Wednesday, July 26, 2006

England- Loss, Healing, and Recovery-June 28 thru July


England- Loss, Healing, and Recovery

June 28-July 26, 2006

Arrival in England
We get up at 5 am in the morning after staying in a motel near the Athens airport to fly out of Greece. We’re on our way to London, England to find a camper van and travel through Europe for the next 6 months.

The man at the Enterprise car rental company, Christo, is so gracious to us in helping us find things we need that we invite him to come visit us in California when he comes to the United States. It is a relief to be in England, it is a long time since we have been in an English speaking country, even though the accents can seem like another language.

We decide to go straight to Glastonbury, an ancient magical city, and do research about vans from there. As I’m driving the 2 ½ hours to get there, jet lag and exhaustion set in and I am questioning this decision to go to Glastonbury. When all the places we call about rooms for the night are either booked full or frightfully expensive, the voices of condemnation in my head start to get louder. We are finding out the prices in England are the same price as in the States except our dollars are worth half as much here. For example, the nicest room and most reasonably priced we called is £100, but to us it’s like paying $190. Ouch! Now the demons are shouting to me, “Gabriel, you should have stayed near London where most of the vans are, we were right near the Travel Lodge and could have stayed there and blah blah blah. Layers of exhaustion have descended upon me, I’m irritated by everything and don’t know where to go. Such is traveling on the road at times. By the grace of God, the place we had called at £100 is a cottage called Middlewick on 16 acres, it is near the magical Glastonbury Tor and sits on the major ley (energy) line of Glastonbury. It’s exquisite, and the proprietors allow us to stay for 2 more nights for half price. After that they’re booked; as I’ve said, by the grace of God. Of course, as it develops, these proprietors, Wendy and Judith become our friends. Those voices of fear are now shown to be pure imposters. Wendy and Judith send us to another B&B just down the road where Jean Frye lives and rents out part of her house when they are overfull. We stay with Jean a week and are at home in her wonderful place and with her hospitality and grandmotherly care. After that we return to Middlewick for a week .

Glastonbury is a wonderful town, a bit like Santa Cruz without the ocean. There are crystal shops, metaphysical bookstores, a health food store, seminars and workshops offered, people wear colorful and grandiose clothing. There is a lot of creative energy here, there is magic rooted here. I love it. I had come here about 8 years ago to take a crop circle symposium; the town is just as vibrant now as it was then. But months of travel and stress are catching up, I’m exhausted, have had diarrhea for months and all I want to do now is rest and sleep extra. On the second day here after doing most of nothing, we hike up to the Tor from our cottage. Elijah sings the whole way up to the top non stop. He makes the cutest sounds and has such a magical voice. He makes me laugh. Matt and Kate are not thrilled to be hiking and trudge along, bickering with one another. When we get to the top, Elijah is thrilled and looking around. He hears someone playing a didgeridoo and is curious and wants to move in closer, I think he wants to eat it, but he does that with everything, including stones. We listen a bit and soon go back down as it is about to get dark. As soon as we head back down, he is quiet and without another sound he goes to sleep the rest of the way back. Amazing.


Later that week we visited Avebury and as we are leaving the site and still in view of Silbury Hill, another mystical and mysterious place next to Avebury, I spot what appeared to be a crop circle. I stopped the car to look and met two men with recording equipment, binoculars and cameras, standing alongside the road. They informed me that it was not a real crop circle, rather it was a formation made by men. These two men, Robert and David, are very serious researchers into the realm of crop circles and UFOs and shared with us their experience with aliens and crop circles. We found it riveting to listen to their stories. One of the ways to tell if a crop circle is authentic is to examine the stalks of the crop. In authentic circles, the shaft will be bent almost all the way over, and instead of breaking as they normally would at that angle, they are as if they grew that way with no breaks.


We end up staying in Glastonbury for almost 3 weeks. In addition to seeing Avebury we did see a few local sites like Chalice Well in Glastonbury, but we have mostly rested and recuperated. There is a reason; something vitally important must be confronted in Glastonbury before we can continue our journey.

The Loss of our Baby Girl – July 14, 2006
A Powerful Lesson About Life
In the midst of our angst and disillusionment while in Israel, Gabriel and I conceived. It was a difficult time for us individually due to the extreme feelings of sadness and shame we were feeling about the Israeli and Palestinian situation. As a result, our relationship became strained as Gabriel immersed himself in the study of this situation and I felt lonely and saddened in my own way, even feeling a bit abandoned. For several days there was tension between us and it was difficult for both of us, and for the kids. Elijah was also affected by this time and showed us through crying more and not finding comfort at night as he slept. When we finally spilled our guts out to each other and came back into our hearts, we rediscovered the basis of our marriage, one of kindness, love and support. We stopped looking just at our own feelings and met at the door of compassion. Compassion for the people on both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, and compassion for the feelings we were both experiencing.

Upon retrospection I realized that when there is disharmony in our family and in our relationship, we all suffer. The energy between Gabriel and I is so strong that when it is not aligned, there is no faking it. We both became immobilized in taking care of what needed to be handled or in creating things as part of our purpose. In these times we certainly weren’t available in meeting others and found we just added to the disharmony of the world. We have both felt very strongly that it is our responsibility and our gift in this life to bring more light into the world.

We had been talking about having a little girl. Kate kept asking, “Could you please give me a baby sister?” I guess having a baby brother is nice, but Kate has dreams of dressing up our little girl in pink and frills and I’m sure her plans include taking her baby sister shopping and doing other fu-fu things with her. Well, on May 18th, after resolving a brief but overwhelming period of disharmony, we conceived; both Gabriel and I felt immediately that this was the energy of a new baby girl.

I was overjoyed. Gabriel was concerned and less than enthusiastic. Men are funny that way. He had been less than enthusiastic after the conception of our first child Elijah, but that had dissolved after a few hours, when he joined me in joy (see the Story of Elijah’s birth on our web site at: http://gabriel-icasiana.com/Elijah/ElijahBirthStory.htm). This time it was different. I tend to forget the realities and difficulties inherent in traveling with a family of five where one of the five is a needy breastfeeding infant. Being pregnant would add a whole new level of demands on my energy levels that Gabriel was concerned about. These issues were of no concern to me and I felt overjoyed about being pregnant again. When I was reminded, I remembered for a moment and then went back to being overjoyed! Kate and Matt were excited too, especially Kate.

As the fetus grew in my belly Gabriel would scan my body energetically and he felt a disturbance, he felt something was wrong. I would also scan my belly and just feel the magnetic pull of this new being in my body. My body quickly reacted and I started with cravings and feelings of nausea. This time I was craving sour things, but I was glad I was still craving ice cream as I did with Elijah. I wanted lemons and lemon-drop sucking candies. My belly started to protrude; actually part of it was the weight I had not yet lost from Elijah’s birth 9 months ago. My breasts, already filled with milk, seemed to swell even more. I did feel overwhelmed at times, and would go through almost daily crashes of my energy levels when I would get hungry, at least that’s what Gabriel would inform me of. I didn’t really notice that, as a matter of fact, I let him know that I was noticing that he had tendencies toward being a control freak. Anyway, I would stroke my belly throughout the day and be overjoyed by the life growing inside.

At just over 7 weeks pregnant I started to bleed. First spotting and then more blood started to flow from me. Gabriel and I asked our new friends in Glastonbury, who were the proprietors of the B & B we were staying in, where the nearest hospital was. We were concerned about what might occur in case the bleeding became hemorrhaging. The feelings of doom and sadness began to creep in. I knew this wasn’t a good sign. Gabriel and I spoke frankly about the disharmony we were experiencing around the time of the conception of this little one and how different it had been with us when Elijah was conceived. When Elijah was conceived it was the day after we had become engaged and also after we had participated in a healing and transformational ceremony that had left us feeling blissfully connected. He had been conceived and he developed in a magical and sacred container. This time was a struggle through emotional disharmony and physical exhaustion. When we were in Egypt right after the conception in Israel, I had gone through days of being miserable from the extreme heat (reaching oven temperature of 125 degrees), and I had spent quite a number of evenings not sleeping when the air conditioner didn’t work. I had been exhausted and Gabriel said I was just a tad disagreeable, but I don’t know what he was talking about. We had strong feelings that the container in which I held the developing new being was compromised and we were concerned about the health of the baby.

As the days went by and I continued to bleed, we realized that this baby would not survive. There were times when I felt utterly responsible and started to blame myself. My mind took out the hammer and started beating me up with accusatory questions and assaults of blame: How could you miscarry? Your mother had 13 babies and all of them were fine. All 4 of your sisters have had babies and not one miscarriage in the Icasiano and Barrs side of the family, how could this happen to you?

Our loss also brought to the surface the buried shadowy demons of my past, of the secrets of a teenage girl, afraid to speak of the unspeakable, or to ask for help when she was in trouble. I was a guilt-ridden Catholic girl who got pregnant at 17 and felt my only alternative was to have an abortion and put this terrible secret to rest buried for the past 28 years, but secrets never rest, they eventually bubble back up to the surface until the truth is spoken.

The lies, the unspoken truths, and the shame became unwanted baggage that I carried around for 28 years. I wasn’t even aware of this debris that was clogging up my systems of awareness, consciousness and receptiveness. I had no idea how this debris had clouded my experiences and affected the choices I had made. Now the veil had pulled away and I was seeing how it had affected me.

