The Beginning of Goodbye

I have two days left in Jerusalem before we leave for our reentry retreat. I hate saying goodbye to people and places...always afraid there were opportunities I never took advantage of or ones that I'll miss when I'm gone. It's going to be an interesting next couple of days. I'd love your prayers, if you wouldn't mind sending them my. 

Post-Bombing Reflections

Discovery #51: I have so much to learn.

It has been a crazy semester for sure: uprisings and revolutions in three out of five of our planned travel destinations...then a bomb exploded in Jerusalem last Wednesday.

(Note: I and all my classmates are fine! I was in Bethlehem at my service project when the blast occurred.)

I haven't been in to Jerusalem since then (our program banned travel to Jerusalem for a few days) but it definitely seems surreal. It's only three days later, but people are trying desperately to move on as if nothing happened -- as if stopping too long to think about or mourn over it would do more harm then good. After all, they cannot show the terrorists any sign of defeat. "We're not going anywhere," the Israeli response seems to say. "We've waited it out before; we'll wait it out again."

And yet, in many ways, this seems to be a facade.

I ate Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family last night and the mother was telling us how shaken up her daughter, Esther, was after she got back from school on Wednesday. Esther's school was 15 minutes away from the bombing.

"She was born into this, you know?" her American-born mother told my group. "When she was born, there were coffee shops and restaurants being blown up all the time. We moved to Haifa to get away from it -- even then there were three bombings there."

It make me sad to say this, but I'm understanding now why there is so much hatred. If bombs were blowing up when you were born and they're blowing up now, how hard is it not to hate? How much can hatred be a coping mechanism to get you through? It somehow makes you feel better if you can hate the people -- and their race -- who have done these things to you and your people.

"But how unfair is that," I ask myself. "How unfair to hate a whole people for one individual's violent action? To hate  a whole people without knowing one of them?"

Friends New and Old after Dinner with Ahmed's Family

But that's my view as an outsider on this conflict -- as someone who can pass back and forth between the West Bank and Israel any day and at any time I want. Society does not demand that I have friends of only one race -- I have Israeli friends and I have Palestinian friends. I have had a chance to see stereotypes vanish before my eyes -- as my friend's mother welcomes seven of my friends and I into her family's home for dinner on Mother's Day, as I hear the Jewish longing for a homeland, as my friends Dana and Reem joyfully sneak me into ancient holy sites, as a Palestinian man takes time to sit and share his Islamic faith with me -- and as I hear his frustration about being stereotyped as a terrorist because of it.

And where does this leave me? With so much to learn. So much to learn about not blaming people because they have not had the same experiences as me. So much to learn about humility when I think I know everything. So much to learn about patience -- about waiting for change. So much to learn about hope. 

My friends and I are all safe in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Stealing Hearts

Discovery #50: Palestine is stealing my heart.

Today I walked up and down the hills of Bethlehem talking with friends and gazing out at beautiful mountains, raggedy sheep, aged shepherds, and life beyond the Wall.

A settlement poke into our view and Jabra and I discussed the refugee history of the Palestinian and Jewish people. But politics and history are not what this post is about, because what has stolen my heart about his land is her people. The politics I discussed with Jabra are not what warmed my heart but rather the simple fact that it was happening.

Another friend, Dana, after knowing me for only 24 hours or so, walked across town with us to get the most amazing frozen yogurt and then invited me to her home (but I had to decline because I only got five hours of sleep the night before and desperately needed a nap!).

She and I talked and giggled. We laughed about the roadside sheep being Jordon's brother and sisters. We bonded -- I think -- and culture and friendship were exchanged.

Jabra later told me about what it was like living under Israeli oppression in Ramallah during the Second Intifada in 2002. He told me he would have been arrested for no reason if he had only been a few years older at the time. We talked about  the fact that violence breeds violence and hatred breeds hatred. We talked about the seemingly endless cycle of it all.

I asked Jabra many hard questions this afternoon and he answered them all with such sincerity and patience. What I didn't have have to ask for was his friendship. That just happened all on its own.

The friendships I have found in this place have been amazing, whether our discussions are about ice cream or justice. Yet, I fear that, somehow, the world will reduce Palestine to her Israeli occupation and political conflit -- but this is not who she is. Though she is not without her problems, she is beautiful. Friendly. Nuanced. Diverse. Homey. Welcoming.

Withdrawals

Discovery #49: Blogging is somewhat of an addiction.

