We had heard so many horror stories about the Israeli interrogation techniques at the borders. There are even entire blogs dedicated to how to behave and what to say when entering Israel with stamps from countries such as Iran, Lebanon and Syria in your passport. However, we didn’t experience any of that. Almost all the border guards at Eilat were very young and relaxed. (By the way you know you’re getting older when you catch yourself thinking “These kids are way too young to wear uniform and a gun”). They must have been stationed there as part of their military training. When we got there at around noon we were told that we were the first people crossing that day. With palm trees everywhere and the sea not far it felt more like a marina than an actual border crossing. What was really funny was that even though James and I were clearly traveling together we were treated totally different. While James had his passport taken away and every corner of his backpack was searched, I was asked to move on without them even looking into my bags and I got my visa stamp within minutes. James had to go through some security check and was interviewed a bit. But they were more interested to get the exact dates of entry and exit of the last few countries we traveled through for the paperwork.

While we waited we sat down on a bench outside and enjoyed the warm sunshine and the view. We were even entertained by some of the security crew who were very curious to hear about our travels to Lebanon and Syria since Israelis aren’t allowed to travel there. At first we were a bit cautious and were wondering if this was part of their interview process. However, they were genuinely interested and were rolling their eyes that the security check was taking so long. One of them even said that we shouldn’t worry, we won’t be thrown in jail 🙂

We thought that a lot of the stories might be exaggerated or maybe it was people who aren’t used to these types of border crossings. But we did bump into a girl in Jerusalem who we’d spent some time with in Dana village, in Jordan, who’d also been to Lebanon and Syria. It took her two hours alone to make it through the bag check and then to the visa counter where she was heavily interrogated and asked pretty unpleasant questions for quite some time. It seems that their checks are random which in fact statistics have proved to be more efficient than interrogating every single person following the same procedure. We were quite happy though that we had none of that…

Since we had to wait for a few hours to catch the next bus to Jerusalem, we ventured for a bite to eat into the town centre of Eilat. Eilat itself is really just a big resort town with some massive Las Vegas style resort hotels. Not really our cup of tea but we did treat ourselves to some sushi and an ice cold beer. Total heaven, especially since we both had cravings for all sorts of Asian food for weeks. Our next big aaah moment was when we got to our youth hostel in Jerusalem and discovered that there were actual duvets on the bed and fluffy towels. The last time we had seen duvets was in Istanbul and before that in China. From China all the way down to the Middle East you generally only get a woolen blanket of varying degrees of cleanliness and a sheet to wrap around in budget accommodation. Our sleeping bags have come in handy many times…

Jerusalem is really hard to describe. We noticed that even Israelis find it hard to explain how things work in this city.The heart of Jerusalem is of course the old town with its four distinctive quarters – the Christian, the Armenian, the Jewish and the Muslim quarter. Each of these quarters has an entirely different feel to it. You’ll immediately notice this whenever you turn the corner into another quarter. While the Christian and especially the Armenian quarters are quiet, the Jewish area is surprisingly busy. The Muslim quarter is the liveliest by far and actually reminded us a lot of Damascus. In fact the gate into this quarter is called Damascus Gate so that’s a bit of a giveaway.

All these cultures and religions live together or rather live next to each other in quite a small space which has been the centre of much dispute for so many years. This is best exemplified in the Temple Mount area where the iconic Jewish Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is supporting the actual Temple Mount where the famous Muslim Dome of the Rock with its golden roof and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are. These holy sites for Jews and Muslims are all part of one big complex where you can observe their religious rituals next to each other. You’ve to undergo several security checks to enter this area but then you’re can walk around freely. Only in the actual Temple Mount area you’re not allowed to enter the mosque as a Non-Muslim.

Then again you’ve all these biblical sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was built on the place where Jesus is said to have been crucified, buried and resurrected. The Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross of course which are now ironically aligned with souvenir shops. Outside the old town you’ve the Mount of Olives and the Gardens of Gethsemane and there are so many more biblical sites or sites that are important for other religions in Jerusalem and its surroundings.

We did also go to the West Bank to Bethlehem and to Jericho. We were surprised how close Bethlehem and Jerusalem are together. Bethlehem is almost like a suburb of Jerusalem although it is of course separated by this infamous wall which is in parts even higher than the Berlin Wall used to be. You also see some of the new settlements on the drive to the checkpoint. The checkpoint itself isn’t a big deal for foreigners. You can more or less walk through. But once you’ve come out at the other side there is the wall all covered in graffiti with messages to the world like political statements, poems, jokes or childrens’ drawings. It’s quite a sobering sight. While there is heaps of people going to Bethlehem on organised tours to visit the Church of Nativity where it is said that Jesus was born, as an independent traveller you draw a bit of attention to you. Especially if you, like us, decide to walk the 3 km from the checkpoint into town rather than taking a shared taxi. People check you out but in a friendly manner. From the moment we had barely passed the checkpoint we were welcomed with many big smiles and “welcome to Palestine”.

Bethlehem itself was quite different from what we expected. It’s a small place and the centre is very pretty with well restored old buildings and also some quite modern ones. There is even a Sheraton hotel not far from the checkpoint. Judging from what the media reports we expected more something a long the lines of Lebanon. I guess the Gaza strip must be more like Lebanon but that area is of course totally off limits for foreigners.

When we traveled to Jericho we thought we’d have to go through the same checkpoint procedures but there was none of that. We couldn’t even quite figure out where the wall was or what gap we drove through. Suddenly we arrived in town without a single check. Jericho is quite a cute little town with streets aligned with palm trees and a peaceful feel to it. There isn’t much military around and you feel like you’re miles away from what’s going on around. It was nice to also experience a different side of the West Bank that you generally don’t hear about in the news.

A lot of people visiting Jerusalem are pilgrims or are on some other mission and you’ll meet quite a few odd characters. However, there is also a different side to Jerusalem where people just want to enjoy themselves and live an uncomplicated life away from all restrictions and the military service they had to or still have to do. Except on Shabbat (sunset Friday until one hour after sunset on Saturday), when everything shuts down and you feel like you’re in a ghost town, the new city is bustling. We even ended up having a local pub, Ha Cassette, which was run by some super nice young Israelis where we’d go for one or two or more (guess who) after a day full on walking and exploring and chat to the regulars who were particular interested to hear about our trip since a lot of those countries are unfortunately off limits to them.

Tel Aviv in contrast is totally different. We weren’t there during Shabbat but somehow we doubt that it’s the same story as in Jerusalem. Tel Aviv can be a bit grubby around the edges(particularly the central bus station) but there is also some really nice Bauhaus architecture all around the leafy city and a great long beach. People are dressed casual or understated chic and like to hang out in arty cafes and eateries, walk their dogs, go for a run at the beach or a cycle around town. A bit like Manly or maybe Darlinghurst or Surry Hills in Sydney. We soaked up this atmosphere for a couple of days until we headed down to Eilat for a night and to get our visa for Eygpt.

The crossing from Israel to Egypt had also quite a holiday feel to it and we were cleared super fast. There was a bit of a commotion because they found some unattended baggage and made us run out of the building to get it checked. We weren’t worried about this in the slightest as this is quite common and this super sensitive behaviour is kind of expected. One night when James was walking back from the pub to our hostel in Jerusalem, the entire street was blocked off and there was lots of military around. He was told by a woman who had very limited English that he can’t pass through because “There is a bomb”. And sure he did hear an explosion a little while later when they blew up some unattended bag. No explosion this time and only a few minutes later we were allowed back in to finish our customs check. There we were in sunny Egypt and some snorkeling and diving to start with.