Some Lists

I'm getting on a plane in about 8 hours to leave Israel, and while I'm certainly thrilled about the idea of first going to England and spending 10 days with Roni and then finally getting back to America, family, friends, all of which means I'm that much closer to getting back to Lexington, I'm not sure I'm ready to leave Israel yet. I wont go into detail here, I'll wait to do my reflective, penultimate, sentimental blog post until later. For now, here are some lists.

Note: These things are in NO particular order whatsoever. So don't read into it.

Things I’m going to miss about Israel:

1. Being in the same country as most of my family

2. Marzipan (delicious pastries)

3. Falafel/Schwarma/Schnitzel

4. Incredible Israeli snack food

5. Real hummus (do you see a trend, here?)

6. Hearing Hebrew all the time

7. Having the ability to use awesome phrases like “Kol ha’kavod”, “Yofi”, and “Yalla”, or mix languages like “I want some Meetz” and have people actually understand what I’m saying

8. My awesome friends I made here

9. Kfar dinners

10. The view of the Old City my walk to school every morning

11. The strange-shaped crack in my wall that I swear has been getting bigger for the past several months, keeping my hope alive that soon I will hear the TARDIS landing outside my window

12. The one-of-a-kind Israeli personality and culture that can’t be explained or duplicated and while at times annoying is mostly just incredible because it’s Israel.

Things I will not miss about Israel:

1. The uphill walk to school that makes you sweaty no matter what you’re wearing and what the temperature is

2. Kfar cats

3. 20 shekel Kfar laundry

4. Kfar kitchens with no ovens

5. The embarrassing need to ask for an English menu

6. Bus drivers who yell at me when I did nothing wrong

Things I’m looking forward to in America:

1. Seeing friends and family

2. Disneyland

3. Yogurtland

4. Having the ability to call/text my friends/family whenever I want

5. Getting back to LEXINGTON

6. California summer

7. Mexican Food

8. Freddie (my car/the ability to drive)

9. Planning my next trip to Israel

Unbelievable.

Anyone who's been to the Old City of Jerusalem, or really any marketplace anywhere in the world knows that shopkeepers will do and say anything to get your into their store. Yes, it's annoying, but I have passed the point of being upset about this reality and now just get a real laugh out of what these people come up with.

By now I'm used to the usual "My friend, I welcome you", "America? Obama?", "We love Obama" (these all must be imagined in an Arab accent to have the full effect), or if I'm with my friend Cody, the inevitable "You Mormon? We like Mormon" (Cody is not Mormon.)

In Turkey the man selling me and Dana scarves told me he liked my hair (which was in a braid), then my earrings (they were just studs), and then, after I told him the scarves (which he insisted he hand-wove. puh-lease.) were beautiful, he said "thank you, they are beautiful just like your eyes". Well thanks, bud. That's sweet.

"You from Canada?" Nope. "Germany?" Guess again. "Ukraine?" You can't be serious.

The boys trying to solicit customers for donkey rides in Petra got pretty creative: "Who wants taxi?" "Long walk nice ride" "We have air conditioning!"

I wish I had written down more, because there's been some gems that I can't remember. But this one certainly takes the cake. I heard it in the Old City the other day while doing some obligatory souvenir shopping: "Hello, can I touch your hair? You remind me of my cat."

REALLY????

If I had been considering buying your clearly mass-produced "authentic hand-painted ceramics" or tacky postcards, I certainly am not now.

Remember and Celebrate

This past weekend was a big one for the country of Israel: celebration of both Memorial Day (Yom Hazikaron) and Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut). These two holidays are way different from the American versions for a number of reasons. First of all, Memorial Day (who’s official title is Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day) is much much more observed and serious than in the US (where its really only marked by lots of sales, barbecues, American flags, and outdoor pools finally opening). Not only has nearly everyone in the country served in the army, but because of this and because of the small size of the country’s population, virtually every Israeli knows someone who has died or at least who has been directly affected by war or acts of terror. The day is extremely somber and respectful, many people wear white in solidarity, and there are ceremonies all over the country. The holiday starts the night before, with a siren at 8 PM that is heard throughout literally the entire country. Everyone stops what they’re doing for the moment of silence. Again, everyone in the entire country, standing together at the same time—it’s a really powerful moment. The same thing happens the following morning at 11 AM, but the siren lasts for two minutes. I saw a picture in the newspaper of a major highway where all the cars had stopped in the middle of the road and people got out to stand in observance of the moment of silence. I went to a ceremony in the community part of my family lives in on the eve of Yom Hazikaron where they shared stories of soldiers from that community who had fallen. Families of these soldiers spoke on behalf of “bereaved families” and a former soldier spoke on behalf of “comrades in arms”. They lit a memorial torch, laid ceremonial wreaths, and sang beautiful songs, making for a really personal, powerful ceremony.