God needs us to resolve these kinds of traumas and shames from the past in order to heal the deepest, darkest pains that block our hearts and eclipse our capacity to show up in the world with our true brilliance. Our loss today was more powerful, more potent medicine than all of the counseling, confessions and healing work I had done up to that point over the past 28 years. I am so grateful for the blessing of reliving and actually feeling the pain and the suffering of my younger self, now 45. How afraid I was and how alone I was. No partner, no one to share this pain with. I never felt I could talk to my family about this; especially my mom who I always believed was a saint. How could I admit my shortcomings, my carelessness, let alone the fact that I got pregnant which meant I had sex with a boy/man. I remember now how I thought of all the things I could say at the time, but somehow the truth never made it out of my heart or my mouth. I even thought maybe I could feign Immaculate Conception, but I was way too cool for that at 17. So I had my terrible abortion, alone, at a planned parenthood and drove myself back to work so I could continue my life as if nothing happened and pretend that nothing was wrong. I tried to escape from my reality by leaving home shortly after and moving from Oklahoma City back to my soul’s home, California. My secret was safe, no one ever found out. I remember a few years ago when I told Gabriel about my having an abortion he was supportive and caring and helped me through several layers of healing with his reconnection and chiropractic gifts. Sadly, I was never able to speak my truth with Kate and Matt’s father for fear of his judgment. So he never knew of this secret even after 18 years of being together. He had told me once early on, “I don’t want to know about or hear about your past. Your past is the past and it should be kept there”. Sounds like good advice when you want to please someone or if you have secrets, but very damaging if you want to cleanse and revitalize your soul to heal or have an intimate relationship based on truth.

Now, today, I could feel the pain, experience the loss and share the feelings with my husband and my family. Kate and Matt have been able to talk about their sadness and give me their support as we heal as a family, a family who lost this little being. We even mentioned how horrific it would be if we were to lose little Elijah, what a precious being he is in our family, and how he has touched us so profoundly in his first 9 months of life.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned throughout this walk and especially through this time is that of complete and utter surrender. How could I protect our little unborn baby, how could I try to hold on to her life as it started bleeding away? All the protection I could provide her was inching out of my body as I walked, as I sat, as I slept. There was nothing I could do, no magic potent to stop this natural process. I could only surrender. Surrender to the process and surrender to the ensuing sadness that followed. In surrendering I found I was then able to embrace the feelings and that was the grace.

Reunion with John & Claire & their family,
And meeting new friends

The trip is about to pick up velocity again. We have been in England almost a month as we’ve now spent more than a week in Hereford. Icasiana is doing very well now, and has gotten her strength back, and her usual rascality and vitality. We came to Hereford in our new van to see John and Claire and their children Bryony and Callum who we had become friends with in Egypt. As fate would have it, they have returned to England unexpectedly for his wife Claire to have their baby in cooler weather and a safer environment. They have introduced us to their friends Kim and Belinda, and their children Merlin, Theo, Hugo, and Natasha. We have been staying in their home as we prepare for our European journey. We have developed a very strong connection with them and we have collectively been doing profound healing work. Icasiana will talk about our experience with one healing couple in the next blog. Stay tuned. While I have been doing my own brand of chiropractic and trance journey work Icasiana has been doing counseling work as an opening and then as a closing after the work, and it has been synergistic and profound. This is very exciting for us, as we both feel we are being shown a part of our life’s work. This trip has become a lot less about visiting sacred sites and much more about creating friendships and being catalysts for others on the sacred healing journey.

We will head out to Scotland and then Cornwall in England, then on to France, Italy and Spain in our VW camper van. Scratch that, the itinerary is very much in flux right now. We just found out that the crop circle symposium is happening in Glastonbury this weekend and our friend Hamish Miller (he is a well known author, blacksmith, and dowser of the St. Michael and St. Mary lines through Europe) will be speaking there, so we must go. We may not make it to Scotland, we’ll see.
We've wanted to go to Austria, Germany, and Czech and are not sure if we'll get to those places. The impetus to go to Austria is to visit the PKS Institute based upon the work of “Viktor Schauberger”. His work from over 50 years ago was and is still revolutionary. Check out this web site about him at:
http://frank.germano.com/viktorschauberger.htm

To get to our most up to date info go to our blog site at:
http://oursacredjourney.blogspot.com
or check the web site at: www.gabriel-icasiana.com, it has more pictures from previous posts.


Thanks for joining us on our journey and we love hearing from you all,
Love, Gabriel, Icasiana, Kate, Matt and Elijah

Monday, July 17, 2006

Greece – Family Reunion and Reunion with the Gods - June 9-27,2006


Greece – Family Reunion and Reunion with the Gods

Coming to Greece is the demarcation point of our sacred journey. It’s almost halfway complete and now we change from traveling through Southeast Asia and the Middle East to Europe now, from lifestyles and customs very foreign to ours and at times challenging, to a continent where the way of life is very similar to ours. It’s also a relief to leave behind the heat of Egypt and be in Athens where it is still cool before the heat of their summer comes. In most of the other countries we’d been in, I had gotten in the habit of carrying toilet paper all the time in one of my pockets, because most of the bathrooms did not have toilet paper, let alone toilet seats. Now what will I do with my pockets?

The first thing we do after we get settled in our motel in Athens is to go see my family at their hotel. My mother, aunt and sister have traveled overnight to get to Athens from New York, of course they want to see all of us, but we know they want to first see baby Elijah. It’s been almost six months since we’ve been together and he’s grown so much. The reunion is sweet, but we know this visit will need to be short because an all-night flight and jet lag will be exhausting for them. Our plans are made to meet the next day to visit the Parthenon which is literally a short walk from their hotel. We can see the lights shining upon it as we leave their hotel.

The next day we visit the venerated Parthenon, recognized as one of the finest architectural buildings of the world. Many of the public buildings in the United States are modeled after it. It’s nice to see the original although it is just a shell of what it was and much is now left to the imagination. The site that the Parthenon is built upon is reputed to be a special place, where ley lines of the earth meet, and I would have to agree, the place is charged.

Searching for Family Roots in Jannina
After 2 days in Athens, we will go to the mountains of Jannina, the birthplace of both of my mother’s parents. This will be very special for my whole family to see. We are hoping to find the area where they lived, the old Jewish quarters, and also the old synagogue where they would have gone for Services and prayers. My uncle and aunt had visited a few years ago, and being part of a tour group did not have enough time to find these places. This search is also for my Uncle Elliott who looks so much like my grandfather.

On the drive up we drive further than expected and as it gets late it is difficult to find a place to stay. We end up staying in our rental van, although it really isn’t equipped for sleeping. A poor night’s sleep is had by all, although we did save the night’s motel charges. We camped out in a certain town that had the most stunning rock formations. We can’t even remember the name of the town though unfortunately. As we drove up to the town, we saw this surreal image of something lit up in the distance that we could not tell what it was. When we got closer we realized it was the huge rock formations lit up by spotlights, it was an amazing sight they had created. That night I also got sick again, let me simply say it was a poor night to not be by a bathroom, thankfully I still had not thrown away that toilet paper in my pockets yet, and I’ll leave it at that.

We met my mother, aunt and sister in Jannina as they had flown there, and we began our search for the lineage of our ancestors. We went for lunch and asked the waitress where the old Jewish Quarters were and she let us know that it was about 20 meters from where we were, right inside the stone wall that encircled the old city. We had come right to it without even knowing it. So we walked through the old city, reflecting on the realization that this is where my grandparents had lived when they were young, and they had walked through these same streets almost 100 years ago. We had no idea where they had lived, but we hoped to find the synagogue/temple. A few questions to locals brought no answers. Hmmmm. Then we went to the museum inside the walls and asked there. After some gesturing and prancing we were taken to a spot overlooking the city and shown the roof of the synagogue below. Now we were getting excited as we saw the old red tiled roof of the 350 year old building. We proceeded to walk there and then we were standing in front of it. It was very emotional for all of us to be there and feel the connection with our ancestors. We really don’t know how far back our grandparent’s families lived in this town, but they had left by the beginning of the 20th century.

Our next goal was to find a way to get into the temple. We had been told that it was closed and only opened on rare occasions. Almost all of the Jews of Jannina had been taken away by the Germans in World War II and killed in the extermination camps. 97% of all the Jews of Jannina never returned. At this time only a few Jews still remained in the city, not enough to keep the temple running. We would find out that this would be a repeating theme in Greece. For example, when we visited Thessalonica later we visited the Jewish museum and learned about the town being a center of Jewish culture. Half the city had been inhabited by Jews who were a vital part of the city, economically and culturally, but again, nearly all of them (97%) had been taken away and killed by the Nazis. I believe the numbers of Jews living there had been 55,000 men, women and children taken, and more than 53,000 were killed.

We had the name of someone who had a store in Jannina who we hoped would be able to get us into the synagogue, but first we had to find the store. We eventually did find the store but she was not there. Her assistant did tell us that she would return later. After waiting a whole day for her to return from Athens, we met with Allegra and explained to her our family roots in her town of Jannina. Magically for us, it had been pre-arranged for the temple to be opened tomorrow morning for a man who would be visiting from Athens.
The temple would be open and we would be able to get into it on our last scheduled day in Jannina. We were very excited and thankful that spirit had orchestrated this synchronicity for us.

Cousin Nina Found

Before we left her shop I happened to ask Allegra if there were any more Jewish shops in the area. She pointed me in the direction of Nina’s dress shop just down the street. When we went in and explained to Nina who we were, she started asking us questions that traced back our lineage. Before long she was hugging us and letting us know that we were cousins. What an amazing and joyful shock that was. We were soon to discover that we were also related to her husband through marriage, but he had recently passed away. We had hoped to visit with her daughter when we returned to Athens, but sadly we did not manage to make that happen.

The next day we all went to the temple and for me and my mother, aunt, and sister it was very emotional to be in the holy place that our ancestors had worshipped in with their families and community such a long time ago. I know my wife Icasiana was very sympathetic to what we were going through. I felt as if my grandparents were watching over us and felt very close to them. As part of my family’s Shabbat ritual on Friday evenings, I also call in my ancestors, and this made it even more special for me to be in the place that they celebrated their holy days. I also thought of my uncle Elliot who had come here with his wife, my Aunt Phyllis, a few years ago and had not been able to find this temple, let alone get in like we had. So I felt we were also doing this for them too. We left the temple feeling very satisfied that a major goal of my family’s trip had come to fruition.

