Petra - Weekend Escape - Part II

Dear Citizens of the World!

Today, I have decided to take a break from being the target in other people's target practice to post the second set of pics from our weekend in Petra. Seems fitting since Petra holds so much beauty....

This was my favourite spot in Petra. It is a very colourful tomb below and to the left of the Tomb of the Kings.

A detail of the area below the entrance of this tomb.

Ceiling detail...
As promissed I have some tips for your next visit to Petra:

First, choosing the correct time of year is crucial. Winter evening get quite cold at 1000m elevation in a desert. Summer days would be worse.

Second: when making the long treck up behind the tomb of the kings (some of the stairs in the pic above) to see the Treasury from the rim of the canyon, make sure you plan to be at top when you have the right lighting. I went quite early and it was still mostly in the shade.

Third: Plan to stay at least 1.5 to 2 days. There is plenty to visit and it is best to take your time and explore. It is a 5km round trip on foot just to get to the Treasury...

Plus, if you do not stay a night in the hotel, the entrance fee is almost double (100 eauros instead of 55)!

Lastly, don't forget to bring a good camera and a gift of balloons for all the kids asking for handouts.

Enjoy!

- The United Statesian

Petra - Weekend Escape - Part I

Dear Citizens of the World,

Living in Israel means being disconnected with most of its neighbors, but Jordan and Israel have quite good relations. Lucky for us, it is possible to cross the border and visit Petra in one long weekend - one day there, 1.5 days to visit and then back to Tel Aviv.

Unfortuntely, our visit to Petra and Wadi Rum were at the end of January when it was very cold and cloudy... but I guess that it is better than 40 degrees (100F) in the summer.

A few shots from our first day at Petra...

Thanks to these two, we were able to get a nice hot tea with mint - great when you are in a desert and it is cloudy and cold!

A wider section of the canyon with fantastic light.

Fantastic texture that looks like dripping paint.

There is plenty of information on visiting Petra, however, in my next post, I will give some tips that I did not find in any of the on-line guides.

- The United Statesian

A parting shot...

Cloudy day in the city at the gates to Petra.

Tel Aviv -- Your Beauti-fool!

Father and over-dressed son play on the beach

Dear Citizens of the world!

It has been a rainy January here in Tel Aviv, but February has started out sunny and warm! While friends and family are digging out from snow and sliding down icy roads, we spent Saturday walking along the beaches of Tel Aviv.

Hi Beauti-Fool!

There are plenty of nice beach scenes along the Israeli coast, but I focused on some of the details where city meets the beach. A good example is some of the best grafiti that is simple and too the point.

This grafiti is part of a massive, abandoned...least-taken-advantage-of section of the Tel Aviv coast. How could such valuable terrain go to waste?

Luckily there are some picturesque parts of the city to leave you with a warmer more positive feeling.

Jaffa at sunset...

Main street in Jaffa at twilight just at the end of Shabbat

I hope I have succeeded in making you snow-bunnies jealous ;-)

-The United Statesian

PS

A parting shot...

Don't Look Down!

Dear Citizens of the world!

Don't look down! Unless you are blind, then you are fine.... or not.

On our way to Petra we stopped in Mitspe Ramon to have a look at Israel's mini-Grand Canyon crater and the fantastic views of the desert from it's edges. To our surprise there was a group of blind people rappelling down the side of the cliff.

OK, They had the help of monitors and volunteers, but still.... rappelling down a cliff has got to be an experience when you don't see where you are going and when you have no idea how far you would fall if you messed up.

Watch that next step...it's a doozy!

The experiment reminded me of my rock climbing class at university in the Alps. The instructor had us climbing up with a blindfold, feeling for the holds and balancing ourselves without being able to see. It was quite a good way to learn to get a "feel" for rock climbing.

I hope to back in that area soon for a hike...who's up for a walk through the Negev Desert? I will leave the rappelling for the experts.

-The United Statesian

Desert Hike - Ein Avdat

Dear Citizens of the World!

After a heavy subject in my last post, I have decided to turn towards the brighter side of living in Israel as an expat... Escaping from Tel Aviv on weekends and seeing the country.

This weekend was rainy and cold in TA... perfect time to drive down to the Negev desert and go for a hike.

We chose to go down to the area where the first Prime Minister of Israel started a Kibutz after his first stint in office. Our destination was an oasis at the end of a narrow canyon called En Avdat or... depending on the spelling, Ein Avdat.

This shady oasis in the desert guarantees pictures of wildlife. There are plenty of birds for bird watchers.

If you want to go... the link for the GPX file is below.

Happy trails!

-The United Statesian.

Israel at War -- Outlook

Dear Citizens of the World!

The outlook is bleak!

Israel is at war, but not with another country. It is at war with its own brand of extremism.

Many believe that the Arab Spring will unleash the extremists in the Arab world, long held down by dictators, causing Israel to be more at danger. Thus far, this has not been the trend. I personally believe that the Arab Spring will be a positive thing for the region and Israel.

The threat, as I see it, comes more from a homegrown extremism. Although small, it is quite vocal.

Being Jewish is more a race than a religion. Only about 20 percent of Jewish Israelis consider themselves religious. And, the extremists are only about one percent of that 20 percent.

That one percent of the 20 percent gets many of the headlines inside...and outside of Israel.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4162611,00.html

The 0ne-percent have many privileged here in Israel. Most do not work or do the three-year mandatory military service. They are paid to study the Tora. Many people I have met here have admitted that the can not stand the one percent and feel quite cheated.

Now, the one percent increasingly wants to impose their beliefs on the rest of Israel... to the point that they have kosher public buses, kosher electricity, etc.

Part of the 20 percent waiting for a flight in Ben Gurion Airport

To deal with this issue, the idea of "Ghettos" reminiscent of WWII has been floated around to create ultra-orthodox zones... which have been met by more protests.

Israel is stuck with a tough problem. Do they let the extremists keep pushing for laws and actions that cause friction and get bad press? Or, do they "oppress" those extremists in hope that they will get better press that shows the truly democratic/Shining light for the rest of the region to follow?

Unfortunately, the extremists are becoming more extreme... at the same time that Israel's majority is growing more secular. This is compounded by many outside pressures. The internal extremist pressure must be dealt with first.... only then can the will of the many push for a positive, long-term peace.

As Obama mentioned in last years address on this issue... Peace can not wait forever and time is not on Israel's side.

Who will win this war? The one percent? Or the many?

-The United Statesian

Jerusalem Part III - Santa meets God

Santa? or is it Bill Clinton in disguise?

Dear Citizens of the World!

Being an expat in the very Western Tel Aviv you often forget that you are in the Holy Land...Whereas Jerusalem is the front-line of the battle between religions.

Personally, the stress of living on the front line would not be my choice location, but going for the day is well worth the time, and easy to do since it only takes about 45 minutes to get there from Tel Aviv.

However, on this visit, we were only had time to visit the Holly Supulchre and to have lunch at a restaurant the Pope John Paul ate at.

Ray of light in the Holy Supulchor Cathedral

I love how the intense beam of winter sunlight shoots across the church.

Women praying, deep inside Jesus's tomb.

The low amount of light and the one-meter thick wall makes the shot look like a drawing...

Natural light from the eye of the Pantheon-like dome of the Saint Supulchor Church

Christmas decorations on sale in the Christain quarter.

So, if you are in Tel Aviv and you miss the Christmas spirit. Head on over to the front-line and buy some decorations from a Muslim vendor in the Christian quarter that will still be open during the Jewish Shabbat!

-The United Statesian