Palestine: Day 3, Part 2: Taybeh, Mt. Gerizim and Nablus

Visits with two priests who loom large in their small West Bank towns

Taybeh
Tiny Taybeh is so much more than beer and antiquity. It is the location of St. George Church (below, top photo) and its remarkable, admirable, energetic parish priest, Father Raed Abu Sahlieh (bottom photo). He exemplifies the best of Christ's teachings, walking the walk but also talking the talk to explain to anyone who will listen why peace, social justice and the brotherhood of man are so important to humankind. He runs the church of course, but also a school for area children of all faiths, a 50-voice children's choir, the only care facility around for the elderly and the inspiring Peace Lamp project. His fund-raising idea was to put olive-oil-burning dove-shaped Peace Lamps in all the world's churches. Ambitious and admirable. The church grounds also feature the recreation of a Holy Land dwelling from the time of Christ.

Photos: Mac Lacy, Group Travel Leader

They say if you can't say something good, say nothing at all, so I'm not cyber-saying anything about  lunch at the Asffoura Restaurant in Nablus.

Mt. Gerizim and the Last of the Samaritans
We drove to the top of Mt. Gerizim overlooking Nablus. On the windy summit is a small Samaritan village presided over by Kahen Husni, the priest of this tiny, ancient sect that in Biblical times counted millions of believers and now has fewer than 1,000. The Samaritans, who trace their unbroken lineage back to the ancient Israeli tribe of Levi, maintain practices from two millennia ago, including ritual sheep sacrifice that is so authentic that several thousand Israeli Jews visit annually to see how it was done in the really old days. The Samaritans' practices are similar the Jewish rituals (Saturday sabbath, reading from the Torah in Hebrew, etc.) but Arabic is their everyday language. They don't eschew modern life. They have televisions and cell phones, and a group of boys was energetically kick a soccer ball around on the area used for the sacrifice. Perhaps some of the children harbored dreams of some day playing on a Palestinian team in the World Cup.

Nablus
Back down the mountain to Nablus and a quick run through the ancient market, which is not under threat from Jewish settlers as Hebron is. I could have spent hours there, but we were directed to be on the fast track. Our only detour was to an olive factory that still has traditional hand-operated soap-making apparatus on display but now makes the soap elsewhere.

The simple, well-worn Yasmeen Hotel is our lodging for the night. The location on the fringes of the souk is fantastic, especially for those with time to meander through the market. Sadly, the exterior still bears the scars of bullet hits. My room resembles a monastic cell, but there is free WiFi, without which I'd be even father along than I am. Dinner at the nearby Saraya Restaurant is a traditional progression of small salads, spreads, dips, condiments and of course, pita, followed by roasted lamb and fragrant rice and then knafa, a local dessert made of sweet melted goat cheese, honey and a crunchy topping that might have been small piece of crumbled dough or something else that I couldn't identify.

Most of my traveling companions went to a Turkish bath, but I opted to return to the hotel and check on E-mail, write a blog post and get some sleep. I was still at it when they returned from the Turkish bath.

Palestine: Day 3, Part 1: On the Road to Taybeh

In Taybeh and Nablus, rough history but non-violent peace activists

 We left Bethlehem after breakfast, passing through the main security checkpoint in what is now a walled city -- not a pictursque medieval wall but an ugly concrete scar across the ancient landscape. We passed the outskirts of Jerusalem, the troubled holy city for three faiths that is a political pawn in an ongoing political tussle between the Palestinians who want their own state and the Israeli government which doesn't want to give up anything. The implementation of the two-state solution -- one Jewish and one Palestinian nation -- that came out of the 2007 Annapolis Conference remains stalemated, and meanwhile, Israel continues building settlements, maintaining checkpoints and extended the walls that in many places are higher than East Germany's Berlin Wall during the Cold War.

Photo: Odyssei Travel Community

The landscape noth of the city reminded me somewhat of the Southwest: golden hills with stone outcroppings (limestone here), bushes that from a distance resemble but darker, arroyos, deep valleys and occasional dirt tracks leading somewhere. Instead of grazing cattle, however,there are occasional flocks of sheep or goats watched over by a shepherd or goatherder, and here and there camels. The scene has existed since the land was settled and humans began domesticating animals. Also,  the US Southwest has no olive trees or small villages on hillsides and hilltops, and thankfully no walls or military watchtowers every few miles to control civilians. The closest we get is the occasional penetentiary or prison where convicts are incarcerated.

The main West Bank roads built are well-constructed, immaculately paved highways that are very much of the 21st century -- built by the Israeli government to provide quick, smooth access to and from settlements plunked here and there on the Palestinian landscape, often in places where they can control the water to old Palestinian communities. It is yet another affront.

