Jordan and Back

The last few days at Silent Arrow were bittersweet. Kathi and I enjoyed our final days at this wonderful place, and we’re so excited to head off to Jordan, but we we’re sad to leave. I kind of felt tempted to just stay forever. I had such a good time there, and met so many wonderful people, I even started thinking I’d enjoy working in the hospitality industry, but I know that’s not the path I want.

Dror is just such a cool guy, and I hope I see him a few more times while I’m here. Funny story: He has a recycling bin for all the bottles left by guests. He took me and Kathi into town to recycle them over the course of a couple days, because there is a limit of 50 bottles per person. He stopped several times in the parking lot to talk to people -- everyone in town knows him! Then, each time we went, the woman at the grocery store would yell at him that he couldn’t use his volunteers to bring so many bottles at once, and he would charm and explain and sooth her, and she would finally smile and sigh and relent. This all happened in Hebrew; the only words I could understand were “Dror, Dror, Dror! Lamah, lamah, lamah,” (why, why, why). The money we got added up to a couple hundred shekels!

One other story. We had been cooking dinner every evening, using the fresh herbs from the garden and also the spice box. But things seemed to taste a little off. We couldn’t figure out what it was. After about a week, I was sprinkling salt on my food but it wasn’t getting any saltier and tasted weird. I said, “I think this is lemon salt or something,” holding up the little container of white crystals, with nothing but hebrew written on the label. Kathi and I both tasted it, and it tasted really sour. What was it? It was citric acid! We’d been pouring citric acid on literally everything we were eating.

I need to learn more hebrew.

Kathi and I left Silent Arrow on Sunday morning and hopped on the bus to Eilat. It was insanely crowded with soldiers heading back to their bases after the weekend. I still can’t get over seeing all these young kids walking around with machine guns on their backs. They look like babies.

We took a cab from Eilat to the border crossing, which was completely empty. Totally smooth sailing. We had heard about the “taxi mafia” on the Jordan side of the border, run by one guy who has a monopoly on the parking lot or something. He tried to swindle us by charging 55 Jordanian Diners (like $80 USD) for a ride to Petra, and told us there were no buses to Petra this late in the afternoon. But we knew better and told him we just wanted to go to the nearby city of Aqaba, where we could catch a bus or at least a cheaper cab. After first saying the 55 JD was the “government rate,” he then tried to go down to 50 and then 45 JD. But we resisted. 

As soon as we got out in Aqaba, another taxi driver told us the bus to Petra was full, but he would take us for 35 JD. We said thanks, but we’ll just check on the bus first. The bus was in fact not full, and it was only 5 JD each! It was a little unnerving that the people here weren’t only pushy and aggressive, they were flat-out lying to us. (Later that day, the taxi driver to our hotel tried to charge us extra for stopping at the ATM. And then, that evening, we ate at a restaurant and the owner invited us into his gift shop for tea. We weren’t going to buy anything, but he gave us a “great low-season rate” for a few bracelets "handmade by Bedouins," only a few bucks each, and we thought we were getting an alright deal. But then the owner had the nerve to try and charge us for the tea! And the next day in Petra, we saw the same bracelets for half the price!) So I learned quickly to be very, very, cautious when dealing with salespeople and taxi drivers here. They all tried to squeeze a few extra dollars out of us.

Anyway. Petra was outrageous! I think it was even better than Pompei, which for years has held the title as the coolest place I’ve ever seen. It was a collision course of archeology, geology, and history. The hiking trails, surrounded by huge rock formations and cliffs, would have been cool enough. But everywhere we went, there were huge columned facades literally chiseled into the mountains. I was overwhelmed by the splendor.

The place was pretty commercialized, with tons of Bedouins offering donkey or camel rides and trying to sell us jewelry and souvenirs. The thing is, these Bedouins have lived right here in the caves of Petra for centuries, and even though most have been evicted to a nearby village, they’re still permitted to try and make a living from the tourism. It made it all seem fitting and genuine. Like authentic kitsch.