Kastoria - Finding my Father’s Father’s Hometown
After Jannina we went to the town of Kastoria which was about a 3 hour drive away. The funny thing about Kastoria is that it is the town that my father’s father grew up in, the Russo side of the family. I had always thought that he was from Turkey. The fact of the matter is that he had grown up in Kastoria; which at the time was under Turkish rule and part of the Ottoman Empire which dissolved after World War I. Today Kastoria is a town in Greece.

We were blessed in Kastoria to stay at a hotel by the name of the Chloe Hotel. The proprietors of the hotel, Mimi and Andreas, were such gracious and generous people; they befriended us and did something very special for us. Mimi took us to see the city, a very beautiful city by a gorgeous lake, and she showed us where the Jewish section of the city had been. This was the area where my grandfather probably would have lived. We were so grateful to Mimi for this gift she gave us. My grandfather never talked to me about his life here, only that his family was very poor when he lived here. That must certainly have been an impetus for him to prosper financially when he immigrated to America, and he did, he became very wealthy. Once he came to the United States though, he never returned to his homeland.

In exploring the roots of our ancestry we confront a number of mysteries about what our elders were really like, how they lived and what they thought about and dreamed of. Here I am at 49 years old and for the first time tracing these roots. Of course now I wish that I had asked a lot more questions of my grandparents when they were living. I did pester my grandmother from Jannina enough to have her write her memoirs which is now a family treasure. I realize how important it is to tell the family folklore as a way of passing down the history and transmitting the dreams of the lineage. There were many times that I felt alienated within my own family as a youngster, and now I know that my time will come to pass on the dreams of my life.

On to Crete
After this time of tracing our family roots in Jannina, Kastoria, and then Thessalonica, my sister returned to her family in the States and the rest of us flew to the resort island of Crete. There we relaxed, went swimming in the pools and ocean, and visited the ancient ruins of Knossos (another very charged place - full of quartz crystals in the ground). There was much in Crete to see that we didn’t, exhaustion had begun to overtake us, so we just stayed close to where we were lodging and spent time with the family. Kate was in heaven because she got to go shopping everyday with my mother and Aunt Joan.

It was especially joyful for my family to be able to spend time with Elijah as he continues to grow in such a wonderful way. Every morning we wake up we look at him and say, “God, he’s so cute.” We literally look at him in awe. Elijah was able to go in the ocean, and in the pool he came alive with his “kick kick, paddle paddle, swim swim” mantra as he is learning to swim and is just now getting comfortable going under water, and he could show all this to Nana and the family.

It was of course sad to say goodbye to my mother and aunt as we will not see them for another six months until we return to the United States when our journey is finished.
For us, we went from Crete back to Athens and rented another car and drove to the town of Delphi, west of Athens about 2 ½ hours. Wow, what an experience to visit Delphi.

A little History and Mythology of Delphi

Ancient Delphi, the most important sacred site in ancient Greece, was best known as the supreme oracle site of the world. According to mythology, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth and they met in the sky above Delphi. That spot became known as the very center of the world, the place where heaven and earth met, and the place on earth where man was closest to the gods.

Delphi attracted pilgrims from all across the ancient world; generals, kings, and individuals of all ranks came to ask the oracle of Apollo’s advice on the best course to take in war, politics, love and family. Even Alexander the Great made use of the oracle. In those days there were no roads like today, and getting to Delphi, which sits up high in the holy mountains of Parnassus, must have been a difficult journey.

It is said that questions were given to a priestess (called Pythia) who 'channeled' the spirit of Apollo. She would go into trance and like a possessed medium would speak in an altered voice and chant her responses. Her messages were then translated by a priest. It is also said she practiced sexual abstinence and fasted before giving oracles. One other interesting thing to mention is the chemical vapors that are part of the lore of helping the channel go into trance and/or receiving messages as it was recorded by Strabo who lived in 64 BC-25 AD):

“They say that the seat of the oracle is a cavern hollowed deep down in the earth, with a rather narrow mouth, from which rises a vapor that produces divine possession. A tripod is set above this cleft, mounting which, the Pythia inhales the vapor and prophesies.”

There is a fault line in this exact area of the Temple of Apollo (which is where it is believed this happened) that could allow vapor gases to have been emitted here. Analysis of the water from the Kerna spring in the sanctuary itself revealed the presence of methane, ethane and ethylene. It has been found that a less than 20% mixture of ethylene induces a trance state

We also visited the ancient spring, called the Castalian Spring that is located between the Temple of Apollo and Tholous. For a long time it has been reputed to have healing properties, we drank the water and it was very special indeed. In classical times, all pilgrims to Delphi stopped here to ritually bathe before entering the sacred precinct.


Icasiana’s Experience
After visiting the temple of Apollo, Gabriel, Elijah and I trek down to the Tholous site and the temple of Athena. I hadn’t read as much as I would have liked in the guide books so I was unsure whether the oracle of Delphi spoke at the Tholous or the temple of Apollo. As I stood in front of the Tholous, a beautiful edifice of carved stone in a circular arrangement of columns, a gentleman came up and spoke to me. I had noticed him meditating quietly sitting on the large stones as we came into this holy space. I had nodded hello to him and kept on walking by. As he approached me, he said “you know we can communicate with them if we attune ourselves to their frequency.” I nodded and smiled as I wondered if he was speaking of the Oracle or some other entity. I asked if this is where the Oracle spoke through the priestess. He nodded and we both just stared at the wonder of this. I was pleased as Gabriel returned so he would be able to share in the conversation. I introduced Gabriel to this kind man who was from Toronto; his name is Santo.

Santo was so open and caring and took us back to the tree he had been sitting under and worked with us on reading people’s energy fields. We did a brief meditation and then a couple of exercises to read the energy and colors of a person’s aura. We were fascinated with his knowledge and his desire to work with us and his special connection to Delphi and some of the other sacred sites of the world such as Egypt that we too had traveled to. As we were leaving, I noticed a book he was carrying. I asked if he wrote the book and he said yes, and then gave it to me. We said our goodbyes and we went off to meet back up with Kate and Matt. That afternoon while Elijah and Gabriel napped, I read the book from cover to cover. The book was the story, I believed, of Santo’s life. It told of his powers of his childhood being aware of the energy and unspoken words of adults. It was a fascinating book of both real life and fantasy. We found out later that Santo is dyslexic and it is challenging for him to write and to read, and yes, basically the book is about his life. We were blessed to have met Santo. He is a journeyer on the spiritual path and he came to this site as a part of his life’s work to help the world be a better place, in his own way.

Gabriel’s Work with Santo
Over the next couple of days, we spent some very special time with Santo. One evening he and I (Gabriel) sat in meditation and with his assistance I was able to feel the energy of the earth and heavens coursing through my body and filling me up with the light of spirit. It was a very ecstatic experience and something I want to learn how to do on my own. It has never been easy for me to sit and meditate, I usually will do something physical, running or hiking and that opens the creative channel for me; but just sitting and meditating – no.
The last day we were in Delphi before returning to Athens and then getting a flight to England, we took a little trip to the Cave of Dionysius with Santo. It was a pretty comical situation because we were driving on these far away mountain roads not knowing how to get there. Just by trusting we were helped in a very remote area by someone who escorted us to the unmarked road. As we drove up the road I was starting to wonder how wise it was to drive up a road suitable for a 4 wheel jeep or truck and not a little suburban car. There were boulders and ditches and sharp stones in the road ready to pierce our tires, while my mind shouted at me. It even called me names like idiot and stupid, and asked me how I could get myself and my family in such a silly situation where we were so vulnerable. Can you imagine that? Well I know my mother would not have approved – luckily for me my wife loves a good adventure!

Anyway, we arrived safely and the cave was a very special place to go. Elijah loved it too; he loves all the special places in nature we go to. He just lights up and shimmies his arms and legs in glee. We were able to say au revoir to Santo beside that cave up on that mountainside and be very happy for a new friend we can connect with heart to heart, hone our mission with, and share this amazing journey of life with.
In Retrospect Overall, this part of the journey, visiting with family and searching for our family roots has been so rewarding for me and I believe for the kids as well. They were inspired to ask more questions of their grandparents and it sparked discussions of nationalities and family lineage. We continue to find this sacred journey a blessing in truly living each day in a state of awe and adventure. We believe this attentiveness and presence weaves a tighter bond and inspires a life-long desire to learn and live through experience for the kids and us.

On to England and Europe
While in Delphi we decided to fly to London instead of going to Italy as originally planned. We will end up purchasing a VW camper van and continue our journey throughout Europe for the next 5 months on the ground.
You can check our web site to see pictures and read our updates at www.gabriel-icasiana.com . For the most up to date writings check our blog site at:
http://oursacredjourney.blogspot.com/
We love you and appreciate your support,
Gabriel and Icasiana, Kate, Matt, and Elijah

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Egypt – Land of Ancient Mysteries - May 27-June 8, 2006


Egypt – Land of Ancient Mysteries

We are now in Glastonbury, England and have just purchased a 1981 VW camper van, that is how we will journey through Europe. We will send out an update about Greece next week and then about England. You can visit our web site to see our travelogues and pictures at: www.gabriel-icasiana.com
We send love and blessings, Gabriel, Icasiana, Kate, Matt, and the bambino-Elijah.


June 5th, 2006
Yesterday the heat was 520C. For us Fahrenheit folks that equals 1250F. Yeah that’s right 1250F. We’re in Luxor, Egypt, one of the major sites of antiquity in Egypt. We will head back to Cairo again tomorrow and then see the Great Pyramid and Saqarra for our climax before we leave Egypt to meet my mother, sister and aunt in Greece. We are all very excited about that as we haven’t seen them in over 5 months and Elijah has grown so much and so beautifully in that time.

