Reminiscence from the Levant: Part Twenty One – From Amman to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Al Quds is one of the most magical places on earth. It is the centre of three prominent religions of the world- Christianity, Islam and Judaism. When I first came to Egypt… I had promised myself that I will definitely see Jerusalem during my stay. And I did.
There are very few such places in the world- Varanasi and Gaya come close… both are considered very sacred for Hindus and Buddhists… Adam's peak is another such place in Sri Lanka, which is revered by Hindus, Buddhist, Muslims and Christians… but the importance attached with Jerusalem, pales them all in comparison.
The morning next I woke up early. It was a Saturday, the Sabbath… and the Allenby Bridge closes by noon. If I had to reach Jerusalem… I needed to rush. I went straight to the Indian Embassy and met my friend Noor…
Noor turned out to be a wonderful host… he has a cute little daughter that reminded me of my son… they must be of the same age. Noor insisted that before leaving for Jerusalem, I ought to have breakfast with him… we had delicious Poori-Subzi together… it was second time in ten days that I was having Indian food.
I had a very rough idea on how to reach Jerusalem… I went to three different bus stations before I could find the bus stop from where a bus goes to King Hussein Bridge. This Bus Stop is very near to Queen Alia Hospital… so any prospective traveler should ask for the bus stop near Queen Alia Hospital.
One can take either a bus or a taxi to the King Hussein Bridge Crossing. Bus, even though cheaper, often waits for a lot of passengers before it starts… I, therefore, took the taxi. And slept…
When I woke up… we were still driving towards the King Hussein Crossing. The road surprisingly had got narrower and worse, potholed at places, a far cry from otherwise impeccable roads in Jordan…probably the Jordanian side doesn’t want to encourage people traveling to Israel via this road. This is not very strange… the physical distance between Amman and Jerusalem is hardly 75 kilometers but the civilizational, sociological and psychological distance between them is almost unending. Mind you, I am talking about a country that historically has displayed maximum degree of proximity with Israel. More than Egypt, more than Turkey… the two other Islamic countries that recognize Israel.
Technically Jordan considers Palestine to be its own territory… under illegal Israeli occupation… that raises a question; what would be the status of independent Palestinian state in the West Bank… will it see a large scale intervention by Jordan- like what is seen in Lebanon (by the Syrians who do not recognize Lebanese sovereignty). Anyway, this creates another bizarre situation.
Jordan does not stamp your passport when you are going to Palestinian Territories from this route because you are technically going into its own territory (However, it does stamp your passport when you cross through other crossings- Jordan River crossing in North and Aqaba-Eliat Crossing in south, but they open in Israel and not the occupied Palestinian Territories); but does not fail to collect a hefty exit tax from people crossing over… seems to be illogical, but anything goes in this region.
The net result however is a boon for travelers- this is the only way to hide evidences of the fact that you ever visited Israel… the Jordanian do not put an exit stamp and Israelis do not put an entry stamp… which means that as per your passport, you were in Jordan during the time you visited Israel. Other ways of hiding the evidences have one give away or the other… like exit stamps from crossing that could only be used for crossing over to Israel… Taba in Egypt, Aqaba and Jordan River in Jordan; or unexplained period of absences… (say if you leave for Israel by air… you get a exit stamp from the country of departure… you come to Israel stay for a few days- avoid a entry and exit stamp… go back by air to another country… get a entry stamp in that country… you still cannot explain as to where were you in the intervening period… and this lack of explanation means only one country in the world, Israel- especially to rabidly anti-Israeli countries like Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Sudan)
Hundreds of Palestinians cross over from this crossing… they are herded like cattle… a very sad situation in a country that is considered a friend. For foreigners, however, there is another channel, much more comfortable…. Once the formalities are over… a special bus takes you to the Israeli side… while crossing the border one can see the Jordan River, on the banks of which Jesus was baptized…. The river, however, is just a trickle… having been exploited in the north… for many purposes at Sea of Galilee and other places.
There cannot be a more sudden transition… within a few kilometers; everything changes… the language, the attitude, the culture, the faces, the hopes and the exasperations. As soon as you enter the Israeli side the road widens up… the security apparatus becomes more modern; things are more organized.
Once in Israeli side, all of us underwent strict security check… of the kind which I haven’t ever seen… it was thorough and hi-tech… foreigners and especially those from friendly countries are spared from an obnoxious interrogation, so was I…. Israelis have started considering India as among friendlier countries, somehow. The Palestinians however have to undergo a very strict security check… they have to wait for hours before they are allowed to enter.
I ushered into a country that invites a high degree of hatred from its neighbors… a country whose existence has been threatened since its inception… a country that has fought more than 4 wars to justify its existence… a country that inspires and exasperates you in the same breath. There are only few countries that have been created from the scratch… that are truly multi-racial… US, Israel and may be Australia and Singapore. It is an amazing social experiment… and yet it leaves us with a lot of questions… are the aspirations of Palestinians secondary to the success of this experiment. Will we ever see genuine and long lasting peace in this trouble torn part of the world.
The official money changer in the Israeli side gave me 3.8 New Israeli Shekels for a dollar, in Jerusalem I got 4.2 NIS… it seems that everyone tries to fleece you… for the inaccessibility that Israel suffers from.
