Bahai Gardens

Background info on Bahai:

The Bahai faith is a fairly young religion that started in the mid 1800's.  It is monotheistic and emphasizes equality and unity of all people, believing that all beings have an underlying commonality.  The teachings speak of gender equality, world peace, the need for education, and harmony between religion and science.  Historically, it stemmed from Islam, but it considers itself a completely separate tradition.  A couple similarities I found are: followers of Bahai abstain from alcohol and drugs, must make a pilgrimage to the holy sites once in their lifetime, pray daily (though only once a day), are encouraged to donate to their religious community, and fast from sun-up to sun-down during the holy month on their calendar.  The traditional Bahai calendar  consists of 19 months with 19 days in each one.  Nine and 19 are holy numbers due to the supposed number in the original group of followers.  There are about 6 million Bahai people today and it is second only to Christianity in the geographical spread of adherents. 

The Shrine of the Bab, in the middle of the gardens, houses the remnants of the founder of the religion, Ali-Muhammad, who in 1844, declared himself to be the promised one and the gate (Bab in Arabic) through which prophecies would be told.  The Persian leaders did not like this, so shortly after his declaration, he was executed in what is now Iran.  His body was moved to the Shrine of the Bab in 1909.  The lower half of the garden was opened in the 1960's and the upper half in 2001.   There is a staff of 100 full time gardeners.  The money for the upkeep comes entirely from Bahai donations and they do not accept money from outsiders.  There are no souvenir shops and the tours are free.  

Bahai believe that Israel is solely a holy place.  It is supposedly sacrilege to live and conduct daily life here.  Followers do not visit Israel as normal tourist here on vacation.  They are granted special papers or visas given specifically to pilgrims. 

My trip to the gardens:

I decided to walk to the top of the gardens, located on Mount Carmel, because my German roommate told me it wasn't such a bad walk.  However, it is entirely up hill and quite steep.  By the time I made it to the top, my water bottle had contracted due to the change in pressure (there's a chance it was my imagination).  You can't just walk right up the steps of the garden because they, and most areas around the Shrine, are closed to anyone not on a tour, besides pilgrims.  There is also no road that simply runs up the hill parallel to the garden.  So, you are left on your own to search for a way up that successfully winds through the neighborhoods, taking a combination of staircases and roads.  And, to make it a little more challenging, it is not well marked.  I began to guess that most people take public transportation to the top.  After 50 minutes of hiking and over 200 stairs, I made it to the entry of the tour.  All I wanted to do was jump in one of the Bab's fountains, but of course instead, I was told to put on my long-sleeved shirt and informed that the tour is an hour-long walking tour with 700 stairs.  I felt like a real Bahai pilgrim.  The tour was well worth the journey and I learned a lot about the Bahai faith.  

Pictures:

1st: View from the top.  The upper gardens and the Shrine of the Bab. 

2nd: One of the terraces. There are a total of 19. Everything is absolutely flawless.  I don't envy the people who have to mow the steep hills of grass.

3rd: Building housing artifacts of the Bab and early Bahai followers. Open only to pilgrims

4th: View of the upper gardens from outside the Shrine.  Bahai, Bahai birdie.

5th: The 200+ staircase in one of the neighborhoods. It was like going to Keith and Yumi's except much, much worse. Note the man who stopped for a snack and water break.

Uplan-Or

Now that I finished my two-week Hebrew class, I figured I should post a blog about it.  The school was called Ulpan-Or. Or means light.  Their slogan is "Hebrew at the speed of light."  I spent three hours a day, five days a week, at school.  Because of Shabbat, my weeks went from Sunday to Thursday.  On Tuesdays and Fridays, a teacher from the school took me out for a tour in a particular part of the city.  I got a lot out of these two hour sessions because they made me speak as much in Hebrew as I could for the whole time.  My classroom teacher, Osnot, was excellent. She was able to do just the right blend of making me feel comfortable and pushing me.  I was very impressed with the program overall.  On Wednesdays the founder and head of the school has a short meeting with you where she asks you questions in Hebrew and you have to respond, as  a way for her to check your progress.  Thursdays are graduation and everyone in the program has to give a little talk about themselves.  It was a very interesting way to see what levels other people were at.  I was the most beginner.  There was an old Scottish woman who is almost at a native level and was doing things like going to hear live poetry in Hebrew.  She told us one day that even she still makes mistakes, including the time she asked a young orthodox boy, who was a student of hers, to take off his pants instead of his glasses (the words are very similar).  I got along really well with the receptionist, who is also 23, and was born in California. Her English is excellent and one night I went to see her do improv comedy in English.  Anyway, school is over now and I will admit, I'm a little sad.  I miss the folks there.

Happy Birthday Blossom!

As many of you know, I turned 23 on the 23rd.  It was a pretty exciting day.  I had my Hebrew class during the day, so I brought in some assorted pastries for everyone to enjoy.  All the teachers at school sang the Hebrew birthday song to me, which is totally different from the American one, and one of the teachers played it on the piano.  My teacher also told me I didn't have to do homework today since it was my birthday.  My friend Amy, who I met on the Birthright trip, came to Jerusalem with her Israeli friend Alex, to take me out for the night.  We went to a bar in the center of town that had hookah and free popcorn, it was my kind of place.  Overall, it was an excellent birthday celebration.  

