Beddin' with the Bedouins

We entered Jordan, today, about 4:30 pm, at the Arava-Aqaba entry point. The temperature was a little over 40c, which translates to a little over 104f. The border crossing was uneventful except for the fact that we had to walk in because Israeli law will not allow Palestinians to leave or enter except at the crossing point near Jerusalem. So, we lost our bus, driver and guide at the border. Fortunately St. George's had it all arranged, and when we finally got into Jordan, after dragging our luggage and backpacks for almost a mile, the Jordanian guide with a new bus and bus driver were there waiting for us, air conditioning running, ready to serve and commiserate. This evening, after a huge supper, I stepped out of the hotel to have a look around at downtown Aqaba, (its still in the nineties) and was nearly run over by a young kid, obviously in town for a Friday night of devil-may-care fun, riding his camel down the sidewalk outside the hotel. It was at that moment, I decided that I could better spend my time recounting some of the happenings of the last few days, and leave the Friday nite festivities to those who are better suited to them. There were also a couple of kids galloping horses down the street. It all looked a little too wild, wild east for me!

The first full day of the course, three days ago, now, was spent on a bus trip around Jerusalem, to get the feel of the place: Mount of Olives, Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, from all its different angles and approaches. It is fascinating to see how quickly a city of 800,000 people can turn into a dried up wilderness. It is only a matter of feet! Literally! So the answer to the first question is: You don't have to look for wilderness and desert, it is everywhere, sort of like the swamp in Louisiana.

The next morning, we began our pilgrimage in ernest. First stop was a Trappist Monastery, Latroun, west of Jerusalem, famous for its management of a huge tract of semi-arid land which it has owned for years. It is famous for its wine, olives and honey, and for having the only statue of a Madonna in the world with her holding a suffering child. But that day, they were even more famous because of an attack the day before by a bunch of Jewish extremists who were blaming them, somehow, for having them forcibly removed from their illegal settlement. They burned the door and spray-painted Hebrew obscenities on the walls. They must have been pretty bad words, because we could not get anyone to translate them for us. The place was full of emissaries from other religious groups. The Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem was there, as were several delegations of Jewish leaders. This is apparently a standard reaction whenever any religious site is attacked or vandalized. It is somewhat comforting to know that while the religious representatives seem powerless to stop such things, which happen fairly frequently, as least they are there to offer condolences.

We travelled from there to have a teach in from Frere Francis, a brother of The Community of the Beatitudes, which oversees and offers hospitality at one of the sites which claims to be the location of Emmaus. This one has the ruins of a Byzantine Church which was interesting to explore and they served us a pretty good lunch, and we were on our way to Leqieh to hear a lecture from a women who runs a center for Bedouin women who are trying to provide some leadership and meaningful alternatives in a society that is very ancient, but is rapidly changing, because of Israeli policies which prevent the Bedouin from pursuing then traditional ways. The Israelis are trying to gather the Bedouin into towns and cities, and to confiscate their land for agricultural expansion and additional settlements, and the consequences are dire for the Bedouin, and not a great deal different from the disastrous disorientation and dislocation that befell the American Indian, or the Maori of New Zealand, or the Aborigine of Australia, for that matter. In fact, I was not the only one struck by the overall similarity between the appearance of the Bedouin villages, and that of a town on any given Indian reservation in the U.S. The Bedouin women are trying to bringing in much needed revenue through the sale of their embroidery and sewing which they are just beginning to market. One can only wish them well. Most Bedouin women and children are illiterate as are many of the men. The twenty first century is certainly providing a new wilderness for them, and many challenges in addition.

We travelled through some of the most desolate country one can imagine to reach our first "Bedouin" overnight. Way in the distance, a patch of green, then trees and then a bona fide oasis, appeared amidst the desolation. Run by a Bedouin family who have learned that catering to tourists is a great way to make money out in the desert, the head of the family, a sheik, talked to us more about Bedouin life, this time from the man's point of view, and served us coffee and dinner. There should be a picture of two of the adventure and the accommodations that evening. Primitive, but not unbearable, is how I would describe it, and kind of charming in a Hollywood authentic sort of way. Of course, nothing would do but that we have a camel ride to begin our stay. You knew it had to happen!

The following day, with practically no sleep, we travelled the same desolate road back west to Arad, and the tell that is being excavated near there. A tell is a huge mound of earth and stones that holds many strata of archaeological remains from any number of previous occupants at a particular site. Arad is the first Canaanite city that the Israelites encountered after Egypt, and they got soundly whipped and retreated to the Sinai for forty years. Talk about withdrawing to lick your wounds. Our next stop was Tell Beer Sheva, where Abraham and Isaac both had dealings with a Philistine named Abimelech over a well, some women and a few other things. This is the area where the Negev blends into a more fertile region to the west, and is believed to be the general area in which Abraham settled. Then it was back over the same desolate country to a different "desert retreat house." This one didn't even have a paved road, or flush toilets or reliable electricity, and they couldn't manage to keep on schedule. What it did have was a spectacular view of the area going down to the Dead Sea. I'll include as least one photo. No more need be said.

Today, after revisiting the same old road to Arad, we travelled to the ruined city of Avdat, a Nabatean city on the spice route which ran from Gaza to the Red Sea. I'm beginning to think that the Nabateans are a fascinating people with a compelling history. The capitol of the Nabatean kingdom was Petra which we will be entering in a few days. So there may be a lot more on Nabateans later. Anyway, Avdat is an amazing ruin which is now a international heritage site, and well worth visiting if you ever have the opportunity.

The rest of the day was spent wending our way to the Red Sea and Jordan. Tomorrow we will be heading north toward Petra, but not before we take a dip in the Red Sea.

Some pictures relating to the above text will follow as separate posts. I hope you enjoy them. I've learned that Jordanian Wifi will not allow for many pictures. Eventually, I'll get them all to you.

Later....