Kathi and I spent two days in Petra. We’re really glad we didn’t just take the tour. While most people were just walking along the main drag, viewing the stonework from afar, Kathi and I spent our time climbing on things, exploring the dark corridors and catacombs, and generally pretending we were Indiana Jones. See the photos below.

Because it was the low season we were able to get a sick price on a luxury suite in a hotel just 300 meters from the entrance to Petra. We ate delicious food, drank complimentary wine, and just had a ball. Everyone was telling us to skip Amman, the capital, and head to Wadi Rum, the famous red-sand desert, Lawrence of Arabia style. But after spending the last month sleeping under the stars in the Negev, we didn’t want to pay a lot of cash to do the same thing here in Jordan. So we hopped on the bus up to Amman and couch surfed with a really cool guy named Khalid and his two sisters. He grew up in Qatar, went to university in Amman, and had just spent the last few months traveling around India. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect host.

A lot of people bash Amman for being small and boring, but this was Kathi's and my first time in an Arab country and we wanted to check out its capital. And we’re so glad we did! We toured the ancient ruins of the Citadel, which offered panoramic views of the whole city. We perused the market in the center of town, strolled down Rainbow Street, ate the most delicious shish kababs I’ve ever tasted, and then spent the afternoon drinking tea and smoking hookah and people-watching. The people were so warm and friendly, often just saying “Welcome to Jordan” as we passed in the street and giving us directions whenever we looked lost. Big contrast from the touristy sheisters around Petra.

We also happened upon a little historic town house owned by the Duke of Diwar and open to the public as a museum. The Duke is a philanthropist and conservationist, trying to restore downtown Amman to its glory days. He’s working to save landmarks from demolition and prevent big chains from taking over the small shops and markets. It was a really cool place to check out.

Khalid met up with us in the evening and offered to take us to another area for drinks. He drove us to the “posh” section of town, with hotels, fancy malls, and cool bars. But everything seemed really westernized and kind of felt like Suburbia USA. The first place we went was “Buffalo Wings and Rings,” which was packed with young people eating and drinking. A band was playing crappy American rock songs. The menu was only in English and the waitstaff was wearing NFL t-shirts. Food was twice as expensive as the old city.

"Straight from Chicago" gyro meat...or a fresh Shawarma in the old city...decisions decisions

Now to be clear, I try my best to avoid these lifeless, devoid-of-character, American sports bar chains when I’m in fricking America. But this was thousands of miles away, in JORDAN. After a day of experiencing the history of Amman, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, and after learning about the preservation efforts of the Duke of Diwar, sitting here was making me borderline suicidal.

Luckily, Khalid wasn’t enjoying the music and he could see we weren’t feeling the vibe either, so he took us to another area, a cozy bar in the funky neighborhood Paris Square. So overall, a great day and a fun evening on the town.

The trip back to Israel was a little mini-adventure by itself. We woke up kind of late, but it was smooth sailing over the King Hussein Bridge and through the Israeli border control. (Well, besides when they asked me what kind of name “Zackary” was, and asked whether it was Arabic…) It was around 1:30 pm, and I had to be in Jerusalem to register for Career Israel before 5 pm. The minibus to Jerusalem was really overpriced, but we had made friends with a nice man named Wael, a Palestinian who worked for Total and traveled all over the region, and was also coming in from Jordan. He offered to give us a lift from Jericho to Ramallah. Now, I’m not an idiot and I’m not going to take unnecessary risks. But there is no current USA travel advisory to the places we were going, and Wael didn’t seem sketchy at all. I trusted him, and Kathi wanted to do it. I was worried about the time, but I figured what the heck.

It was fascinating talking to a Palestinian living in the territories, and getting a view inside the cities under the Palestinian Authority. Definitely a direct source. From Ramallah, we took a quick bus into East Jerusalem and then I grabbed a taxi to the Career Israel registration, getting in just after 5. Phew! I made it!

The next day during orientation, we were told that we're "strictly forbidden" to go into areas administered by the Palestinian Authority, including Jericho and Ramallah. Oops. Glad I got it in while I could.

This rule isn't as much about safety; it's in place because the Israeli government doesn't administer these areas, so the staff couldn't come and help me if I was there and got in trouble. I understand they have to cover their asses.