I'm going through blogging withdrawals. I haven't written a post in two weeks. And sadly, this won't be much of a post either.

Life on MESP has gotten crazy over the past few weeks with trips to Petra, Galilee, and Tel Aviv and papers due about Middle Eastern democracy and Christian theology. This has left me with much to share but no time to do so.

I've also been doing quite a bit of trotting around Jerusalem trying to see everything on my bucket list before I leave in three and a half weeks. For my birthday last week, I spent some time at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre during the day and with my wonderful MESP community and Palestinian friends at night. 

All in all, it's been a wonderful past few weeks and I shall post reflections and more pictures soon. For the mean time, here's a picture from Petra to wet your appetite.

Egypt in Pictures: Part 3

The Pyramids

The Pyramids. No big deal. 

They're huge.

And camels, of course. 

You can't climb them. Unless, of course, you bribe the guard. 

The ancient and the modern right next to each other.
It's amazing, really. 

She's such an archeologist. 

Inside those little pyramids. No big deal. 

On a camel.

Camels nuzzling. 

The Sahara Desert 

Three of my friends looking amazingly cool. 

History Firsthand

I was published on the Messiah College webpage today. Here's a snipit. You can check out the rest by following this link. 

I arrived in Cairo, Egypt only a couple of weeks before the January 25 protests began and was quickly trying to understand the people and the culture of Egypt. Much of this involved trying to get acclimated to the political climate of the country as politics seemed to affect people’s everyday lives  

Most everyone I spoke to seemed to have harsh words to say about President Hosni Mubarak when I asked them about life in Egypt. Though not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined them screaming their opinions in the street.

“The walls have ears,” an Egyptian friend told me on January 24 when explaining why he did not want to talk about his political opinions in public.

The very next day, the protests began. Nobody—not experts or historians—thought their demands would be realized in just 18 days.

 

Hopeless Injustice

Discovery #48:  Some days the pains of injustice leave you hopeless.

Yesterday I crossed over the wall again. This time, I left with more anger than anything.

My group went to meet with students from Bethlehem University, a Catholic-run university in the West Bank. After being split up into smaller groups, the Palestinian students in our group took us to a few of Bethlehem's famous places. We saw Nativity Church and the Milk Grotto. Then they took us to Aida Refugee Camp, which is ironically located about 10 paces from the town's Intercontinental Hotel.

While at the camp, one of our friends began to tell us about some of the issues Palestine's 4.8 million refugees face. At one point, he told us of the "f***ing Zionists" who came into the camp one day and shot and killed a group of children.

At first, I raised my eyebrows at his adjective choice. "Surely, that was unnecessary," I though." But after our lecturer classified Zionism as a "racist ideology" and I heard the students talk about how Israeli soldiers came and occupied refugee's homes for weeks, how they tore down walls in the resident's meager homes, how they gave the children nightmares -- I began to understand. Yet, a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me.

What am I supposed to say when one of the students tells me he doesn't want his future children to grow up having nightmares of men with guns? I'm sorry? Thank you for sharing? How much more can I say, because this most certainly not my life. At the end of my day, I have all the opportunities in the world open to me and I can cross back over that wall and know that if any Israeli soldier threatens me, all it takes is one flash of my passport and I'll be scot free.

"We have no opportunities here," one students said. "I'm in university now, when I graduate, what am I going to do? There are no jobs here and I can't cross over that wall."

I nodded my head asking myself, "How can there ever be peace when children are exposed to such hatred?"

Some days, hope turns its face. Some days, it doesn't.

Discovering Hope

Discovery #47: "Hope has a way of turning its face to you just when you least expect it,"  Sara Groves

 ‎

Having crossed over a 703 meter-tall wall separating Palestinian and Israeli territories this afternoon, it might seem curious that today has left me hopeful. Yet, today - of all my days here - I can honestly say has been the best. 

Within two hours of arriving at Bethlehem Bible College in the West Bank for my service project, a man began to tell my friends and I how difficult the wall makes their lives and how it has prevented his family from seeing each other. His aunt can only get a permit for Easter and Christmas, he told us. 

A bit of anger cropped up just then.

Somehow though, this song was stuck in my head the entire day.

To me, paintings of the Separation Wall symbolize
an attitude of making the best out of situations --
no matter how awful they seem. 