  

Products You'll Recognize

I get an endless kick out of seeing American products spelled phonetically in Hebrew letters.  There are some sounds that don't exist in Hebrew, like "W" and "CH", but they have come up with symbols or combinations of letters that Hebrew speakers recognize to be these certain foreign sounds.  That being said, usually English product names work splendidly in Hebrew and certainly never fail to amuse me.  Note the large matzoh section in the supermarket.  Also, my Coke was not only kosher, the standard, but kosher for passover. 

Home at the Jerusalem Hostel

I am currently staying at the Jerusalem Hostel for the duration of my two-week Hebrew class.  It is right in the heart of Jerusalem on one of the major roads.  I have my own room and my own bathroom, which is really nice in a hostel.  I have made some pals here as well.  I've been hanging out with two Australian brothers and a British guy who is in the British military.  There is a communal kitchen where you can always find people to chat with and can hear a variety of languages spoken, and English spoken with a variety of accents.  I have met people from Germany, the Netherlands, Central American, Israel, and the English speakers.

The first day here, I discovered something funny on the roof of the Hostel.  There are six sheds that look like something you would put in your yard and store gardening equipment in, but instead, they are rooms you can rent.  Inside, they have two single beds and a heater.  There is also a bathroom on the roof for the shed people to share.  It's quite strange.  I've never seen anything like it.  My Israeli friend Gaby, the armed guard from out trip, apparently had never seen such a thing either because when I showed him, his reaction was, "What the fuck is that? People pay to stay in there?" 

Most days of the week, there is a group of Jews who drive their car into the square just outside and sing songs in Hebrew over beats of popular American songs.  My personal favorite was a song they sang along with 50 cents "In Da Club."  Fortunately for me, I can hear them from my room.

Pictures:

1st: View of the Hostel from the square. There's construction going on in the road to build a light rail.  Estimated to be complete two years ago.  All the locals complain.

2nd: My room

3rd: The kitchen. Dion (one of the Aussies) washing dishes, Martin (the Brit) holding up the wine

4th: Me drinking wine out of a coffee cup on Shabbat

5th: The rooftop kennels

Tel-Aviv

After the Birthright part of my trip ended, I spent four nights in Tel-Aviv.  It was really nice to have some free days after 10 days of non-stop action.  I stayed in the Cinema Hotel, right in the center of town.  It was a great location.  I was on a busy street so I had plenty of food options and shops to look in.  I was also a 15 minute walk from the beach.  The first night, two of the girls I met on the trip came to my hotel and hung out for a little while before they left for Jordan.  Then I went to bed and slept for 12 hours.  It felt excellent after getting about five hours of sleep each night on Birthright. The next day was laundry day.  It was a long project since I had to wash everything I brought.  I also hung out at the beach for a while.  There were people surfing in wet suits and even some people swimming.  The water was too cold for me, but I'll go back when the weather is warmer.  On Thursday I met up with Yosi, one of the soldiers from the trip.  He gets to leave his base from Thursday night to Sunday morning most weeks.  On Friday I walked to the main market.  It was very busy because Shabbat was about to start.  I had an early dinner and bought some snacks at the grocery store because everything closes. 

 On Saturday I needed to get to Jerusalem.  The normal buses don't run on the Sabbath so I only had two options.  Hiring your own taxi costs about $100, or you can take a mini-bus for about $7.25.  I took the mini-bus and found it to be very easy and convenient.  It was quite informal.  They line up outside the train station and wait for ten people to get on, then off you go! They are not on any kind of schedule.  All the passengers pass money forward and someone near the driver collects it and makes change as needed.  It was a fun experience.  

Pictures:

1st: View from the roof at my hotel.  Dizengof square.

2nd: Awesome art installation at the hotel across the street

3rd: Along the beach

4th: Mediterranean

5th: Mini-bus to Jerusalem

Purim!

Our last night on the trip was Purim and we went out in Tel-Aviv.  Purim here is pretty much like Halloween.  People dress up as anything they want and I didn't see a single character from the Purim story.  We saw one kid at the market dressed as 50 cent.  He had a 50 cent shirt, a huge chain with a dollar sign, baggy jeans, a bandana, and a sideways hat.  Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out in time.

Pictures:

1st:  Israeli super hero family, happy to pose for us

2nd: cute little chicken, the hood clucked when you squeezed it

3rd: Nice wigs

4th: Chira, Lia (one of the American guides), me, Ezra, Isaac

5th: Gaby, our armed guard. Nice costume.