Wael invited me to have dinner with his family while I’m living here, and I’m excited to go and continue the conversation. He lives in Hevron, which is a place I'm allowed to go.

So now Kathi and I have parted ways. She’s here for another two weeks, so I think (and hope) we’ll see each other again before she heads back to Germany. We’ve been basically attached at the hip ever since we started at Silent Arrow. I’m going to miss her a lot.

The first few days of Career Israel orientation have been great. The participants all seem really cool. It’s been mostly ice breakers and games, and I’ve found a couple workout buddies already. I’m excited that it’s all starting!

Kathi with Dror, his daughter, and Emmanuel

Morning mist in the valley at Silent Arrow

Evening candles at Silent Arrow

INSANE lamb stew at a restaurant in Petra. I could only finish half

The river gorge heading into Petra

The Treasury, Petra's biggest landmark

Roman Stadium, with a Bedouin kid playing

Stone facades in the distance, behind the recently-excavated Nabatean Temple

They sold incredible sand bottles. These were at our hotel

Kathi making friends with a Camel, the West Bank of the Jordan in the far background

We thought these had to be painted...but it's just the stone

Walking back in the river gorge

This unfinished stone facade illustrates how much work went into building them. The workers chiseled the first part into the rock, then used the rock as a scaffold as they slowly worked their way down!

At the top of the trail of high sacrifice. They used to sacrifice animals up here

The "Monastary," beneath a nearly full moon

Amman, seen from the citadel lookout point. That Jordanian flag is the highest flagpole in the world! 

 

These Japanese film makers were doing a documentary on traveling by bus through Israel, and they interviewed us in Mitzpe Ramon. We saw them again in Amman!!

Posing with Jordanian policemen at the Citadel

Hatz Ba'Sheket

I really miss bacon.

Ham too. Shellfish three. I initially assumed that these foods would be nearly impossible to find, and I’d have to get my fix at chinese restaurants. But I spoke to some people from Tel Aviv, and non-kosher food actually isn’t as much of a taboo as I suspected. In fact, my new friend Esty said, “in Tel Aviv, eating a ham and cheese sandwich is considered cool.” I also learned that, although pigs are not allowed to set foot on Israeli soil, farmers have gotten around this issue by using raised floors for the animals. Brilliant.

I love it at the new place, Silent Arrow. There’s a lot of work to do each day, but it’s really enjoyable. We tidy up the common area and kitchen, clean the bathrooms, wash the sheets by hand, rake stones, prepare the dome tents for guests, and lots of other stuff. Every day is a little different.

I can’t decide what I enjoy more, the cool quiet peaceful mornings or the warm cozy candlelit evenings by the wood-burning stove. Dror has a wonderful herb garden, where I can find mint, lavender, and lemongrass for tea, and rosemary, green onions, and the Israeli Za’atar spices for cooking.

They have a nice cat named Gingy, who is supposed to be in charge of catching mice, but spends his days sleeping on the couch. On my and Kathi’s first day, we accidentally caught two mice in a tupperware container. Gingy was curled up in a ball on the couch, and didn’t seem at all interested in the excitement. So, unsure of what would happen, we took the container and the cat outside and opened the top. Then Gingy’s instinct kicked in! I’d never seen a cat catch and eat a mouse before, and it was DELIGHTFUL to watch. I definitely got a sick enjoyment out of it, especially the squeaky-squeak sound as Gingy toyed with his prey, and then the crunchy-crunch sound of tiny mouse bones breaking as he chewed it up whole. Be’te avon! (That’s bon appetit in Hebrew). 

Dror is a cool guy. He has two lovely daughters that he brings once in a while. He is a little anal about details, ironic considering he’s such a hermit, but that’s why the place stays so nice. He built everything at Silent Arrow from recycled materials, and uses all the gray water from showers and sinks to water the gardens. He’s had several pet birds including a hawk and a stork, rescued during jeep trips to the desert, and he presently has a crow named Slikha.