The day that we were leaving Cairo the first time to travel to Luxor we were befriended by a man named John Ward. He lives in Luxor with his family. They moved to Egypt from England 2 years ago, and invited us to stay in their community at their friend’s house in Luxor, on the West side of Thebes. This turned out to be a godsend (of course!) because John and his wife Claire have two wonderful children named Bryony and Callum who Kate and Matt proceeded to spend all their time at their house playing with. They were in heaven. Homework assignments were suspended for the time we were there so they could have a break and just have lots of fun. They sure didn’t seem to miss us or their studies during this time.

It turns out that John leads tours in Egypt for a living. He’s definitely not your typical tour guide though. He sets up trips and handles all the arrangements for people, takes the group to see the Pyramids and Saqarra in Cairo, and then takes them into the desert. The desert is a very powerful place to camp out in and be in, and soon the power of the desert takes over and people are shedding layers to reveal more of their authentic self. John creates and holds a healing container for the group, and lets the magic of the desert catalyze powerful transformation. John finds such joy in these 6 day journeys that start off as a typical “tour” and end up as a life-changing journey.


The Sites of Luxor
The first place Icasiana and I went to see was a temple named Habu. It is less well known than Luxor or Karnak temple, but a very special place indeed. We did go to Luxor the next day, a very magnificent temple and very awe inspiring to see. By the next day I was sick and horizontal all day, they call it the Egyptian bug. We went to Karnak the following day, but didn’t go to the museum as I was still recovering. The following day was our last day in Luxor; we would be taking the overnight train again back to Cairo. I went with John in the afternoon to Habu again, his favorite temple. He took me through to his favorite spots in the temple.

Habu Vibrations
John and I walk into the large temple area and sit in on a big ledge of stones just talking for a while. After a period of time I’m starting to feel a deep vibration through the stones. I’m starting to feel altered. I ask John if he took me here for a particular reason, and he looks at me with a little smile and nods yes. I tell him, “Oh, I guess I’m starting to feel it.” That was kind of our attunement time. Just sitting and letting the stones wash us and bring us into their resonant field. As we continue our discussion, I mention that I see the carvings on the faces of the stones are stories of war, or offerings to the gods or menial kinds of actions, I ask him if there are hieroglyphics or pictures that show people in trance postures, or higher frequency poses. So he takes me to another area that ironically had only opened 2 weeks previously after meticulous cleaning had been performed. It had been closed for a long time because of the soot that had developed from fires burnt when this temple had been used by the church many years before. I did see some poses that were uplifting. John showed me the paintings of a box, identified as the Ark of the Covenant; this was part of a yearly ritual of it being carried from Luxor temple up the Nile River on a boat to the Karnak temple. Then he took me to a room further in the back of the complex. This was the place he was setting me up for. As soon as we walked in the small room, I asked him if this was the place.

Carried by Waves of Tones
I felt a special feeling here and knew something was about to happen. We soon proceeded to do a meditation, me standing in the center of the room, turned at a specific angle, and he in the corner across from the one opening. During the meditation he felt a cool breeze, and I sweated deeply in our respective places. When we came out of our meditation at exactly the same time, we both found it curious, and then we switched positions. From the corner I began toning. I was transported into the depths between the seams. I had hooked into the timeless place, into the depths of connection. As the tones came through, I experienced myself as a channel being played by the temple. The depths of time, the resonance of the stones, and the unseen were coming through the tones. The tones felt huge and my body was as big as the temple, and I just allowed the tones to channel through in ecstatic waves. I could feel the rhythm of the heartbeat of this place beyond time. After I don’t know how many minutes it stopped and we came back to the normal world. It’s these kinds of gifts that fill souls and provide inspiration for creativity, and give us something very special to remember later. John’s knowledge of this temple and his love of this sacred place gave me a very special gift today.

The Sphinx and the Sphinx Temple

Before going to the Great Pyramid we went to the Sphinx. These two ancient structures are right near each other. The most compelling reading that I’ve done about the Sphinx is from John Anthony West. He enlisted the help of a geologist to study the erosion patterns of the sphinx. What they found is that the type of erosion present in the sphinx had to have come from water erosion which had to have occurred at a time when the area received much more rainfall than it has for the last 5,000 years or so. This places the building of the sphinx as much older than we have come to believe. The Egyptologists have refuted West’s claims and are now burying the evidence. At present they are doing restoration work on the sphinx, putting concrete or some outer coating over the outside of it. Where did they get this ridiculous idea from? I don’t know if it is a cover up or not, but it will cover over the evidence of the water erosion and put that controversy out of sight. Maybe they are trying to save it, I don’t know, but I think it is a tragedy. This changing of the composition of the outer material will change the frequency of the site and the way we can relate to it.

Anyway, in going to see the Sphinx on this day, it is roped off so you can’t go very close. We can only look at it, but not get very near to it. It’s very windy and somehow I’m not able to feel very much at the sphinx, which is a bit disappointing for me. Of course, what the sphinx was built for is another big mystery.

Going to the Sphinx temple is a revelation. I had not realized that the temple itself was such a special place. It has a very strong presence. I’m reminded of the ancient buildings of Sacsayhuman in Cuzco, Peru. I visited there 20 years ago and it made such a big impact on me, the amazing stonework, large 200 ton stones fit together perfectly with joints in strange patterns. It had felt like a major ceremonial place and so too did the Sphinx Temple.

The Great Pyramid

Visiting the Great Pyramid was a very frustrating for me. I have dreamed about going to the Great Pyramid for many, many years, and the day had finally come. My desire was to be able to get inside the Pyramid and be able to tone and sit quietly meditating and go deeply into the mystery. John and Claire had brought their family from Luxor to go to the Great Pyramid (as well as Saqarra the next day) and we would be going together.

We were trying to get inside the Pyramid before the masses of people are let in. After certain maneuverings and agreeing to some baksheesh, John arranged it for us to get into the pyramid alone for 15 minutes after the masses had left for the day. When the time came at 3 pm we went in and walked up the passageway to the King’s Chamber. As you ascend, you have to hunch over because the ceiling of the passage way is quite low. So we get to the King’s Chamber, and we’ll wait because they told us that in 15 minutes they would turn-off the lights and they wouldn’t let anyone else in so we could have an uninterrupted meditation.

The King’s Chamber is a room about 25’ x 15’ with ceilings about 15’ high. There was nothing in the room except a big rectangular stone carved out in the center like a trough. Anyway, as we’re waiting for the room to clear out I start toning to get ready. Oh my God! The acoustics in this room are so amazing. I’ve never experienced an acoustical chamber anywhere in the world like this. With a very low sound, it resonates so deeply and intensely. The sound fills up the room and my whole body, and I’m doing it in just a whisper.

When other people would come up the passageway, their voices would come booming into the room from below through the passageway. It felt like an assault, so loud and penetrating. Once in the room they seemed to talk in a normal voice which in this room is so loud and disturbing to me. So I wait for the room to be cleared out, but 15 minutes turns into 30 and then 45 minutes. Now I’m starting to feel lightheaded and a bit weak from the poor oxygen, I imagine that’s why anyway. Finally the room is clear except for us, or so I think, and the lights go off. Finally I can sink in without all the distractions and get to work. Except for one thing. There is a guy who comes in the room and he is shuffling around in his work boots. Who is this guy and where did he come from? The sound of his boots on the floor is very loud, and he keeps shuffling. I’m getting very frustrated, “What is he doing here?” I begin my toning anyway but soon after he starts yelling, for what I don’t know. Is he just crazy and why is he in here? I’d really like to make him disappear. I’m starting to feel violent. Then he bangs into Icasiana as she is meditating near the wall, seated on the floor. Now it’s comical, but it doesn’t seem very funny to me. Soon after the lights come back on, it’s been much less than 15 minutes but it doesn’t matter anymore. He tells us we need to leave; he works here in some unknown capacity. As I write this weeks later, it is pretty funny, but at the time I was intensely frustrated, it was not what I wanted. I guess spirit had other lessons planned for me on this day than the one I wanted.

Saqarra
John and Claire took us all to Saqarra the following day. John has extensively studied the ancient Egyptian cultures so I was very curious about his perspective on this place. He believes the temple here was built around the time of the great pyramid. The Saqarra pyramid on the other hand was built much later and John called it a “pile of crap”, which I thought was pretty funny. John explained the absurdity of the Egyptologists’ claims that this pyramid structure was the prelude to the Great Pyramid. The pyramid of Saqarra does not seem very impressive and did not remind me of the Great Pyramid in any way, but the Temple here is very intriguing. There were two things that stood out for me. First were a number of stone structures that looked like organs. John mentioned they may have been resonating chambers of different tones and resonances. The second thing was quite a number of doors carved in stone, with hinges in place. They don’t move at all now, not because of time sealing it close, but because the only way they could move was if the nature of their form could change. Okay, this might sound confusing, how do I say this so you can understand? These stone doors could not move in the form they are in. They are said by Egyptologists to be templates, except they are not replicated according to this template anywhere else. They are built in a way that looks like a door with hinges, but where the hinge is, is solid stone; it is not separated and thus cannot move. The door is carved but totally connected to the stone next to it so it could not move unless . . . It is a big mystery. John does think that the organ like structures emitted tones that might have allowed the stone to change its structural integrity and then be able to open and close. Of course John will not be invited to speak at any of the Egyptologist symposiums, but don’t worry, neither will I. I think it’s wickedly possible that these doors were able to change their nature of form and then close, but it remains a big mystery.

Alexandria-tracing Ancestral Roots
Part of my family’s story is that my grandfather’s family came to live in Alexandria, Egypt from Ioannina (Jannina), Greece before they came to America. On the boat to America, his mother (my great grandmother) was sick, and upon arrival in New York, she was not allowed to enter and was forced to return to her starting port. On the way back to Alexandria, she died. She is buried in Alexandria. So our family went to Alexandria for one day, we took the 2 ½ hour train ride from Cairo to find her burial site. We didn’t have much to go on and we searched for hours, especially Icasiana, through 3 of the Jewish burial sites in the city, but could not find her grave. That would have been amazing to find it, but alas it was not to be. I found out later from my mother that the tombstone was written in Hebrew, while I do read Hebrew, it still would have been difficult to understand and identify her headstone.

