olds several months ago.

Above: the fence winds it's way North of the Old City. Below is depicted an unfinished portion that will follow the road down the hill, separating the olive field (vs. cutting right through it) from it's Bethlehem owners. They can apply for a permit to cross over daily to tend their trees once the fence is complete.

Above-Thousands of Palestinian Muslims enter through a checkpoint to board buses to pray at the Al -Aqsa Mosque & visit the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount (in the Old City) during Ramadan. Below, the view looking East from the Mt of Olives. Jerusalem is a crowded, bustling city, but just past the borders the land is desert. There are many plans to continue development of Jewish settlements in the territories, in addition to those who are already living in settlements throughout the occupied territories. A major Israeli settlement is just out of sight in this picture.

Silwan Neighborhood (Just South of the Old City)-Not uncommon to see youngsters riding donkeys or streets w/out sidewalks here.  According to some experts, this place is so tense that is likely to be the starting point of the Third Intifada. Lets hope and pray that does not happen.

Busted up tank from the War of Independence (1948)

Here I am with my finger on the heart of 3 major world religions (don't worry folks, I put it back). At the end of the tour(s), I was tired physically, but approaching 'exhausted' mentally. I honestly don't see how so many people of such differing beliefs and histories can continue to occupy such a small space, and I don't know how long the current situation will remain as it stands today. But I was happy to learn a little bit more about this beautiful & complex city, and it really got me thinking about the magnitude of the different problems and challenges that people face here on a daily basis.

& many thanks too to my friend & fellow Olmsted Scholar Sean Carano (OSC-10) for joining me. Shalom yall...

Mount Carmel & Rosh HaNikra

In Hebrew & in Arabic on the monastery walls:

"Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again."

Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God; The LORD, He is God." 1 Kings 18:37-39

This is the monastery on the top of Mount Carmel, commemorating the spot where Elijah challenged and defeated the prophets of Baal. There are breathtaking views from the roof, where you can see almost all of Israel from every direction (on a clear day). To arrive there from Haifa, we wound our way through the Carmel National forest and several small Druze villages, all the while trying to explain to our kids the abbreviated story of Elijah & the prophets of Baal. It wasn't until Will said that he could "smell some smoke a liddle bit," that we knew we were on the right track.

Statue of Elijah

I used to think smack-talking started w/ Muhammad Ali in the 1960s, but now I think that Elijah really started the trend. Read 1Kings ch 18 for the full story. Afterwards, we hit the northern most point on the Israeli coast: Rosh HaNikra.

Here we found a cable-car to underwater caves that have been formed over thousands of years of erosion in the rocks.

Not too shabby:

Above: I had a nice conversation with this fisherman about Israeli politics & defense while Elizabeth tried to keep the children from jumping in the water. Typical, really.

We even saw a group of kayakers making their way through caves (carefully--& at low tide of course). We might have to try this some time.

Elizabeth smiles as Lydia checks for bats. There were none there (that we saw).

Below is a full shot of the Israeli coast. Not visible is the line of buoys de-marking the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel, and the Israeli Naval ship just out of view keeping a close watch on the beaches & sunbathers. Security is ubiquitous here, even at the most commercialized of places. Cool place to visit, though. Till next time...Shalom y'all!

Ein Hod & Haifa

Ein Hod is an Artists' village on the ridge line of Mt. Carmel. It is full of painters, potters, sculptors, glass blowers, etc. Every building is a studio and gallery with a story. It is absolutely beautiful and charming. This is my new favorite place in Israel. With flowers everywhere, ancient stone buildings, winding staircases and views of the Mediterranean, what's not to love?

Want to know what Will was looking at on the step?

Don't worry....it was dead.

Next stop: the Baha'i Gardens in Haifa

Below is a view from the top of the hill: that is some hill!

If you're ever wondering whether or not to take small children to perfectly manicured gardens where you are not allowed to touch anything, eat or drink anything, run, or make noise....the answer is "skip it."

See how tightly I'm holding his hand? And that guilty face full of mischief?

This was the scene minutes earlier. Is it just me or does this next sequence of photos look like a Bollywood routine in the making?

(don't mind the popsicle splatters on the camera lense)

And finally, a sweet ending to a sweet day.....

Shalom y'all!

Caesarea

Today was a "pinch yourself, this can't be real" kind of a day. We set off to explore Caesarea, only a 30 minute drive up the coast from us. It's our Olmsted duty, right? We're here to immerse in the culture, so exploring and immersing we went.

And this gorgeous gem of a past hustling and bustling city/ port is what we found:

Caesarea was incredible. The view of the Mediterranean was amazing. Just stunning. It's hard to put into words. It's history is rich and long (scroll down for brief summary). There are Roman Ruins, an ancient aqueduct, a Hippodrome, an Herodian amphitheater, a moat, the ruins of Pontius Pilate's summer crib, all interspersed with modern museums, shops and quaint waterside restaurants. Like many things in Israel, what once was political has now become commercial. But even so, Caesarea does not have a touristy feel. It is quiet and charming. There were even tame cats wandering around that you could actually pet (Israel is full of wild cats). This was the highlight of the outing for the kids. Forget 2000 year old ruins, there were friendly felines for Pete's sake.

Pretend like you like each other.

I don't even know what to say about this one.

Lydia is built for archaeology minus the sweat.

A recently uncovered Mosaic tile floor

Why bring an umbrella to the beach when there's...

Roman aqueducts

Sweet Lydia

Caesarea: Historical Overview :

(please don't check or refer to this for historical accuracy)

• Built as Caesarea Maritima by King Herod for Augustus Caesar
• Headquarters of Roman rule in Israel with a mixed population of Greeks, Syrians, Romans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Jews. A vast city with stadiums, theaters, temples, palaces, baths, and a huge port.
• home of the first gentile convert, Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Acts 10)
• Paul and other disciples made several trips through Caesarea. It is also were Paul was imprisoned for 2 years before his trial in Rome (Acts 23:23-27:2)
• Jewish/ Roman tensions came to a head between 60-70AD. 2000 Jews were killed in the amphitheater provoking a Jewish revolt. The Romans responded with the destruction of the Temple (70 AD)
• in AD 132 during the Bar Kochba rebellion, Jews were again tortured and massacred in the amphitheater; Christians were also later executed there.
• During the Byzantine era, a more peaceful time, important church scholars arose from this port
• Arab conquest in AD 640
• 1101 Baldwin I and crusaders slaughtered the entire Arab population
• Muslim armies again reclaimed the land in 1265

The amphitheater, once a place of bloodbath, now hosts popular concerts.

Lydia gave a stunning pre-performance today.

Where in the world is Will?

The token Indiana Jones family shot

Caesarea, we will definitely be seeing more of you.

Shalom y'all...

(stay tuned for Stewart's experience on an inside tour of Jerusalem)