Final Days in Israel

So my limited internet access over the past week has caused me to fall way behind on my intentions to blog. I have three completely different topics I need to write about.

First, Bush in Israel

As I’m sure many people are aware, Bush had his first presidential visit to Israel from Wednesday through Friday of this week. The amount of attention Bush received in Israel was amazing. A taxi driver told us several days before Bush’s arrival that any road that Bush would be driving on would be closed 4 hours prior to Bush driving on it. Now, Jerusalem’s traffic is miserable without Bush’s presence- this virtually meant that Jerusalem would have to be shut down for days. There were US flags decorating the main streets that Bush would be riding on. Everyone in Israel was aware of Bush’s visit. Various US military men were seen on various tours and in various bars by me and other friends in Israel at the time. When Bush did arrive on Wednesday, Fox News did not mention that Bush had arrived until 3 hours later (instead focusing on the primary that had already happened) whereas the Israel channels stopped their regular programming to show video footage of Bush’s helicopter and caravan of vehicles. I don’t really have any insightful commentary on what all this about Bush’s visit to Israel meant but I thought the way it was received was interesting so I thought I would share that.

Second, Eilat and Petra

My family left Israel between the evening of Sat Jan 5 and the morning of Mon Jan 7 (different flight times because people needed to be back at different times). I spent my last few days in Israel traveling with Matt down to Eilat and Petra. Eilat is a resort sort of town in the Southern most part of Israel. It is in the 100s in the summer but is usually around 70 in the winter. Many Europeans vacation there- there are just tons and tons of resort-y hotels. Petra is in Jordan and is an ancient (or at least old? Is there an age limit for ancient?) city carved into rock. It’s similar to a canyon (but isn’t actually a canyon since it is formed by tectonic plate movement rather than water) and you walk through this narrow pathway for over a kilometer and then you see the treasury (this is a scene in Indiana Jones, which I haven’t actually seen.

Both Eilat and Petra were very nice. Eilat wasn’t very warm so we didn’t get much beach or pool time (when we finally made it down to the Red Sea, the weather becoming cloudy and the sun disappeared and the weather was bad from then on… which was only a day but still). But we got some time to relax, which was nice after Matt’s tiring trip and before my arrival in Budapest, and we watched plenty of Fox News and heard a lot about the primary! Petra was amazing. The structures and tombs that had been carved into the stone were absolutely unbelievable. I don’t think I have ever taken so many pictures in one night (and once my internet gets situated better, I will get on uploading pictures). The walk down the canyon-type-thing (I forgot the technical term) to the treasury was my favorite part. You are in this narrow pathway with rock going up on both sides of you for probably 200 to 300 feet and then blue sky above that and then finally you get to the end and can see part of the treasury, this amazing intricate tomb. It was really a sight to see. We also met some cool people on the tour. We got to talk to Venezuelans, Australians, and a man from England. The Venezuelans talked about disliking their president and the problems currently being experienced with violence in Venezuela, which was really interesting to hear. It’s always interesting to meet people from other countries.