While in Alexandria I am reflecting about my grandfather and what it might have been like to have lived here. I know nothing about his life here; he never said a word to me about his time here that I can remember. Nonetheless, this is the prelude to our travels to Greece coming up where we will go to the town that both of my mother’s parents came from, Ioannina.

Egypt – Rough and Crazy
Egypt has been pretty rough to travel in, but very gratifying to explore the magnificent ancient ruins, unique in the entire world. There are a lot of things we didn’t do in Egypt. We only went to a few of the hundreds of ancient sites and museums. The one place we regretted missing was the Cairo Museum. We didn’t go on a cruise of the Nile River either; instead we went on just a short ride on this ancient, magnificent river. We did go to The Valley of the Kings, where many pharaohs were entombed, but it seems we missed all the good ones worth seeing because we hadn’t prepared beforehand by finding out which ones were worth going to, at least that’s what John told us.

Another thing we did see was the way they drive in Egypt, and we were thankful we were not driving ourselves. We had thought the Philippines was the most outrageous driving we had seen after it had eclipsed Thailand, that is until we got to Cairo. Cairo wins; it has the most insane driving we’ve seen. They don’t even stop at red lights, or even slow down, or pretend they might stop. They don’t even put their lights on at night in Cairo, a city of 36 million people. Can you imagine that? It is just a free for all. There are reputed to be more accidents and deaths in this area than anywhere in the world and we can see why.

We also missed the overland trip through the Sinai desert from Israel to Egypt, we’re sure we missed a lot of excitement by that, but you know, sometimes you just can’t take too much excitement. What I’m really saying is that the overland trip, in addition to seeing very interesting places, would have been exhaustingly intense and flying was just fine in our situation. See we’re really not very tough at all. Seriously, we were exhausted and emotionally spent after our disturbing experiences in Israel.

Ancient and Modern Egypt
One thing that struck me (Icasiana) was the stark difference between ancient Egypt and modern day Egypt. My visions of Nefertiti, King Tut, Osiris and Isis are how they were perfectly attuned to their environment and their culture. From what I know, I imagine that they lived in a pristine and elevated culture, exemplified by the beauty of their creations and in their daily relationship with their gods. They were an advanced culture as evidenced by their structures, sacred symbols, art and pottery that remain today. The way the ancient people revered the Nile was also dear to me. To them the Nile represented life. To them the Nile was their key to life. It was easy for me to submerge into their ancient culture more so than to relate to the life there today. I found modern-day Egypt to be quite dirty, crowded, and so chaotic in the cities, big and small. One of the saddest parts was to see the revered Nile littered with garbage and sewage – this life-line being choked off and killed through “advancements of the modern society.” The one place I really felt a connection with was Alexandria and we were there very briefly, but I felt a strong attraction to the area – as if it wasn’t part of Egypt.

Baksheesh
If you do plan to come to Egypt you must understand the term baksheesh. When someone does something for you they will expect some compensation in return, carrying your bags, doing an errand, even the simplest of tasks of opening up a public bathroom. They’ll even do things for you that you don’t want them to do, and then they’ll expect the payoff. We became aware quickly to either not ask for help or to have lots of spare change in our pockets to pay them off.

Lifelong Friends
Our greatest joy in Egypt was meeting our new life-long friends John and Claire and their children, Bryony and Callum. We have plans to meet up with them later in our journey, France, which we are all looking forward to with great anticipation.

For now we are going on to Greece, land of ancient magnificence, and the land of my ancestors.

Heartbreak in Israel - May 15-26, 2006

Heartbreak in Israel

We are in England now for the first leg of our trip in Europe. We are searching for a van. We will send updates soon about our experiences in Egypt and Greece. This update from Israel was difficult to write, you will understand when you go further..
Again thank you for your letters and encouragement and check our website at:
www.gabriel-icasiana.com

I was so excited to come to Israel and share this holy land with my family. It was something we had all been looking forward to, to see the holy sites and reflect on what it means to me to be a Jew, and celebrate our Jewish homeland, and share this with my family. However, my excitement in coming to Israel has turned to outrage and despair. What I have seen here and what I have heard from people living here and what I have studied have shattered my old beliefs. I am disgusted and sick to my stomach at what I discovered is happening; and am appalled at the behavior and policies of the Israeli government toward the Palestinian people.

In the United States the media has thrown a blanket of propaganda and a barrage of lies about what is happening here in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. There is no justice for the Palestinians. My heart is broken at learning about what is going on.

What would be a holy pilgrimage turned into an investigation of what is happening and realizing that the deliberate destruction of a people is occurring. Based on what we have been taught in the United States, what I am about to speak about may seem outrageous and infuriate some of my friends and my family, but we have witnessed first hand, we have spoken with those who have witnessed or been victims of it, and we have reviewed documentaries that have helped us piece together this insidious puzzle. I will speak out about what I have seen. Our sacred journey took a totally different turn when we arrived in Israel. We are forever changed.

Our Experience at the Ramallah Checkpoint
I took my family to the West Bank town of Ramallah today. This was a very prosperous town years ago, it is a beautiful area, with a delightful climate as it is situated at 3,000 feet elevation. It is populated by the Palestinian people and has been for a long time, but it is in the occupied West Bank of Israel.

We took a minibus headed to Ramallah with our friend Suhaib. He lives in East Jerusalem, in the Palestinian area of Jerusalem. We bought some baby clothes for Elijah at his store. We spoke about how things are here, and we made plans to see Ramallah the next day. It turns out that he has finished his master’s degree in International Studies and will be studying for his PhD soon. He is one of many of the wonderful Palestinian people we have met.

The ride to Ramallah was very uneventful, a nice 20 minute ride, except for one thing. We saw the wall that Israel is building. I felt queasy when I saw it. This is the big wall that made me think about the Berlin Wall that was built in Germany. We were told that the Israeli government has spent about $4.5 billion on it so far for its construction. I also heard that the United States has contributed 25% of the cost of building it. When completed it will circle not just Jerusalem, it is intended to encircle all of the West Bank. The “wall” which some people refer to as a “security fence” is a huge concrete wall that spans over 670 kilometers between Israel and the West Bank. The border is only 300+ kilometers, but the wall spans much further because it snakes along and curls back on itself as it trespasses beyond the green line, the internationally recognized border. It is 25 feet tall in urban areas and has sophisticated electronic sensing devices so that if someone tries to climb it, security guards will be immediately dispatched to remedy the situation and deal with the “intruder.” In rural areas, the wall has ditches, security roads, perimeter roads and double barbed-wired fences that take up 80 meters in width. Overall, just the wall alone has taken over 10% of the Palestinian land. It is called a security fence, but the main purpose of the wall is to isolate, segregate and imprison the Palestinian people. We have also read that the long-range insidious plan for the wall is to “chop up” Palestine into small non-contiguous pieces so there can never be a future Palestinian state.

Anyway, back to the story, it was easy to tell when we got into Ramallah because all of a sudden the nice smooth ride became very bumpy from the rutted road that is not maintained. I mention this because Israel has full control over Palestine to restrict their lives, but takes no responsibility to take care of the infrastructure. I was beginning to wonder what the ride back was going to be like.

In Ramallah we spend a couple of nice hours in the town walking around and seeing the shops and the people and I’m wondering what it is like for them to live here. I know that Yassar Arafat lived here when he was in charge of the PLO government, and that the Palestinian Authority (PA) government still works out of this city.

On the ride back to Jerusalem we come to the first checkpoint. Everyone on the minivan got off as my family and I sat and looked at each other. I thought we would wait in a line as cars were checked and then we would go through. But the checkpoint was closed, no one would be able to get through, and it could be hours before it would open.

Control and Harassment through Checkpoints
In my reading and speaking with people I was beginning to learn that delaying the Palestinians in their travel, and harassing them is very frequent, arbitrary and capricious. It is part of a whole policy by the Israeli government to oppress, humiliate, and steal the freedom from their lives. What I had been reading about was about to be shown to us in living color.

After we got off the minibus and moved through the streets, watching vehicles turning around and honking, and all kinds of chaos I saw a mass of cars stopped at the checkpoint where 2 soldiers were stationed in a tower. To the other side was a walkway where we went. Through that walkway were about 150 Palestinian people standing against the gates trying to get through and another 50 people sitting down waiting. They are used to this waiting because it occurs to them all the time.

As we stood behind the checkpoint gates, I saw the way the Israeli soldiers were treating the people. They were harsh, condescending, and way beyond disrespectful. They were yelling at the people and telling them to move back. I thought to myself, “They are treating these people like animals. How can they act this way?” I felt sick to my stomach and ashamed. I looked at the people and wondered how they endure this type of treatment daily, coming to these checkpoints and waiting for hours sometimes just to pass through to where they needed to go, all the while being treated like second class citizens with no rights. You see, they have no rights here. Basically, each of their towns in the West Bank is a ghetto. They are not allowed to travel from one town to another if they live in the West Bank. Their town is like a prison.

I went to the gate and showed the soldier my American passport and he said, “Come around, I have some information for you.” We were going to be allowed to pass through because we were American, but I felt ashamed knowing the Palestinians would be waiting here for hours. I had considered waiting there with them, and so had everyone in our family, including Matt and Kate. At that point other people with foreign passports demanded to go through also, and there was a lot of shouting and pushing. One man was very insistent in trying to get through the gate but the soldier yelled at him in Hebrew in a very intimidating way to move and get back, which he finally did. When we did pass through I looked back at the mass of people who would be waiting for hours. I felt so sad. The soldier who had seen our passports and initiated us getting through (and had been so brutal to the Palestinians waiting) asked me in a friendly tone, “What are you doing here?” I told him “Tourism”. I didn’t tell him that I wanted my family to know what was going on here first hand because I needed to write about this and tell people what is going on. He then asked me, “Why would you come to a place like this?” He was speaking to me as a buddy, and if I had met him somewhere else I would have thought him a nice person. But in this situation I thought he had lost his moral compass, like the Israeli government. He thinks the people who live here are lower class people, not deserving to be treated with dignity. I wanted to ask him, “Why are you treating these people this way?” But I kept silent as we were let through.

