Jerusalem Hotel 2230

I went to Palestine today. No one really knows where Palestine is or where the borders are, or even if it exists, but I was definitely in it. Almost everyone agrees that Jericho is in the chunk of land that most people currently call Palestine.

Between Jerusalem and Jericho, you pretty much have to stop at a few interesting spots. Along the way are the nature reserve at Wadi Qelt and the historical St George's Monastery, which are probably in Israel; the Mount of Temptation, which is in the West Bank and may or may not be in Palestine; Qasr al Yahoud, which is probably in Palestine, but the main river site is protected and operated by Israel.

Getting into Palestine required crossing the infamous Israeli checkpoints. That was nothing like what I expected. On the news, a checkpoint is the worst form of human torture known to man. What I experienced was like crossing the border from the United States into Mexico. Maybe because I am white and have an American passport. I doubt that hurts. Maybe some people are just looking for trouble to further their agenda. Maybe everything is not as black and white as Americans think.

My guide was Muslim Arab. He did a great job and I would not trade him for anyone, but your guide pretty much has to be Arab. It is illegal for Jews to enter Jericho. Christians are allowed in because they make up 99% of the tourists.

St George's Monastery is a 1,500-year-old Christian church built into the side of a cliff. It is supposed to be home to Elijah's cave, but a lot of people disagree with that. The Mount of Temptation is also built into a cliff, supposedly around the cave where Jesus was tempted. Today, they are both working Greek Orthodox churches open to the public. Whether the caves are authentic or not, the skill required to build large churches into the sides of cliffs so long ago is pretty impressive.

Qasr al Yahoud is the point at the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. Maybe. It is a major Christian pilgrimage site, and even though it is well beyond the current Israeli borders, Israel controls the area. According to my Arab guide, Jordan asked Israel to control that side of the river. The last thing Jordan wants is a wave of immigrants/refugees crossing their border. Israel pretty much guarantees that will not happen. Anyone who has ever been to Qasr al Yahoud knows how easy it would be for any adult or large child to cross that point in the river. It is more like a calm stream. The way it is all set up now, everyone at the river is a foreigner with either a visa for Israel or a visa for Jordan, and not much reason to cross illegally from one to the other.

I asked a few pilgrims whether they thought it should be controlled by Israel or Palestine. Most were either glad it was Israel or did not care either way. One guy told me none of us would be allowed in if it was under Palestine control. I can neither confirm nor deny that since I was easily allowed into Jericho and kept my head, but Israeli sites do feel more welcoming to a wider variety of people. If you are a Christian, this is an important place to go. If it were under Palestine control, I think Christians would still be allowed in. Religious dogma rarely pays the bills. Jews are not exactly the biggest Jesus fans, so I doubt forbidding their entry would make much of a difference to ticket sales.

Getting into Jericho required passing through another checkpoint. There were plenty of people in front of us, but the line moved quickly. Maybe it is all a matter of perspective. I am accustomed to how slowly lines move in China, so any time I can creep forward, I see progress.

After the Israeli checkpoint, we had to pass a Palestinian checkpoint. I was not expecting that. You hear about Israeli checkpoints all the time and how they violate human rights. You never hear about Palestinian checkpoints. It was just as violating as the Israeli checkpoint, which was not at all, but less newsworthy for some reason. Airport security is more intrusive than any of these checkpoints.

Jericho and Jerusalem are less than 20 miles apart, but they could be in different worlds. Both are exceptionally old cities, but Jericho shows it age. Jerusalem is modern and ancient at the same time. They have found a nice balance. Jericho looks old and run down with graffiti on the walls and trash in the streets.

The streets of Jerusalem have Jews, Muslims, Christians, Baha'i and miscellaneous all going somewhere. It almost looks like New York in that everyone is always on the go. Jerusalem is not what you would call laid back, but it is a rainbow city with every race on the planet.

Jericho is 99% Muslim, 1% Christian and entirely Arab. No one seemed to be in a hurry to get anywhere. I saw a lot of men standing around and smoking in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week. I also saw far fewer women and children.

Economic differences aside, the people in Jericho were just as friendly as the people in Jerusalem. Everyone was happy to see me, or at least my tourist money. That might sound cynical, but the difference between someone genuinely smiling and someone smiling for money is pretty obvious.

More than a few people wanted to practice their English with me. Any English speaker who lives in China gets used to that. But in China, a lot of teenage girls and young women approach me. In Jericho, it was only older men. Most of the girls were hidden away somewhere and the younger men only looked at me the way a dog looks at bacon. The older men were more than happy to talk to me, mostly after my guide introduced me. I think I spent more time in Jericho talking to people than seeing the sights.

It was a fascinating and educational trip, but not really the kind of place to take a relaxing vacation. When I left, I had a feeling that I would probably never go back there again.