Palestine by www.born2travel.it

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08. 12. 2007 Jerusalem (ISRAEL) This excursion worried us a little at first, given the many difficulties we would encounter along our route: visas, bureaucracy, checks, customs etc. But it is precisely these worries that in the end make a trip more exciting. They are the spices and the right ingredients that make the difference. Our dear friend Ahmad comes to pick us up on time with the driver at our hotel, as agreed. We set off. After about an hour we reach the Jordanian border. We pay the exit tax and shortly afterwards we find ourselves crammed into a rickety bus as we cross a desolate strip of land three kilometres long, the so-called "no man's land", until we reach a barrier with many guards, barbed wire, cameras, plain-clothes officers but armed with ultra-technological submachine guns.

Let us not forget that Israel has the most powerful army in the world, even more equipped than the American one! They check and re-check us, various body checks, then each of us is subjected to a genuine interrogation. "Why did you come to Israel? Where will you go? Do you know anyone here? How long will you stay here? Who did you come with? How long have you known each single person who is here with you? Where did you meet? And so on... Naturally, those who travel to this nation by air will avoid all the formalities we had to endure! So many rapid-fire questions that in the end, a little disoriented, I forget to point out that I did not want the Israeli stamp in my passport (some countries do not allow you entry to their territory if you have an Israeli visa or customs stamp, so you can ask for it to be put on a separate sheet)! We all forget...

Well, we'll have to redo the passport once back in Italy! After so many formalities our new driver comes to pick us up. Our "tour" involved two cars, two drivers and two guides. One Jordanian and the other Israeli respectively, since both are forbidden from crossing the other's border. The thrilling entry into Israel begins. Our guide, the friendly and extremely well-prepared Samer, explains in minute detail all the places we are passing through and those we will visit. We cross the Judean Desert and our first stop is the Mount of Olives.

While Samer was telling us all the stories of those legendary places and getting us passionate with his enthusiasm, I thought to myself: "Never mind the Lonely Planet, here you'd need the Bible!" We visit the place where the Assumption took place, the Cenacle (where the famous "Last Supper" was held), Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified), the Holy Sepulchre (where he was buried) and many others that each time gave me goosebumps in the true sense of the word... And me, who am not very religious... What a strong feeling to think that precisely in those places, where at that moment we were walking, 2000 years ago such great things happened that would change the world! I was very sorry not to have researched properly before going there; I would certainly have appreciated it more. Certainly what moved me most was the "Wailing Wall".

Seeing those boys, with shaved heads and long sidelocks dangling over their ears, in those rather strange clothes, the skullcap-type head covering, praying with such impetus, such force and intensity, with one hand resting on the wall and the other holding a prayer book... Out loud, each on his own, they swayed as they shouted their prayers to the sky. Those boys of my age shouting those sacred verses with such vehemence. Those children, seated, with bored faces, next to their praying parents. Today, by the way, is Saturday and for Jews this day is sacred. No work, nothing but prayer. Even the use of cars is forbidden; people walk to the "Wailing Wall" and pray: men on one side and women on another.

We also see the famous "Golden Dome" of the Mosque of Jerusalem and, after various check points, we manage to enter Palestine, into the city of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born! Suddenly everything changes here. No more Hebrew writing or people with long sidelocks, but everything in Arabic; women with veils and those with burkas reappear, and yet we are only a few km from Jerusalem. What an anachronistic sight to see that great wall separating Israel from Palestine. All those checkpoints, those special-forces soldiers moving among the tourists, armed to the teeth... We knocked down the Berlin Wall while here they are building another one. History does not always teach! We continue our exploration towards the famous "Manger" (where the ox and the donkey warmed the baby Jesus just after he came into the world) and the Grotto of the Nativity.

The emotions follow one another at a whirlwind pace. It's got late! Our border is already closed (as we knew), and we will have to leave the Holy Land through another border located to the north, two hours' drive from the previous one and close to another city of biblical memory: Jericho. We must hurry, also because we cannot risk anything; tomorrow morning we return to Italy via Amman! We arrive just in time even though bureaucracy and customs checks do not abandon us. A big sigh of relief: we are on the other side! But the day is still long! A bus takes us to the Jordanian border. The soldier warns us that we will have to pay another very expensive entry tax. Uproar! Nick and I try to resolve the matter diplomatically but in vain. In the end I manage to phone our Jordanian contact: Ahmad, who after many ups and downs gets us out of trouble...

But once again the day is still long, even though it is the dead of night... We notice two girls with two big backpacks... They had come from Israel after travelling through Yemen and Oman! What madwomen! After dealing with all the formalities, Ahmad asks us a favour that will, however, cost us more time! Finally we manage to set off again in two taxis. We also give a lift to the two Hungarian girls. Before long our car turns into a mobile Arab disco. Music at full volume while we dance despite being packed like sardines (4 in the back of a surrogate of our Arab FIAT 127). Every now and then the volume goes down because of the ever-present check points...

We reach Amman around midnight and immediately rush to thank the great Samer with all our hearts for organising a wonderful tour for us! Eva and Aniko will sleep at our place, as infiltrators; tomorrow they have their return flight to Budapest... We make a camp bed complete with blankets and pillows on the carpets and off we go around Amman...

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