The next morning I went to another ceremony with my cousin Rotem and Roni (who FINALLY arrived, about 3 weeks late) at the Air Force Memorial, which is on a mountain between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This was the official Air Force Ceremony so the commander of the IAF, many foreign attaches, and tons of IAF officers were there. The format of the ceremony was similar to the previous evening, but much more ceremonial and official. There were cadets from the Israeli Air Academy who marched in and out and stood at attention the whole time, and even a fly-over after the two minute siren (they did the missing man formation which I’ve always been really moved by). The whole Yom Hazikaron experience was really cool to witness and I’m so glad I was able to be here during this really special time in Israel.

After the ceremony Rotem finally took me to her secret Chumus place in the Old City and let me write here officially, for posterity, that I have now found the most delicious chumus in Jerusalem. It took me a few months but the reigning champion Chumus Lina has been surpassed by this delicious establishment. So if you want quality chumus when you go to Jerusalem, talk to me.

Part of the magic of these two holidays in Israel is the scheduling. Memorial Day takes place and then as soon as the sun goes down and the next day begins, it’s Independence Day! So you flip a switch from somber, reflective remembrance to patriotic excitement and celebration. It’s an interesting concept, and one that makes quite a strong statement.

That evening, the eve of Yom Ha-atzmaut, Roni and I got the awesome opportunity to go to the official ceremony at Mount Herzl, held in the military ceremony where Theodor Herzl is buried, on the plaza surrounding his grave. This was the ceremony shown on TV, attended by lots of government officials, where the Speaker of the Knesset gave the keynote remarks—basically a really awesome place to be to welcome the arrival of Independence Day. I wont go into all the details of the ceremony, but included was the lighting of 12 torches, representing the twelve tribes of the people of Israel, and each of the lighters of the torches represented a different part of Israeli life: old, young, native, immigrants, holocaust survivors, intellectuals, doctors—lots of really awesome stories of really awesome people. Since it’s Israeli’s 63^rd birthday there was a procession of 63 soldiers each carrying a different banner who made formations with their marching. Some of the coolest were the symbols of the IDF and Magen David Adom (Israel’s Red Cross), the word “todah” (thank you), the number 63, and my personal favorite, an Israeli flag that was animated as waving. Each new formation brought exclamations of “ooh”s “aahh”s and “wow”s from Roni and myself. There was also a CRAZY song/dance show, complete with what I called an Israeli gospel choir, dance troupe of about 250 kids, fire, fireworks, a boys choir, and men’s choir, a singer who fell flat on her behind during her performance, and lots of other great stuff. It was a grand old time.

(Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin lighting main the torch)

(opening procession)

(Atzmaut Israel: Israel Independence)

(Dancing pillowcase kids)

(part of the Israeli gospel choir)

All in all, I’m thrilled I was able to be in Jerusalem for such a big weekend in the Israeli calendar, and even more thrilled I was able to be a part of the nation’s “official” celebration! Last year I was in DC for 4^th of July, and this year in Jerusalem for Yom Ha-atzmaut. Next year I have to be in Berlin for Tag der Deutschen Einheit!!! (probably not…..)

Now its Turkish Delight on a Moonlit Night

From my earliest beginnings of thinking about the possibilities of travelling during my time in Israel I have had a burning desire to go to Greece and Turkey. Don’t ask me why but those were two places that I badly wanted to go. Although Greece has continued to elude me, I did get the chance to go to Turkey for the last part of my Spring Break and let me tell you, it was too amazing for words.

Instead of giving you a play by play of every single thing we did, I’ll share some highlights and stories and favorite memories, as well as lots of pictures. You can ask me for details in person should you so desire!

For anyone going to Istanbul, there are several “musts” to see: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, various palaces, and other mosques. All of these were incredibly beautiful and I can see why tourists and pilgrims flock to Istanbul to see these masterpieces. I think the Hagia Sophia was my favorite. It was originally built by Justinian in the 6^th century, over the ruins of 5^th and 4^th century churches that were destroyed for various reasons, but it was converted into a mosque after the Muslim conquest of 1453, so many of the brilliant Christian mosaics were covered in favor of the Muslim-style decoration (tiles and decorative Arabic writing). But the plaster used to cover the mosaics ironically helped preserve the mosaics so when the building was converted to a museum of sorts during the 20^th century many of these mosaics were uncovered. What remains now is a beautiful mix of architectural and decorative elements from both Byzantine and Ottoman periods, with incredible myths, legends, and stories surrounding each piece. With the help of Rick Steves’ incredibly informative and enjoyable tour we spent several hours roaming and marveling at the stunning monument to religious, history, and culture.