Hope has a way of turning its face to you
just when you least expect it
you walk in a room
you look out a window and something there leaves you breathless
you say to yourself
it's been a while since I felt this
but it feels like it might be hope 

Though I learned today about the real difficulties that Palestinians face - of high unemployment, of travel restrictions, of a lack of opportunities - I also learned about the true hope: the smiling faces, the lighthearted laughs, the joy of this generation's youth reflected even in the most ironic of situations (see photo to the right), and people like Dr. Bishara Awad, President of Bethlehem Bible College, and his staff who work tirelessly to serve their students.

If you're looking for it, you don't have to look too far to find hope. Then again, maybe it shows up we least expect it too.

Egypt in Pictures: Part 2

I know these photos are about a month old but I'm just now culling through and editing my photos from my time in Egypt.

An apartment building in the Coptic neighborhood of Garbage City

An apartment building in Garbage City

All the trash in Cairo is collected by the city's Coptic Christians since Muslims
believe it is impure for them to do so. They have a wonderful recycling system
 and end up recycling 80% of Cairo's garbage.

A Coptic cave church in Garbage City. This church was literally
carved out of the stone face of a hill.

A stone carving on the side of a hill

A stone carving inside the cave church in Garbage City

Outside of the cave church

A young girl weaving rugs at an NGO in Garbage City

Me and a friend from St. Paul's Orphanage

Emily with some of our friends.

 

(A Lack of) Simplicity

Discovery #46: Very little in life is simple.

And by very little, I mean next to nothing. From the six different places I've spent the night in the past three weeks, to learning Arabic, to the history paper I turned in yesterday, to the Arab-Israeli conflict, hardly anything is straightforward.

I suppose part of life is the process of becoming okay with that fact and of doing our best to not give up on complex situations.

I'm in Jerusalem now and it seems I can almost feel conflict every time I leave my apartment. It's not the violent type of conflict that would make me scared or anything, it's more like the kind that disturbs me so much that I want to step off of the segregated bus and throw up. (The Arabs and Jews have separate bus systems here in Jerusalem.)

It's quite a thing to see how poorly people treat each other and how different the quality of life is for different ethnic groups: the Arab side of town is speckled with falafel shops and the Jewish with shopping malls and expensive, brand name stores. It seems the average Jews and the Arabs try not to talk to each other unless necessary.

These two peoples seem to be living in completely different worlds and neither seem to be treating each other properly. That's the kind of tension I'm talking about. The kind that makes me realize that, sadly, human beings are so often very awful to each other.

-- Note: I have met several people who work towards inter-faith understanding in the region and none of this is said to belittle their work. Moreover, these are just some early observations. I sincerely hope that I am proved wrong during my next few weeks here. 

Revolution Songs

I can't even begin to imagine how freedom must feel for these precious people!

Reflections on Pre-Revolution Perceptions

Discoveries #45: Sometimes, the unexpected happens and, when it does, it's amazing.

I was looking back today at a blog post I wrote on January 26, the day after the protests in Egypt first began.

So what can we expect as a result of these protest? Probably not much of a change, [Rachel] says. If Mubarak is ousted, he will probably be succeed by his son or another military ruler similar to himself. Rachel does hope, though, that these protest could discourage the coming to power of Mubarak's son. 

Riots in Luxor on January 28, 2011
(c) Sari Heidenreich

While she doubts that there are enough people who will participate in the current protest - given that Egypt's illiteracy rate is 50% and it is mostly the educated who oppose Mubarak - to oust Mubarak, she IS hopeful that it could mean that his son would not run for "election." According to her, almost ALL Egyptians - even the uneducated - oppose this as they see it as a move backwards towards monarchy.  

It's crazy how much can change in just 2 1/2 weeks. One week we think the people of Egypt are incapable of ousting a dictator, the next weeks that dictator has resigned and an interim government is in place.

After the first six days of protests, I remember sitting in my apartment in Cairo and being so scared that all of this would be for nothing, that people would be swayed by Mubarak's smooth talk and forget their dreams of democracy. I hurt me to think that the people who died would have died for nothing and that another uprising wouldn't happen for many, many more years to come.

But those people, martyrs as the Egyptians are calling them, did die for something. They died on the path to bringing freedom and democracy to 83 million other people. This is a real victory for the people of Egypt and I am so very, very excited for them!

It was a Revolution!

Discovery #44: A stubborn dictator can only survive on his own ego for so long.