The name Silent Arrow is actually a clever world play. Bow and Arrow is Hatz Ya’Keshet, and Silent Arrow is Hatz Ba’Sheket. (Took me a while not to get twisted up on that one). Israelis seem to love Hebrew word play. I learned from a guest that the TV show Breaking Bad has a hebrew title that means “jumping lines,” which denotes both the idea of becoming evil, as well as doing drugs!

We’ve had some really interesting guests. After so many months on the road, it’s been fun to be the stationary one and to speak with fellow travelers on their own adventures. In particular, two young couples from Tel Aviv were here a couple weeks ago and I had a great conversation with them. One guy, Yotan, and I started talking politics, and, unsure of how to properly engage an Israeli on hot button issues without coming off as offensive, I sort of tiptoed around the question:

“A lot…of…ahem…young people in America, that is to say…some young Jewish Americans…don’t…necessarily agree…with…some of Israel’s foreign policies.”

“Well I don’t agree with Israel’s foreign policies,” he responded flatly.

Nice. Phew. Let’s talk, I thought to myself.

Yotan spoke with disdain of the “Religious Right,” in the same way that I scorn the Religious Right in America. The difference is, of course, that whereas I’m mostly referring to Christians, he’s talking about fellow Jews.

I guess I’m realizing what I already knew intuitively: militant religious fanaticism is bad, no matter the religion. And there’s lots of debate here; the country seems to be split pretty evenly. Both Yotan and his girlfriend are strongly against the way the occupation has been and is being handled, but he is in favor of a two-state solution while she is against it.

We also spoke about racism in Israel, which I’ve noticed in the short time I’ve been here. I’ve seen a lot of TV commercials campaigning against anti-Arab and anti-Black racism, and have been learning about Tel Aviv’s growing population of refugees from Africa. It’s a difficult issue, because on one hand, Israelis understand that Jews have been persecuted for millennia and should empathize with others, but on the other hand, we achieved a safe haven for ourselves and need to maintain it, even if that means denying equal rights under the law to non-citizens. Additionally, the refugees often pass through two or three countries that would grant them asylum on their way to Israel, but they choose to come here because it has the best conditions.

And there even seems to be a historical stigma against African and middle eastern Jews as well. Yotan explained that there are Jews coming to Israel from all parts of the world — some from more affluent European areas, and some from African villages without electricity. So there has been social stratification and commensurate discrimination in the past. But as the country matures, there is a “melting pot” effect. Yotan gave himself and his girlfriend as examples of the “New Israeli” — his mother is German and his father is Iraqi; his girlfriend's mother is Lithuanian and her father is Spanish.

Right now we have a large group staying with us, about forty people in their early twenties, all in the Socialist Movement. Honestly, for Socialists, they aren’t very social, and it’s been hard to talk to them. But there are a couple guys who are willing to chat. Youth movements are big here in Israel. There’s not really an equivalent in America, except maybe a YMCA youth center mixed with NFTY (Jewish youth group) with a political influence once the kids reach teenage years. It’s been fascinating to hear their views and learn about their lives. I was even able to impress them by pulling a little Karl Marx out of the deep recesses of my brain, buried since my junior year of college.

My favorite task, by far, is chopping wood for the furnace. Dror gets the wood from old industrial palettes, so the wood boards are really light and soft. When I connect on a good strike with the axe, pieces of wood explode in every direction, and I feel like a man.

Inside the common area at Silent Arrow

Even though I’m having a great time here, I’m starting to get really excited about starting the Career Israel program on Feb 13. Even though I’ve been off the bike for a while now, I feel like Career Israel will actually mark Phase 2 of my overseas adventures, or the “convince my family that I have a plan” phase.

Mitzpe Ramon, and especially Silent Arrow, have felt a little like a fantasy fairy land, where time moves really slowly, and once I leave, everyone on the outside will have aged 20 years or something… I’m looking forward to being in “the real world,” in a normal daily routine, and getting back into a professional environment.

I’ve been continuing to do a lot of trail running. My favorite route has been to run the trail down into the crater and then back up. It’s a killer. On my last run, my time going down was 16:43 and going up was 16:35. (Descending is tough too, because of all the rocks and boulders). It’s not quite like being on the bike, but it’s a whole lot more fun than regular old running.