Anyway I was in Israel, trying to find my way to proceed to Jerusalem. This was easy… within minutes I was on a bus to Jerusalem, a city that has always evoked a strange emotion in me.
There are very few such places in the world- Varanasi and Gaya come close… both are considered very sacred for Hindus and Buddhists… Adam's peak is another such place in Sri Lanka, which is revered by Hindus, Buddhist, Muslims and Christians… but the importance attached with Jerusalem, pales them all in comparison.
The morning next I woke up early. It was a Saturday, the Sabbath… and the Allenby Bridge closes by noon. If I had to reach Jerusalem… I needed to rush. I went straight to the Indian Embassy and met my friend Noor…
Noor turned out to be a wonderful host… he has a cute little daughter that reminded me of my son… they must be of the same age. Noor insisted that before leaving for Jerusalem, I ought to have breakfast with him… we had delicious Poori-Subzi together… it was second time in ten days that I was having Indian food.
I had a very rough idea on how to reach Jerusalem… I went to three different bus stations before I could find the bus stop from where a bus goes to King Hussein Bridge. This Bus Stop is very near to Queen Alia Hospital… so any prospective traveler should ask for the bus stop near Queen Alia Hospital.
One can take either a bus or a taxi to the King Hussein Bridge Crossing. Bus, even though cheaper, often waits for a lot of passengers before it starts… I, therefore, took the taxi. And slept…
When I woke up… we were still driving towards the King Hussein Crossing. The road surprisingly had got narrower and worse, potholed at places, a far cry from otherwise impeccable roads in Jordan…probably the Jordanian side doesn’t want to encourage people traveling to Israel via this road. This is not very strange… the physical distance between Amman and Jerusalem is hardly 75 kilometers but the civilizational, sociological and psychological distance between them is almost unending. Mind you, I am talking about a country that historically has displayed maximum degree of proximity with Israel. More than Egypt, more than Turkey… the two other Islamic countries that recognize Israel.
Technically Jordan considers Palestine to be its own territory… under illegal Israeli occupation… that raises a question; what would be the status of independent Palestinian state in the West Bank… will it see a large scale intervention by Jordan- like what is seen in Lebanon (by the Syrians who do not recognize Lebanese sovereignty). Anyway, this creates another bizarre situation.
Jordan does not stamp your passport when you are going to Palestinian Territories from this route because you are technically going into its own territory (However, it does stamp your passport when you cross through other crossings- Jordan River crossing in North and Aqaba-Eliat Crossing in south, but they open in Israel and not the occupied Palestinian Territories); but does not fail to collect a hefty exit tax from people crossing over… seems to be illogical, but anything goes in this region.
The net result however is a boon for travelers- this is the only way to hide evidences of the fact that you ever visited Israel… the Jordanian do not put an exit stamp and Israelis do not put an entry stamp… which means that as per your passport, you were in Jordan during the time you visited Israel. Other ways of hiding the evidences have one give away or the other… like exit stamps from crossing that could only be used for crossing over to Israel… Taba in Egypt, Aqaba and Jordan River in Jordan; or unexplained period of absences… (say if you leave for Israel by air… you get a exit stamp from the country of departure… you come to Israel stay for a few days- avoid a entry and exit stamp… go back by air to another country… get a entry stamp in that country… you still cannot explain as to where were you in the intervening period… and this lack of explanation means only one country in the world, Israel- especially to rabidly anti-Israeli countries like Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Sudan)
Hundreds of Palestinians cross over from this crossing… they are herded like cattle… a very sad situation in a country that is considered a friend. For foreigners, however, there is another channel, much more comfortable…. Once the formalities are over… a special bus takes you to the Israeli side… while crossing the border one can see the Jordan River, on the banks of which Jesus was baptized…. The river, however, is just a trickle… having been exploited in the north… for many purposes at Sea of Galilee and other places.
There cannot be a more sudden transition… within a few kilometers; everything changes… the language, the attitude, the culture, the faces, the hopes and the exasperations. As soon as you enter the Israeli side the road widens up… the security apparatus becomes more modern; things are more organized.
Once in Israeli side, all of us underwent strict security check… of the kind which I haven’t ever seen… it was thorough and hi-tech… foreigners and especially those from friendly countries are spared from an obnoxious interrogation, so was I…. Israelis have started considering India as among friendlier countries, somehow. The Palestinians however have to undergo a very strict security check… they have to wait for hours before they are allowed to enter.
I ushered into a country that invites a high degree of hatred from its neighbors… a country whose existence has been threatened since its inception… a country that has fought more than 4 wars to justify its existence… a country that inspires and exasperates you in the same breath. There are only few countries that have been created from the scratch… that are truly multi-racial… US, Israel and may be Australia and Singapore. It is an amazing social experiment… and yet it leaves us with a lot of questions… are the aspirations of Palestinians secondary to the success of this experiment. Will we ever see genuine and long lasting peace in this trouble torn part of the world.
The official money changer in the Israeli side gave me 3.8 New Israeli Shekels for a dollar, in Jerusalem I got 4.2 NIS… it seems that everyone tries to fleece you… for the inaccessibility that Israel suffers from.
Anyway I was in Israel, trying to find my way to proceed to Jerusalem. This was easy… within minutes I was on a bus to Jerusalem, a city that has always evoked a strange emotion in me.
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