The wrong color ID
We rode back on a second bus, one that was trying to go to Ramallah but was turned back due to the closure. On the bus we were stopped at 5 additional checkpoints on the way back by 5 different kinds of soldiers, special officers, border police, and police. The special officer laden with high-power weapons came onto the van and asked to see the identity cards of 2 of the people in the back that looked like they might be Palestinian. When he saw their cards he began yelling at them, saying something like, “What are you doing on this bus, you don’t belong here.” After berating the men, he threw their identity cards at them contemptuously and stormed off the bus. I asked the young man in front of me what had happened as we had just previously developed a rapport and he informed me that the 2 young men had the wrong type of identity card. What that means is that their cards identified them as Palestinians from the West Bank (as opposed to Palestinians who live in Jerusalem). Palestinians from the West Bank are not allowed to come into Israel and can receive punishment by the police, or harassment for doing so. The special officer had not detained them because he was looking for something else, a particular person and couldn’t be bothered following through with these two men who had left their towns that they were not supposed to leave. As we continued down the road, we had to stop at another checkpoint. This checkpoint was guarded by the police and they looked at these two men and wanted to see their ID cards. They took them off the bus, without their bags. People on the bus were shouting, “They left their bags, here, take your bags.” But they were taken away without their bags. Our new friend, Issam informed us that they would be taken to the police station and the bus driver would bring their bags there. When the police finished with them, they would get their bags back.

What was happening here has to do with the different rights of different citizens. Israelis have blue ID cards and they are free to go wherever they want. Palestinians born in Jerusalem are Israeli Palestinians but don’t have the rights of Israelis. Palestinians born in the West Bank have no basic rights, they do not have freedom to travel to Israel at all, and they have severe restrictions in being able to travel to other Palestinian towns. If they are traveling at all, they have to deal with the checkpoints that will delay them for hours at a time, based on the whims of the soldiers. These soldiers are as young as 18 and unaware of the torture they are inflicting. They seem to be unaware of the basic human imperative to treat others with respect and dignity. They have been brainwashed to believe that it is okay to abuse and humiliate the Palestinians, and they have learned tactics that allow them to practice cruelty and torture.
In this theater of life I may have missed my chance, I thought later. I wanted to ask the soldier how they could treat these people in this way. But I didn’t. And then I thought that we could have stayed behind with the Palestinians and talk with them about what they go through. But I walked numbly through the gates, stunned and wanting to cry. I could imagine how angry people can get having to endure this kind of treatment.
We later found out that the checkpoint had been closed for nearly 5 hours; they reopened the gates at 9:30 p.m. All these people had 5 hours of this day stolen from them. The soldiers never explain what is going on; they are on the other side of the fence carrying their guns until the order is given to lift the gates.

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
The next day we went to Bethlehem. Our friend Lorenzo, who was staying at the same residence we were is from Italy and working with the Palestinians, teaching them in the realm of organic agriculture. He took us to see his friends who live there.

To get into Bethlehem, we had to pass another checkpoint in the shadows of the huge wall. Seeing the wall gives me such a violent visceral response, and the checkpoint is a labyrinthine passageway that people go through like cattle.

We quickly became friends with Nadia and Elias and their family. We met two of their children this first visit, Firas and Ramiz. We were very impressed by them, they are very special and caring people. They have been living through tremendous hardship and devastation, yet they remain very dignified people. They were wonderful hosts to us, taking us around the city and serving us a sumptuous meal. They told us about the effects of the Israeli policies, of the wall and how things have changed in their village. The street that they live on was the main road from Hebron to Bethlehem and then to Jerusalem for hundreds if not more than a thousand years. Recently there were many thriving businesses along this road, and traveling to Jerusalem was a very quick drive, 10 minutes. The wall was put in place to block this main artery. Most of the businesses have shut down since the closure. Hundreds of people who lived near the wall have left their homes because of the harassment from the Israeli soldiers.

At Nadia’s house, they are in a vulnerable position because they are right next to the Israeli lookout tower and “The Wall”. They have boarded up their windows so they can maintain some privacy. They also told us that they never feel safe to lock their door. A few times when they have, the Israeli soldiers have blasted it open to check that they are not doing anything suspicious. They have found nothing each time, but they don’t feel safe to lock their door. How ironic is that? We also saw bullet holes in their upper floors (these areas are open because they had been building a large building for a store, but the economic environment went dead when the main road was closed, they could not finish their building, but live in a small part of it). The bullet holes are from Israeli soldier fire.

Later in the day we walked to where Nadia’s friend Antoinette lives. Her house is right next to the wall. When the Israelis were building the wall, they took all her land, so now her beautiful house sits on the outside of the wall and what was her land lies within the other side. This confiscating or expropriation of land is an ongoing occurrence for Palestinians everywhere in the West Bank.

When we walked through the town, Nadia pointed out one business after another that had shut down since the wall went up and the road was blocked. We saw posters on a building of a young boy of 11years. He was one of three boys who had been part of a group throwing stones at the soldiers. Everyone in this village still remembers and mourns the loss of these boys. They had been shot in the back as they ran away after throwing stones at the soldiers. These boys were 10, 11 and 14, now dead. Senseless killings by Israeli soldiers are not foreign in this holy land.

Palestinians-Living under Military Occupation
The Palestinians have been living under an illegal military occupation and rule since 1967, one of the longest in modern history. This basic and crucial fact is something I was never able to grasp before. The Palestinians lives are dominated by Israeli control, they have no civil rights and they are deprived of many human rights. They are not allowed to protest or resist this occupation in any way, as their land continues to be taken away from them and their houses are demolished. They are not allowed to build houses, the Israeli government will not give any building permits, if they build anyway and are caught, their house will be destroyed. They are interfered with when they try to travel. There is an extensive network of excellent roads built between the Israeli settlements in the West Bank but Palestinians are not allowed to use these roads, they are only for Israelis. In one example of apartheid here, Palestinians must use the roads for them that go circuitously around, and endure checkpoints that delay them for hours. What can be driven in 1 hour for the Israeli settler can take Palestinians 5 hours to drive.

The farce about this situation is that the Palestinians have been depicted in the American media as terrorists even when they are under a repressive military occupation. It is the brutal policies of the Israeli government, the beatings, torture and killings by the soldiers, and the vigilante vandalism of the settlers that have been causing the Palestinians to protest, resist, and then commit desperate acts. In every situation, there are many more deaths suffered by the Palestinians than by Israelis. It is the Israelis that have stolen the land of the Palestinians, building settlements, displacing the Palestinians, expropriating lands whenever they choose, and following policies designed to strangle, humiliate, and destroy them economically and socially. From the beginning, they have been working to transfer or expel the Palestinians who have lived on these lands for many generations, whose families have been here hundreds or thousands of years. The situation is similar in ways to the wars between the United States and the American Natives. When the United States made treaties and then broke them, and then took the lands of the Natives, the Natives were described as savages (terrorists) and criticized for their war like ways. Eventually most of the Native Americans were subdued and put on reservations. The Palestinians have been segregated and imprisoned in their villages, living under horrendous apartheid like conditions, yet they are the ones who are described as terrorists.

How Could the Jews, victims of Oppression for so many centuries, become abusers as Israelis?
We met a man in Akko, he was our waiter for lunch, and he said to us once we started talking about the issue, “What happened to the Jews in Germany was terrible, just awful . . . Why would they treat us this way?” I have been asking the same question since I began this study.

In World War II Germany when the Nazis determined that there was no value to the life of a Jew, they stripped them of all civil and human rights. The Nazis had decided that their country would be better off without Jews, an ethnic cleansing would suit their purpose, so they proceeded to exterminate them in the most horrendous acts of modern history. The international community was outraged at the discovery of these war crimes and the killing of over 6 million Jews. This became a big factor in the international community assisting Israel in becoming a state in 1948.

In Israel and Palestine, the Jews treat the Palestinians as if their lives have no value; they have stripped them of civil rights and human rights. If the Israelis decide they want to take land for settlements they just expropriate it from the Palestinians who own it. They have no right to build homes, they have no right to travel freely and they are subjected to searches and roadblocks in the West Bank whenever the Israelis decide.

The Palestinians have not been sent to gas chambers en masse, but their treatment has been inhumane and these policies have left them destitute. The international community is outraged and has passed numerous United Nations resolutions affirming the Palestinians right to their land and the illegality of the Israeli occupation, and the illegality of building settlements. Many other attempted resolutions condemning Israel for its actions have been vetoed by the United States, their ally and partner.

When the international community was outraged over the apartheid policies in South Africa, international boycotts put tremendous pressure on South Africa to stop its harsh discrimination on its Black population. Israel has resisted any attempts to have witnesses from the international community see what their version of apartheid looks like.

When the Jews resisted the German Nazis, they were called freedom fighters. When the Palestinians demonstrate for the right to have their own country, when they resist the Israeli occupation of their land, and resist the brutal policies and harsh treatment, they are branded terrorists.

The Nazis lost the war and those officers who were found were charged for their war crimes. I used to wonder how the Germans could go along with their cruel policies and not resist them and say no. I’m wondering how the policies that exist in Israel today are allowed to continue. The international outrage to stop this discrimination, segregation, and outright torture of the Palestinian people is there, but there have not been any economic sanctions imposed. The United States through its vetoes at the UN has allowed it all to happen.

I am opposed to the policies of the Israeli government, and am appalled at the soldiers and settlers who are carrying out these policies. I cannot be called an anti-Semite because I am Jewish, and proud of what I am. But I do not understand how a people who have been so badly wronged and made to suffer through such inhumane treatment at the hands of the Nazis could then create such agony for another people.