Former Army Bunker in Golan Heights

We went to a former army bunker in the Golan Heights, right near the Syrian border.  We got to go down into some of the tunnels and rooms and walk around.  It was not a place I'd like to spend any extended period of time, or even a night actually, although it did feel pretty safe.  Outside the bunker, there were beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Driving through the Golan Heights was interesting.  We had an extra armed guard with us for the duration of our stay, just as we had when we were near the West Bank.  Pretty frequently along the road, there were fenced off portions of land with signs that said, "Danger. Land Mines."  I asked one of the American guides what the story was with those sections of land.  Apparently Syria had put land mines all over the Golan Heights and when Israel captured the land, Syria gave them all the coordinates they had.  However, they did not have coordinates for all of them, so there are still some areas with mines.  I asked what they are going to do with the land, and was told they graze cattle on it.  

Pictures:

1st: Helpful sign to orient yourself at the bunker

2nd: Leslie and some others in the bunker

3rd:  Golan Heights and Syria

Shabbat Activity in the Park

During the day on Saturday, our whole group went to a park.  We split into three groups and a soldier told each group a story about one of their experiences in the military.  Yosef, or Yosi as we call him, shared an intense story with us.  The military had received intelligence about a dangerous man in the area who may have explosives.  A temporary checkpoint was set up on a road in the area, to monitor who passed through.  There were four soldiers working at it with Yosi in charge.  There was a line up of cars and people started to get out and rush the checkpoint.  Yosi saw a man in the crowd with an unidentifiable object in his hand.  He could shoot the man but risk either hitting someone in the crowd, detonating the explosive, or shooting an innocent man.  Or he could not shoot him and risk having the man throw the explosive at the soldiers or try to take one of them hostage.  The crowd of people was approaching quickly so Yosi told two of his men to run away while he and the other man hid.  The man fell into the trap and chased after the two soldiers who were running.  Yosi and his partner chased the man and tackled him.  The thing he was holding was in fact an explosive and he is now in jail.  

Our groups job was to act out the scenario for the rest of the people to see.  It was pretty crazy hearing about the kinds of situations these people my age have had to deal with.  

Pictures:

1st: Me dressed in Liah's, one of the female soldiers, fatigues (hoop earrings not standard), Yosi in the background

2nd: Our team

3rd: Those of us who actually did the acting

 

Jerusalem Market on Shabbat

On Friday afternoon we went to a market in Jerusalem.  It was mad.  It was packed with people getting ready for Shabbat.  Our group broke into smaller groups of about five people with an Israeli soldier in each group.  Each group was assigned something to buy for Shabbat, such as flowers, fruit, and sweets.  We also got some falafel for lunch.

Our group had a little service that night and then we all stayed up late drinking wine, singing, and eating the food we bought at the market.  It was really interesting to see how the other inhabitants of our hotel celebrated.  There was a group of Hasidic Jews who celebrated very enthusiastically.  We heard the men davening downstairs and saw the women and babies upstairs schmoozing.  Around the dinner table, they all sang loudly and pounded the table.  They partied as late into the night as we did.  The elevator at our hotel was set to Shabbat mode, which means that it automatically stopped at every floor so no buttons had to be pushed. There were also packets of special pre-ripped Shabbat toilet paper in all the bathrooms.

Pictures:

1st: Market scene

2nd: Challah back...

3rd: Me trying on a Purim costume

4th: Our group eating falafel. Amy, Ezra, Yosi (our Israeli soldier), Isaac, Chira, Me

Hike in the Negev

After our night in the Beduin tents, we went on a hike through the Negev desert, which covers much of Southern Israel.  Wandering through the desert in groups comes very naturally to us Jews.  The danger in this area is flash flooding.  Before you hike, it is good to check with the equivalent of the parks and recreation department to make sure there is no danger, especially since a lot of the hike is in the river bed where the flood waters flow.  There had been a flash flood early in the week so there was standing water, which was cool to see in the middle of the desert.  

Pictures:

1st: Our group trekking through the Negev

2nd: We saw a lot of these little desert mountain goats

3rd: Leftover flood water

4th: Pals Amy, Nitzan, Ezra, Me once again in the REI shirt Mom bought me right before I left. I hiked many miles in that shirt. 

Dead Sea and Beduin Tent

The Dead Sea more than lived up to my expectations.  It is the strangest feeling to walk into the water, sit back, and just float on the top.  The water is about 33% salt and minerals which is a huge amount of solid matter.  You are not supposed to shave for at least a day before going in, and if you have any cuts you had not previously noticed, you'll notice them instantly. It is not recommended to dive in.

After the Dead Sea we drove into the Negev desert to a Beduin community.  Beduins are nomadic Muslim people.  We road camels and then had an amazing dinner.  We all sat on the floor and ate with our hands in groups of six.  We had couscous, a whole chicken, humus, and various types of vegetables.  One of the men gave a short talk about his life there and played us a song on a strange stringed instrument.  All 40 of our group members slept in a giant tent.  This was still the same day that we woke up at 4 a.m. and hiked up Masada. 

Pictures:

1st: Me and Ben floating

2nd: Dead Sea, Jordan on the opposite bank

3rd: Some salt crystals 

4th: Beduin man playing his instrument, just in front of him is an apparatus for grinding coffee (brown thing with the wooden handle sticking out of the top), right in the front of the picture is a pot of coffee (the silver thing)

5th: The camels we road