We were just outside of Old City, Jerusalem when we heard the news. The owner of the restaurant we were eating at gave us free dessert when we told him we had come from Cairo a week ago. We started singing the following song. 

On the bus, the driver turned on the news and we broke out clapping. We were on the Arab bus and people began carrying on in Arabic. The two words I heard were "mish," which means no, and "Mubarak." In other words, as ismubarakstillpresident.com says: 

I am so proud of and happy for the Egyptian people, for the non-violent approach they took and for their determination. Yet, three weeks of protests have taken their toll. People haven't been able to work for days and many of them only have money to live day by day, building have been burned and the police force was run off the street. And, sadly, Human Rights Watch has estimated that over 300 people died in this uprising. 1000memories.com has build a beautiful site to remember and honor these people.

Egypt is faced now with many challenges - the challenge of creating a democratic government for the first time in their country's history, the challenge of building back up their economy, and the challenge of grieving for their sons and daughters who died while celebrating the cause they lived for.

So, now that Mubarak has stepped down, let us not forget to pray for and think of Egypt. They have a long road ahead of them, but they're on the right track. 

My Media Recommendations

Discovery #43: I am a journalism nerd.

I have been following the situation in Egypt quite closely and would like to offer my recommendations for accurate and up-to-date information on the uprising.

• Google's Egyptian Resources page -- This page consolidates a lot of information regarding the situation in Egypt, news articles, YouTube videos, maps, emergency contact information, Twitter to voice applications, etc... y favorite part is the live Twitter stream
• BBC's Live Update page -- This page has a live feed with quote from protesters, experts, and government officials, as well as bullet-point style news from BBC correspondents. The page also has a live video stream, links to more information, and a key points section.
• Al Jazeera English -- Al Jazeera has done a great job covering the crisis both on TV and in print. I recommend this page for concise and accurate written accounts of the situation in Egypt. They also have a great live blog somewhat similar to the BBC's. (Disclaimer: I have heard that they may be doing a bit of overestimating as far as the number of protesters in the streets, etc..So just be aware of that. I still feel they are doing one of the best jobs with all of this though.)
• Twitter - Twitter has actually been a great way of getting information and understanding the opinions of the citizens on the ground in Cairo and other parts of Egypt. Search using the hashtags #egypt, #mubarak, #jan25 and you will get a whole slew of information.

I would recommend staying away from CNN and many other U.S. news outlets as I feel many of them are not portraying the situation fairly or accurately. That being said, Mohamed ElBaradei wrote a wonderful op-ed piece about the next steps for Egypt. It was printed in the NYT this morning. 

Disappointment

Discovery #42: Mubarak disappoints once again.

I guess there was no need to watch TV all night since Mubarak said nothing in his speech. Here are a few tweets from the night:

pasupatidasi moon batchelder checking craigslist for available country to rule#reasonmubarakislate [He was 40 minutes late for his speech]

AdamSerwer Mubarak says he's staying to help Egypt through "the current crisis." dude, you ARE the current crisis.

AJEnglish Angry crowds in #Tahrir, watching #Mubarak on big screens, waving shoes in the air. Crowd erupts as speech ends: [Showing someone the bottom of your shoe is the ultimate insult]

Thousands of people are already heading to storm the presidential palace.

The Night It All Could Change

MESPers on their laptops while waiting
 for Mubarak's speech

Discovery #41: Presidents keep us waiting.

It's an exciting time here in the Middle East - especially for Egyptians and those who love Egypt.

My program landed in Tel Aviv this afternoon and we're staying just outside of Jerusalem. However, I think everyone's hearts are in Egypt. Dr. Diaa, our program administrator who is in Cairo, called us shortly after we landed to tell us to turn on the news: throughout the day, there have been conflicting reports surrounding the fact that Mubarak may step down this evening. (See this article from Al Jazeera for more details.)

Since about 5 p.m. rumors have been floating around that Mubarak is going to give a live speech this evening. Some are expecting him to step down. So, a group of us have been glued to Al Jazeera English since 7 p.m. or so. Waiting.

A few minutes ago, it was announced that Mubarak speak around 10 p.m. No one is really holding their breath though -- last time Mubarak gave a speech, he waited till midnight to do so.

Mubarak has made it pretty clear that he doesn't really care about much of anyone but himself. So, I'm pretty sure he won't be speaking till midnight again today. But it doesn't seem like the hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square will mind waiting just another few hours -- provided the announcement is what they want to hear: that Mubarak is stepping down and handing over power to a transitional government. 