I don’t want my raving about the Hagia Sophia to make you think that I didn’t appreciate all the other amazingly beautiful sites Istanbul has to offer. One of the things I loved most about the city was that when you walk around it feels like every single building has some kind of significance. In contrast to synagogues, and to a lesser extent churches, mosques are anything but inconspicuous. With towering minarets and huge domes, even the smallest and most modest mosque is a sight to behold. We went in probably half a dozen mosques (and still left dozens unvisited) yet each was its own masterpiece. You probably know that it is against Muslim practice to have any decoration that portrays a face or animal of any kind (at risk of showing an image of the divine), so all the decoration is floral, patterned, or decorative writing in Arabic. This makes for a striking interiors, especially when combined with the sheer majesty of the architecture of the domes. Mosques are just amazing. We went to A LOT.

(Me in front of the Blue Mosque)

(inside the Blue Mosque--it's HUGE and every inch is covered in gorgeous tiles)

(inside the Rustem Pasa Mosque)

No one can visit Istanbul without taking a trip to the various bazaars. We went to three, the Book Bazaar, the famous Spice Bazaar, and the even more famous Grand Bazaar (but these are just the pieces that are defined on a map….really the entirety of the old city is a huge bazaar, with the many sidestreets surrounding each of the big sites containing shop after shop of beautiful pottery, scarves, lamps, jewelry, and rugs, as well as the typical kitchy postcards, magnets, shot glasses, tshirts, etc. I just got so overwhelmed in all these places I didn’t know what to do. There was just so much…stuff. The Spice Bazaar was fantastic because every shop wanted us to sample THEIR Turkish Delight, which we were more than happy to do.

This brings me to a discussion of the food. Wow. What do I even say about the food. People have asked me what they eat in Turkey and my response has always been: lots of meat and great desserts. I had meatballs about a gazillion times but I wont complain because they were delicious. Bourekas or other bread-cheese-meat combinations for breakfast were amazingly delicious and SO cheap. We also had gallons of Turkish Tea, which I simply could not get enough of, and dessert after every single meal because there were so many to sample. My favorite was chocolate pudding which sounds ridiculous but there must have been several secret ingredients because this pudding (on several occasions from several places) was the most amazing pudding I’ve ever had. And of course baklava and Turkish Delight and other cakes and things were just incredible.

We also experienced a few authentically Turkish things: a Turkish bath (I’ve never felt so pampered in my life) and a Whirling Dervish ceremony. The Whirling Dervishes were VERY cool. They are Sufi Muslims (Sufism is the mystic form of Islam) and part of their prayer service is song and dance. The spinning they do in their dance gave them the nickname Whirling Dervish, and we had the chance to go to a cultural center to watch them. I was really impressed by their ability to spin so fast so long and remain so steady while doing it.

Here are some other observations/memories I have:

· Turkish Airlines is amazing. They had the most delicious airplane food I’ve ever tasted and endless options of free entertainment (I watched 4 episodes of How I Met Your Mother back to back nonstop. I wish it were a longer flight).

· One night, Dana and Zach and I had the urge to dance but didn’t want to go out because it was late and cold but we discovered that our hostel had roof access and there was a dance club next door so we could hear the music. This gave us the perfect set up for our own dance party. At one point we decided to play limbo with a large wooden rod we found leaning against the wall. It was wonderful. I will never forget dancing on the rooftops of Istanbul in the middle of the night…

· Finally, I feel I should say something about the unique nature of Istanbul itself as a city. It’s certainly like nothing I’ve ever seen before. People told me it was a very unique place but seeing it first hand (of course) showed me just how true that is. First of all, there is an incredible mix of very old and very new. Jerusalem is like that too, but since the Old City is walled it feels more fragmented. In Istanbul you can walk down the street and see mosque after mosque separated by huge European-style mansions, beautiful Orthodox churches, and hundreds of street vendors, while one street over will be a huge classy, modern, commercial shopping street. You really can see Asia and Europe coming together in one place, and the culture is really vibrant. I highly recommend a trip to Istanbul if you get the chance!!!

(view of the Golden Horn and Istanbul from the Galata Tower, an old toll tower and overlook in the new district, where our hostel was)

(what would we have done without our trusty guidebooks?)