Let me take you to the promised land

This blog about my travels in Isreal and Jordan is long overdue.
So I decided to go to Israel and Jordan after I got back from Sri Lanka. So why Israel, because it's obviously not the safest place to go?
So a friend of mine was doing, and still is doing, his PhD in Ophthalmology in Tel Aviv, and I always wanted to see Petra, Jordan. So I figured I could combine a visit to my friend with a visit to Petra.
At the time I booked my ticket, it was relatively safe in Isreal. But a few weeks later the feud between Isreal and Palestine escalated into attacks and stabbing on both military and civilians. Convinced it was just a wave of violence which would eventually fade away again, I still decided to go. I mean I already got my €200,- ticket and there was no negative advice from Foreign Affairs, except for Gaza (but I wouldn't go there anyway).
So at November 2nd I had the first flight of the day from Schiphol to Ben Gurion, so at 3 in the morning my parents had to drive me to the airport.
After 4 or 5 hours of flying, I took the train to Tel Aviv, where I would meet my friend only that evening. Because he had to work during the day, I just walked around the city on my own. At first I thought it was a bit dangerous, considering the spiked violence in the region, but after a while I actually felt quite safe. The security is crazy, especially at the train stations. It is almost as strict as the airport security!
After having met my friend and his girlfriend, and after having dinner in the city, we all went to his place in Rehovot, just outside Tel Aviv, where I spend my first night in the Middle East. Because I was there during the week everybody had to work except me. So we parted again and I took the bus to Jeruzalem. With the Lonely Planet in my hand I started my quest for my hostel (which I had booked in advance). The hostel offered a free guided tour around the old city of Jeruzalem (you need a guide because it turned out you can get lost easily in the narrow streets of the old city). Unfortunately I missed it. But not to worry, there were many free guided tours that afternoon. But they all would start at the Damascus gate of the old city and I had to go there by myself. This time, I was not so worried.
So I joined a free tour through the old city. We went to the different quarters of the city, to the Wailing Wall end the Dome of Rock. It was a quite interesting tour. We finished at some roof where we could overlook the whole city (which isn't that big, not even 1 square kilometer). There we met two Palestinian guys. They just talked to our guide and at one point one of them said, 'You know, this is our city'. And they are probably right, but I refrain from politics.
When the tour ended it was getting dark, and now I was a bit worried to walk back to the hostel on my own. But nothing happened.
Back at the hostel, I fell asleep almost immediately. The next morning I would leave for Jordan where I would spend only two days (I had only a week to visit Israel and Jordan).
Two days later I got dropped off at the same hostel in Jerusalem again. It was late in the evening, but before I went to bed I had some drinks with some people I met during the Jordan trip. But the next morning I would rise early again to see the sunrise at Masada. I left with another tour early that morning, first to climb to Masada (which was quite tough with half a hangover), then go to the oasis of Ein Gedi in the middle of the Jordan Dessert, and finally the Dead Sea. I had only seen pictures of people floating, but you actually can float. And apparently the salt is good for your skin (but not for your eyes and lips), and people cover themselves in mud they scrape from the bottom of the sea. But to scrape mud of the bottom of the sea is hard, because the water pushes you up all the time.
Before we left we already felt a few raindrops, and by the time we got back to the hostel rain was pouring down like crazy. It was like 11 in the morning on a Friday and Sabbath would begin at 4 in the afternoon, the holy day of rest. So everything would close down and public transportation would stop all together. But I had to go to Tel Aviv that day. But first I had to find an ATM or money exchange. So I went outside and conquered the rain. After a while I hadn't found anything and went back to the hostel to take a shower and get my things and catch the bus. This time I took the tram to the bus terminal. Back in The Netherlands it is common courtesy, to let people out of the tram first before you get in. In Israel it is not. You have to fight your way in (or out).
At the bus station, people asked me if I was Jewish. When I said I wasn't they just walked away without saying anything. Kind of rude, isn't it? But it turned out they wanted to pray together.
Anyway, I took the bus to Rehovot, where I joined my friend and his girlfriend again. Neither of them had to work, so the next day we went on a road trip together. But because of the Sabbath, many thing, like Caesarea, were closed. So we decided to go to Haifa for the day. Fortunately, the gardens of Haifa were not closed. Afterwards, we paid a visit to the Druze on Mount Carmel.
On Sunday, my flight would leave in the afternoon, but I went to the airport extra early, due to the strict security at both the airport and the train station. Despite my precautions I got there a bit later, so someone at the airport checked my boarding pass and I could jump the line at customs. But I couldn't go to the gate before my luggage was checked for drugs. I had to open my bag and they swapped it with a thing you see on Boarder Security. But they didn't find any traces of drugs so I could go.
Back at Schiphol I had to open my bag again at customs, I don't know why. Maybe it had to do with the fact I was half running to catch my train back to Maastricht. After customs I managed to catch my train anyway. Back in Maastricht I met some other friends, had a few drinks and went out (to the infamous Alla)...