Why I was never Afraid in Egypt

Discovery #40: This brings tears to my eyes.

Egypt, 

You are too good to us. 

Thank you.

Photo taken from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.phpfbid=1429136187242&set=a.1424877800785. 50251.1797984900.

Egypt's Revolution

Check out this beautiful photo album on Facebook with pictures from Egypt's Revolution. I highly recommend it!

The protester was being attacked by the thugs, the soldier broke into tears when he could not help him, so the protester went and "kissed his forehead", which is a sign of respect, love, and appreciation.

My Turkish Bath

Discovery #39: Turkish baths are glorious!

Today a group of six girls and five guys headed to the Asian side of Istanbul to take a Turkish bath at Aziziye Hamam.

For those of you who don't know, Turkish baths are communal bathing areas that date back to the 14th century when only the wealthy could afford to have running water in their homes.

A typical Turkish hamam

The hamam we went to today had separate bathing areas for men and women and felt somewhat equivalent to going to an afternoon at the spa (though I've never had one of those, so that's a complete guess!). The main room of the bath had marble floors and a high, domed ceiling. Half of the walls were marble and the other half a beautiful blue tile. According to the hamam's website, the building is over 150 years old and is attended by both tourists and locals alike. (The picture to the right was not taken by me and is not of the Aziziye Hamam but rather of a typical-looking Turkish bath.)

The attendants at the bath spoke no English and I speak no Turkish, so communicating was an adventure. (When in doubt, hand motions and facial expressions work very well...) They assumed that we wanted the full treatment, so, after giving us lockers to keep our purses in and cotton wraps to wear, they took us into the main room of the bath.

The room had several marble basins surrounded by marble benches for us to sit on. The bath attendants assigned two people to each basin and began filling it with hot water. The room was warm and somewhat like a sauna, except that the heat was very moist. After pouring warm water over ourselves and relaxing in the warmth for a while, the attendants called us over one-by-one to the large marble slab in the middle of the room. Here, they scrubbed us down with some sort of exfoliator and then had us rinse off. After this, they soaped us up with a washcloth and integrated a very light, relaxing massage. About five minutes later, another attendant came over and washed everyone's hair.

The process was so incredibly relaxing and cleansing. I've never felt so clean in my life and I swear my skin is softer now. Lesson of the day: when in Turkey, do as the Turks do and take a Turkish bath!

Asia and Architecture

Discovery #37: Asia doesn't look that much different than Europe

Yesterday, I went to Asia for the first time. As many of you may know, one side of Istanbul is considered the "European" side and one that "Asian" side.On Sunday, I took a ferry to the port of Kadikoy with some other students and friends of my parent's who live in Istanbul.

At Kadikoy we sat down to get a fish sandwich and were sadly informed that there were no fish that day because of some government regulation. Walking through the fish market later that day, we found out that that wasn't true...

All this to say, though, that I hardly noticed a difference between the Asian and European sides. I know there must be many nuances that I am unaware of; however, crossing the Bosporus felt nothing to me like crossing continents.

The Blue Mosque

Discovery #38: Islamic Architecture is gorgeous.

 I visited the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Topakpi Palace last week.

The Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque were both stunning sights to see. The architecture and ornate decorations of each building were incredibly fascinating.

Topakpi Palace, the seat of the sultans during the Ottoman Empire, was also wonderful but very different in nature. Topakpi is located on a large plot of land that looks over the Bosporus and there are flowers and tall trees and green grass. Oh, and thousands of tourists -- how could I can't forget those!

The palace itself was expertly decorated and there were several museum-style displays in various rooms. I saw  Moses' staff and piece of the prophet Mohammed's beard - or so I was told.

Egypt in Pictures: Part 1

I was reminiscing today about my time in Cairo. Oh how I miss that city! Here a few photos from the beginning of my time there. I am hoping to post more later on this week.

Excited MESPers on our way to Egypt

Germany from Above

I ate a German bratwurst just for my dad.

Cairo, Egypt

The women of MESP learning to tie higabs, traditional Muslim headscarves

The men of MESP were intrigued with the higab.

Tara and Carolyn removing their nail polish in preparation for a mosque visit. It is forbidden to wear nail polish in a mosque. 

Excited about being out for a cruise on the Nile River

Excitement and Joy

The Nile

The Cairo Tower

Henna

Ancient Islamic architecture in Old Cairo

An Old Cairo Market