Middle East

Bangkok, Thailand

19 May 2007
1 Sivan 5767

"What!! You've never been to Israel??" scolded the Israeli man next to me on a flight in Thailand five years ago. "Shame on you."

Mandaba
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon

25 May, 2007
Marhaba,

So far here in Jordon I am mostly "under"whelmed.

The Citadel in Amman was good, overlooking the city as one would expect from a citadel.

Madaba to Wadi Musa
The H.K. of Jordan

27 May 2007
Sabah al-khayr,
Good Morning,

Despite her severe traditional dress of a red scarf completely covering her head and neck and her loosely fitting black coat and pants, Taghreed, the Reception Manager, cheerfully first persuaded me to stay at the Madaba Inn Hotel, and then cheerfully negotiated with me to reach a comfortable room rate, and finally cheerfully pointed me in the direction of the sites of this small hillside town south of Amman.

Wadi Musa
Petra:
Candidate for "Wonder of the World"
H.K. of Jordan

31 May 2007
Salaam Aleycum,

It's 9:00pm here in the dusty Bedouin Village in the dark hills outside Petra. We just finished tea together and I am saying a final goodbye to my friend Manal. We are shaking hands. She is so sweet I want to give her a hug, but that's completely inappropriate. Even a handshake is quite bold for a young Bedouin woman who covers her head and wears the full length clothing of a proper Bedouin woman. Woman? I should say, girl. Manal is seventeen, but "going on thirty-seven."

The Jordanian Desert
31 May 2007

Is Anybody Out There?

I am alone; yes, I am sitting alone, on a mat, in the shade of a high overhanging cliff. In the middle of this sun blasted desert valley.

A few minutes ago, while I was exploring the Nabatean engravings on the nearby hills, Salim, my driver drove off in the white Jeep. He just drove off. I waved at him but he just drove off across the dusty desert floor, through the red hills and out of sight. Out of sight. Gone.

Ajlun
Ajlun Governate
The H.K. of Jordan

2 June 2007
Dear Family and Friends,

I am standing on a terrace perched on a steep hillside in the north of Jordan. The view is historic.

Below and to the west and south is the fertile and green historic Jordan Valley.

Cairo
Arab Republic of Egypt
10 June 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

The ferry across the Gulf of Aqaba left three hours late ("we have to load the ferry"). But the ride is splendid. I have to pinch myself: To the port side are the hilly brown barren coastlines of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. To starboard is the hilly brown barren coastline of Egypt, North Africa! And, I check my map to learn that the Gulf of Aqaba is the northernmost section of The Red Sea. The Red Sea!!

Tel Aviv
Israel

13 June 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Boker tov. Good morning.

I just finished a tasty Israeli salad and a satisfactory cup of coffee at an outdoor café on the campus of Tel Aviv University.

The University sits on a hillside, and from the cafe I have a fine sunny view of the suburbs. In the distance I count at least four tall construction booms swaying back and forth over this busy city that seems to be growing in all directions.

Jerusalem
Israel
13 June 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

The highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem passes through the Palestinian Territories of the West Bank. Towns and villages, farms and mosques are clearly visible on the rocky hillsides. And to my right is a series of tall, tan concrete walls. "The Wall."

Here is one description:

Binyamina
Israel
21 June 2007

Erev tov,

"It's coffee time," Moshe announces with a smile. I know what's coming. I smile too.

Every afternoon at exactly 5:00 pm, Moshe and I sit at the kitchen table. Miryam serves a tall glass of iced coffee. The dark coffee is topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

"Coffee time" is our time to relax and chat and to reminisce and compare notes about our family.