A Brief History of this Conflict, Myth and Reality
For hundreds of years and maybe thousands of years the Palestinians, an indigenous people, lived in this area. The Jewish people had been exiled from this area thousands of years before. In the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century Jewish people began settling in this area and a Zionist movement had formed to create a Jewish homeland. When the United Nations mandate to create 2 countries was developed in 1947, one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians, 55% of the land was set aside for Israel and 45% was designated for the Palestinians even though Palestinians outnumbered the Israelis 3 to 1 and were the ones who had been living here originally. Leading up to Israel’s independence in 1948, there were skirmishes and conflicts with the Arabs who were not happy with the idea of their country being taken over. There were atrocities committed by both sides. The British tried to broker an arrangement and finally gave up.
After the war in 1948, Israel took more of the land and then controlled 78%, including West Jerusalem which had been designated as an international city. They had achieved this increase by massacres of Palestinians, destruction of hundreds of villages, and confiscation of lands. There were also 770,000 homeless, destitute, refugees created. After the 1967 war, when the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and other lands were taken, another 300,000 Palestinians became refugees, and since then their land has been totally occupied. The West Bank and Gaza have been under military rule since 1967, one of the longest military occupations in modern history.

The myth that I came to believe growing up was that no one lived here before Israel became a state. It was wonderful that Jews could return to our promised land. When I was a pre-teen I was very proud when Israel extended its borders in the 1967 war. I also had been taught that Israel was a tiny country, overmatched in the midst of hostile neighbors who wanted to destroy her, and that Israel had defied the odds and had been able to defend herself successfully against attacks by her powerful Arab neighbors. The truth is that Israel is the military superpower in this region (as well as in the world) and has been using that power to exert her will without any accountability to international law, morality, or human rights.

For many years, Israel has unfairly demanded that the Palestinians guarantee the security of the Israelis. It is the Israelis occupation soldiers who have acted with an unbridled use of force, and without any conscience in totally ignoring the human rights of those they oppress. Israel has never been accountable to the international conventions they have agreed to or to the Oslo peace process agreements they have made.

Land theft and expansion by Israeli settlers
Since 1982, when settlements began being built in earnest, to the present, the settler population in the West Bank has increased every year, even during the 7 year process of the Oslo peace accords.

With the illegal building of settlements in the occupied territories Israel has taken away another 45% of what is left over of the Palestinian lands. They have also built excellent roads (as mentioned previously) as part of an extensive road system for the settlers to travel through the West Bank. These roads are not available to the Palestinians. In this way, the towns of the Palestinians are disconnected and cut off from each other. In addition, with the policy of checkpoints and limitations of traveling between towns for the Palestinians, there are closure periods where no one is allowed to leave the area, and then there are curfews that have lasted days to weeks to sometimes months where no one in the town is allowed to even go outside of their home, each town is in effect, a prison by design.

When the Oslo peace agreement was signed in 1994 it was hailed as a breakthrough for peace. Following its signing, Israel never slowed down, let alone stop, the building of settlements or the increase of the settler population.

For years I had thought that the Israelis were acting in good faith. Now I have seen differently. They have been working to destroy the people whose land they have taken over. It seems they will not rest until they have expelled the Palestinians and completed their ethnic cleansing. How can there be peace here if the Palestinians land is all taken away and they are locked in a prison?

The international community has been outraged, but UN Resolutions censuring Israel have been repeatedly vetoed by the US. It is the unequivocal support of the US that has allowed Israel to continue these harsh policies, illegal under international law, and escape international sanctions.

Israel has expanded its borders unilaterally into Palestinian land, extensively crossing into the Green Line, the internationally recognized border (pre-1967), with the building of the wall. The Israeli policies have purposely created a condition where each of the cities in the West Bank are isolated and cut off from everything else. Each area is a virtual prison where businesses cannot function. To just travel within the West Bank, in addition to enduring checkpoints, the Palestinians must get permits from the Israelis to be able to travel at all. They live in the land of apartheid.

Policies to Starve Palestinian Businesses
We were told about another example of the Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. A truckload of tomatoes were held up at the border for 2 weeks. Only after the tomatoes rotted was the semi-truck allowed to pass through.

Over a 3 year period, the Israelis uprooted over 100,000 olive trees. These trees were the principle income for many families, trees that have been on their land for hundreds of years. These are just a couple of common examples of destruction among many.

The result of these policies is the starving of businesses who cannot exchange their goods, especially in the agricultural realm where timing is absolutely critical or the products are ruined. In the business realm timing is often critical. Timely information exchange is also crucial for a business to function. If someone tries to mail a package and it doesn’t get there in a timely way, how does the business function? How does a newspaper or magazine get their product out on time? How can stores operate when their goods do not arrive on time? How can businesses function in this kind of climate? And how can the people take care of their families?

There is Opposition in Israel to these Policies
There have been many Israeli groups that have spoken out about what is really going on. One group, with probably the most up-front and personal view of the abuse and brutality of the government policies is a group of 500 soldiers who have made a stand and refused to take part in the continued occupation of the West Bank. They are called “Breaking the Silence” and have spoken out about what they have witnessed and what they themselves took part in.

Another outspoken group is “Peace Now”, here are a few statements made as part of their position paper:
“The [Israeli] government refuses to recognize the simple truth that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Under the cover of a just war against terror, the government leads a policy that denies the existence of the Palestinian people and their basic rights . . . these racist and apartheid-like policies do not fit in with the values of Judaism. I believe they increase hatred and the desire to continue terror attacks . . . Peace Now believes that a mutually agreed border between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, based on the 4 June 1967 lines, will ensure the security of Israel's citizens, and the well-being and moral standing of the society. The absence of such a border and the existence of the settlements harm the security of the country and its citizens, cause social and economic disintegration within the country, place in question the moral standards of the society and reduce Israel's standing in the family of nations.”

In our studies of the Palestinian-Israeli situation, we have read books, pamphlets, websites and met with members of the Arab Human Rights Association. We have joined some groups aligned with a peace movement. If you desire to do study on your own, these are some sites you may want to visit, or books you may read (however, we are not sure these books, as controversial as the are, will be found in the US market):

Peace Now – www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/homepage.asp
Arab Human Rights Association – www.arabhra.org/
B’tselem.org - www.btselem.org/index.asp
www.Breakingthesilence.org
Books: The Palestinians – In Search of a Just Peace, by Cheryl A. Rubenberg
The Palestine – Israeli Conflict, by Dan Cohn-Sherbok & Dawoud El-Alami

Leaving Israel Upset and Confused
I am proud to be a Jew, yet I am heartbroken and disturbed to see what is occurring here in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. When I came to the Middle East 6 weeks ago I had asked the question, “Why is there such a bitter conflict here? It is true that before Israel’s independence, the Palestinian people did not want Israel to become a state. It had been the Palestinian’s land for generations. They had put up tremendous resistance, and there were atrocities committed by both sides. Since then they have become refugees, displaced, destitute and held under military rule. The fact remains, the Palestinians have a legitimate claim to the land here, and the right to have a sovereign state.

The Israelis have been harsh in their treatment and unjust in their policies. Where is the recognition of the Palestinians right to retain their land, have freedom to travel, freedom to retain their way of life without interference? Responding to acts of protest over unjust treatment, and apartheid like policies that keep them trapped in their communities, unable to travel and have opportunity, they are labeled terrorists and therefore deserving of harsh and deadly treatment. Their leaders are systematically assassinated.

Jews through their history know what it is like to be oppressed. We do not seem to understand how we are perpetrating what was done to us. There are groups of Jews in Israel calling for accountability regarding these abusive policies, but we do not hear much about them in the United States. The United States of America gained independence by overthrowing the yoke of British oppression. It was “terrorist” acts perpetrated by the American patriots on the British that won them their independence. As a matter of fact, there were significant “terrorist” activities conducted by the Israelis against the British at the end of their rule, specifically the bomb blast at the King David hotel that killed 81 people, mostly British.

The Palestinians want a homeland, a return to the 1967 borders. They want basic human rights and civil rights. They want it to be acknowledged that they have had their land taken away and suffered grievously. These people are not terrorists. The desperate and horrific acts performed by the suicide bombers can be linked to the brutal aggression of the Israelis. The policies of the Israeli government have created these desperate conditions. How can there be peace when there is no justice?

As I mentioned before some of my views and comments may come as a shock and you may feel disbelief. I can understand that as I have tried to put myself in that place of knowing what I previously knew and hypothetically listening to someone sharing the views that I now hold and I realize how difficult it would be. These views will confront foundational beliefs. I want you to know how difficult this has been to write, especially because I am Jewish and support the existence of Israel as a state. But if I didn’t write about what I’ve seen and learned I wouldn’t be in integrity with my soul and my profound beliefs in justice for all.

All our love to you and may peace come to this land. Shalom.

Jordan – May 7-14 - Land of Many holy sites


Jordan – Land of Many holy sites

Dear Friends,
We love hearing from you and appreciate your encouragements. See our web site for previous writings and pictures about our journey that you haven’t seen before– www.gabriel-icasiana.com
We love you, Gabriel and Icasiana and the family

Funny entry into Jordan
I must tell a funny story about our trip crossing the border from Syria into Jordan. It starts with us getting a minivan from our hotel in Sednaya, Syria to Damascus where we intend to hire a taxi to drive us across the border into Jordan, only about 60 kilometers away, then we’ll continue on to Amman, Jordan, another 80 kilometers We also wanted to visit the ancient Roman ruins of Busra which was on the way, sort of. This site was near the Syrian/Jordanian border but about 40 kilometers east off of our route. When we arrive in Damascus, I proceed to the area where many taxis are located to negotiate with a driver to get a ride. I was practically attacked by a mob of eager drivers all talking to me at once, except they were talking to me in Arabic. There was one driver who could speak some English and we finally came to an agreement on the price after an intense negotiation, but when he showed me his taxi, it was a small car. I decided that it would be too small because we have a lot of luggage. We’re traveling for a year and it looks like it. So now I was bombarded again with drivers talking to me in Arabic, and they’re talking amongst themselves, and a young man is presented to me but he wants a lot more money than I had already agreed to. I stood firm and eventually he agrees. His car is all the way on the other side of this terminal though, and our previous driver helps us to get there, except he and our new driver have made an arrangement to drive further down the road where they can make an exchange. I don’t know where we’re going and I’m feeling all out of control. When we finally arrive at the rendezvous spot, lo and behold, his car is the same size as the first one I’d spoken to who spoke English. This driver speaks only a little bit more English than I speak Arabic and I speak about 2 words. Hello and thank-you. I learn those 2 words in every language and get through a lot, and gesticulate for the rest.

