Wow…nothing like a 6 month hiatus from writing.  Welcome back to the interwebs to me! Slowly but surely I will fill in all of the New Zealand entries.  I promise!  For now, here’s an update…

 

We’ve been planning our next trip for a very long time, and have finally been discussing it publicly, at work etc.  For the next adventure we’re off to Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank.  This has received a lot of mixed reactions when we tell people.  Most wonder, “Why would you want to go there?!?!”  Why WOULDN’T I want to go there?!?  To be fortunate enough to be able to travel to countries rich with that much history and global/religious significance–I’d be crazy to say no! 

 

Sure, at first I was a little hesitant.  Nothing good is ever said on the news about Gaza and Israeli conflict.  And, yes, traveling to the “Middle East” might not be a first time travel destination, or for someone who is wary, or who has only experienced all-inclusive, or cruise ship travel, but I don’t think it will be any different than any other travel for us.  We will be meeting people, seeing sights, experiencing culture and foods that are new and different, taking photos and enjoying life.  Yes, we’ll be in a more potentially volatile area than we’ve been in before, but that doesn’t mean there will be issues.  Just because there were riots in Vancouver, BC–would that prevent you from going there?

 

That said, I will note, we hadn’t planned on the Arab Spring for our vacation in the Arab spring.  If you’ve been watching the news (Not local, but international.  We like RT.) you’ll see that there has been some conflict going on recently.  FYI: This has not increased travel warnings from our government, nor have these warnings surpassed the levels for countries we have already visited without issue (ie: Cambodia.)

 

For the amazing sites and history alone, I’d do this trip in a heartbeat.  I’ll be able to add several more UNESCO sites to the tally.  Petra (where one of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed), Haifa’s Baha’i Gardens, the Old City of Acre, the White City of Tel Aviv and the fortress at Masada are all on the itinerary.  Besides the markets and souks, I’m especially interested in the religious sites and places of worship.  Though neither of us is religious or church-going, we’ve been raised with Christian holiday traditions in a predominantly Christian country–celebrating Christmas, Easter etc, so it will be interesting to see fervent worship on a large scale that is Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i and Christian.  Even if one was visiting Jerusalem as an atheist, one couldn’t deny that the religious prophets existed as men.   To be in places where people so significant to such a large portion of the global population has been is kind of awe inspiring. For example, being able to walk the Via Dolorosa is pretty profound.

 

I should be writing more.  The photos have been inspiring, and I’ve read a ton of travel books.  Of course, Google, Trip Advisor and youtube had all been awesome too.  Everything is planned and mostly paid for; now we just have to wait for take off.

 

You know all those things you wanted to do?  You should go do them.