In order to get across the border, our driver needs to cross it before 3 pm, or his taxi turns back into a pumpkin. He is from Syria and is not allowed to cross into Jordan after 3 pm. We have negotiated this factor into our planning for our trip. So we start out on our drive. He drives like an absolute maniac, really fast. We’re traveling for a bit and then he says he needs to stop at his home which is on the way. When we get to his village, he invites us into his home. We know it’s not impolite to refuse an Arab’s offer of tea, we also know we have a limited time to get to the border. We sit in his home, he is Muslim, we meet his wife, and other family members. She is dressed in the traditional garb, and she is covered from head to toe except her face. There is a picture of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on their wall, and the room is modest, but very lovely in its simplicity and comfort. Instead of tea, we are served Fanta, Icasiana drinks mine because she knows I got my fill of soda as a child and don’t need anymore. We are sitting in this room with the women covered and on the TV is a music video of scantily-clad women belly dancing, but not quite belly dancing, more like music video dancing in an Arabic style. I liked it, but it was so bizarre, the dichotomy between the strict Muslim women all covered in front of us, while on the TV were modern Arabic women uncovered. Anyway, after 30-45 minutes we leave his house and continue on our drive. And now, he’s driving faster than before and I finally tell him to slow down, Icasiana is beginning to lift off the seat on every bump. And I won’t even mention the swerving and near misses.

We see the ruins of Busra which is filled with its own bizarre qualities of unexpected happenings. We hire a horse and buggy to take us through the ruins and we tell him we have to be back at 2pm, as our driver has instructed us, so we can be ready to resume our journey to the border and get there in time. So we’re rushing through this site and we get back in time and into our car, and he starts driving, but now he’s driving real slow and murmuring something about we won’t be able to make it.

Then he tells us we won’t make it in time, or that’s what I think he is saying/gesturing. What is going on here? We told him from the beginning what we wanted, we got back from the ruins when he told us to, he had taken us to his home for 40 minutes, and now we don’t have time to get across the border. Okay, I’m starting to get pissed. And I’m raising my voice to him and speaking with emphatic gestures, except I’m speaking English, and as already described. He doesn’t. So we try to call Zaki our friend in Damascus, but his phone is dying. And just when I reach him, our driver has left the car to ask a question somewhere. I overhear him explaining to someone about how he had to go to Busra and then this and that and whatever. I’m sure he never mentioned that he stopped at his house for 45 minutes, longer than we were at Busra.

Now I realize this story is getting very long, and it’s much ado about nothing, I’m here now to assure you, it’s almost over. Our driver informs us he can’t take us over the border, it’s too late. He then takes us to a place unknown to us is where Jordanian drivers come to get passengers stranded like us. I’m angry because I think we’ve been duped and I’ll have to pay an additional fare to get to where we’re going. In the end we’re all smiles because he has worked out an arrangement with the new new driver from Jordan where they split the fare and I pay no more. And that’s the happy ending to this little farce.

Welcomed in Jordan
The word we have heard the most in Jordan as it was in Syria is “Welcome”. This is how I have felt received here by the people. The people we have met have treated us well and have shown caring good hearts. The Arabs and Bedouins come from an ancient culture of hospitality and that way of living is still intact. One evening while driving in a taxi, the driver told us he has met many Americans, and they were very nice people. He politely communicated his lack of appreciation about our government though. He was able to make a distinction between governmental policies and actions, and the heart of a people.

A number of people in Jordan mentioned to us about how safe Jordan is. We were told that police are always watching out for the safety of tourists. If anyone from Jordan should bother a tourist in any way, and it was seen, or there was a complaint, they will be arrested and vigorously investigated. They would probably end up in jail. We have also heard a number of laments from the people in Syria and Jordan about how the Western media has portrayed them unfairly and how the Middle East is unjustly portrayed as dangerous. As we have found out, this is not true. It is very safe here, very relaxed and stress free. There are also many ancient sacred holy sites in these areas that are treasures of the world.

Sacred Sites of Jordan
Based out of the city of Amman, we hired a driver by the name of Jamal and that allowed us to cover a lot of ground and see an extraordinary amount of ancient holy places. Places we saw are described in the Bible. We saw 4 places in Jordan to mention: 1) Um Queiss in the North of Jordan. These were ancient ruins of the Romans and Byzantine, as well as the Ottomans of Turkey. It looked out over the Golan Heights to the north, the Sea of Galilee to the northwest, and Israel further past the Sea. We visited 2) Jerash which has some of the best preserved ruins of the Roman Empire in the world, they said. One noteworthy item to mention is what happens when you stand in the center of the amphitheatre stage, there is a sweet spot right in the center where one’s voice is magically amplified in a beautiful resonant tone. (Frankly, I’m not that interested in the Roman culture, what they lived for and how they demolished other cultures to create the same types of buildings wherever they went. They did know how to build though). We went to 3) Mar Eliyas, which is an elevated site overlooking the Jordan valley. It is reputed to be the place where the prophet Eliyas (Elijah) was born. This place was very charged and alive, and was a wonderful place to sit and soak up the ancient field and wonder. We also went to 4) Mt. Nebo. It is said to be the birth place and burial place of Moses. From one of the vantage points, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho and the Dead Sea can be seen. This is also the spot that Moses is said to have overlooked the holy land when he led the Jews out of the desert, after their forty years of wandering, but would not reach himself. They have reconstructed a temple on this site that was very powerful. They had laid out the old church stones into the ancient configuration and constructed a modern day roof. The effect was to contain the energy of the stones. I stood there feeling a charged streaming energy coming into my body. I found it ironic that this site, the place of Moses, was honored by a Christian church and artifacts, yet not a mention of his Jewish roots. There is a very strong Christian presence in history on this land. The Arabs were Christian before Islam was brought to the world by Mohammed. Jews lived in these lands a long time ago, but I don’t know how large their presence has been since then.

Petra - A Jewel from Ancient Times


The jewel of the sites in Jordan for us was definitely Petra. Petra is located in a canyon that was formed by millions of years of water carving out the rocks. The stones are gorgeous colors reminding me of the Grand Canyon or the Painted Desert of Arizona. Without any buildings in this area this place would be worth seeing, just to walk through this awesome canyon. In addition to this unique canyon though, the ancient Nabateans, dating back to the 6th century BCE built astonishing structures here. They carved them out of the rocks here, and they are exquisite. This is a crowning achievement, an example of how to build in harmony with nature, of enhancing what is already magnificent, and adding to the gloriousness of the natural world. They must have been a very beautiful people to have built in this way. I would love to have met them and know more about them. What a masterpiece! The kids were even pretty impressed, but more so, they were impressed by the names of the donkeys we rode to the stone museum...Jamal, John and, of course, Jack (yes, you know, Jack-Ass).

Wadi Rum- Bedoiuns in the Desert


After Petra we went to the desert of Wadi Rum (Wadi means valley) and stayed overnight in a Bedouin camp. We had the idea it would be the home of a family or a group of families. It is just a shell of a campsite, they do not live there, they just come to prepare it for visitors. We were very briefly in the desert and after a long trip to Petra, there was little energy to revel in the desert’s night magic, and we all went to bed early, missing the full moon and the mystical sounds of the desert. The best part is we met a mother-daughter duo traveling from Illinois and a lovely woman from Madrid, Spain. We got a little taste of the desert and I marveled at how these people live this way, and how strong they must become mentally to be here, and thrive here.

On our way back to Amman, from where we would travel by bus into Israel the next day, we stopped at the Dead Sea and floated in the salty water and marveled at this lowest place on the earth. These are powerful healing waters; most of us broke out in some kind of healing rash for a day. This, of course, is after we slathered our bodies with the dead sea mineral-rich black mud. Elijah started to do his kick-kick, paddle-paddle, swimming routine but we had to stop him because of the concern of getting the water in his eyes. The salt burns intensely if it gets in the eyes. We were told the water that comes from the Jordan River into the Dead Sea has no outlet because it is so low in elevation. As a result the water evaporates and leaves the water more and more concentrated with salt.

Palestinian Heartbreak
During our time in Jordan we have met many Palestinian people and have had such a nice connection with them as they are wonderful and generous people. We had the chance to hear their stories, and learn about their suffering and loss of their land and homes. We also went to a bookstore to explore the issues of homeland and peace in Israel/Palestine. What I’ve heard has started me questioning the things I have believed for a lifetime about Israel and the West Bank. For now I will just say that I have come to realize that there were people who lived in the land of Israel when it was known as Palestine, or Transjordan, or whatever it was known as. They were indigenous people who farmed and lived off the land, cultivated olive trees, fig trees, oranges trees, and raised all kinds of crops, goats, and sheep. They lived here for many generations, hundreds if not thousands of years and when the Jewish homeland was formed, when the Israeli state began, they were forced off the majority of the land. Many of them left on their own, but most of them were forced off their land and became refugees. We were told that 70% of all Arabs now living in Jordan are Palestinian refugees. I have come to believe that they have a valid right to this land, their suffering has been real and they deserve to be recognized for their plight.


Now we’re onto Israel, feeling shaky.