TaybehOn the outskirts of tiny Taybeh, said to be the only all-Christian village in this Arab country, the Taybeh Brewing Company is practicing peace through beer. Established by Nadeem Khoury, a Palestinian homebrewer, in 1994 when the Oslo Peace Accords had brought optimism to Palestine, it is the only microbrewery in the Middle East and the only Palestinian-owned brewery anywhere. It turns spring water, barley from France and Belgium, hops from Bavaria and the Czech Republic and yeast into four beers. They have won awards, are the first Middle Eastern brwery to license in Germany and export to France. The brewery also started bottling olive oil for St George's Church school and began developing an alcohol-free beer in case a more Islamist fundamentalist party wins a Palestinian election and alcohol is banned. The brewery owners are nothing if not practical.

We visited the ruins of a Byzantine church called El Khader/St. George. It is the site of baptisms in an ancient font, and townsfolk still come there to sacrifice a sheep for various festivals. The church dates from the fourth century and was destroyed by the Samarians in the sixth century. It is one of manymanifestations  of the violence and religious conflict that tragically are nothing new to the Holy Land, but you'd think that humankind would have learned something in 15 centuries.


More to come. Stay tuned.

Airlines Reinvent International Travel -- Again

Fewer transoceanic flights, but improved front-cabin amenities

In the heady years that are now over, profit jets and, of course, first and business class cabins on commercial airliners were cash cows for carriers. Then fuel prices sored, air fares went through the roof and the whole airline picture changed. Fuel prices are down now, but so is the global economy, and airlines are still trying to tinker their way to profitability.

According to Associated Press and other reports, US carriers are cutting flights on their transatlantic and transpacific routes but some are upgrading seats and other amenities. Delta is cutting its international service by 10 percent, restructuring some routes to seasonal service and upping flights to Latin America while eliminating unprofitable routes across the Atlantic and Pacific. United has already shaved its international schedule by 15 percent -- but happily is reviving its Denver-London nonstop for spring and summer tourist season. American is cutting international services by 2 1/2 percent, and Continental is decreasing its international capacity by 7 percent.

Some airlines including United and Air France are among the carriers that are trying to retain what premium business there is by installing more comfortable seats, better inflight entertainment and sometimes enhanced ground services. Air France, especially, has raised the bar. It introduced curb-to-plane airport concierge service to ease the first-class passengers' departure. Its phenomenal inflight entertainment choices include 55 films, on-demand television and 116 hours of recorded music. The reopened Terminal 2E at Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) is dedicated to all US flights. In all classes of service, the carrier has introduced flexible business/leisure fares ("bleisure," the call it) with no Paris stopover penalties and enhanced what it calls "the French touch" in food and beverage service. Et finalement, Air France has introduced a premium-economy-style class that combines the comfortable seating of business class and the service found in economy -- which of course, includes complimentary French champagne and wine.

Best Craft Brews at US Airports

CheapFlights.com compiles its top 20 list of US airports for beer drinkers

Being a wine drinker, I was cheered sometime ago when Vino Volo, a chain of upscale wine bars, was rumored to be considering an outlet at Denver International Airport. It hasn't happened yet, and the little chain has only established outposts at nine US airports (Sacramento, Seattle/Tacoma, San Antonio, Detroit and five in the Middle Atlantic). One is in the American Airlines Terminal at New York's JFK, but I sure wish there were one in the airport's main international terminal. I flew to Cairo recently on Egyptair, an alcohol-free carrier, and I certainly wish I had been able to sip a glass of wine better than what the sports bar nearest to my gate poured.

Not being a beer drinker, the new Beer Lover's Airport Guide on cheapflights.com is only a matter of passing curiosity to me personally, but it's an invaluable resource for thirsty flyers who appreciate quality beer and ale. The airports where writer Jerome Greer Chandler found good craft beers are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York/JFK, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington National and Washington Dulles. You'll have to click on the link to learn which brews are available at what part of those airports.

Palestine: Day 2, Part 2: Bethlehem and Hebron

Great lunch in Bethlehem followed by a visit to Hebron, an experience in sorrow

Bethlehem

We visited the International Cultural Center, a youth and cultural center offereing education, enrichment, opportunities to build skills the arts, community support and health services to young people, plus a small guesthouse. The complex is one of the hopeful signs of better, more tranquil times to come.

Then we made our way through the old city for lunch at Afeem, down a little street near Manger Square in Bethlehem. Under vaulted stone ceilings, the staff brought out wonderful renditions of Middle Eastern specialties that we'd had before and would have again. Everything came out family-style, so the narrow table was packed with plates and bowls. The hummus was the best I've ever eaten. But the real discovery was lemonade mixed with finely chopped mint. A champion in the thirst-quencher competition.

Hebron

From Bethlehem, we drove to Hebron, a city that was an early hotbed of Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation to their territory and unprecedented retaliation on the part of the Israeli government, whose army has the big guns in this conflict. The city center is busy and lively, but pairs of armed soldiers stand around, and scores of checkpoints require Palestinians to show identification on demand when traveling around their own city.

Most controversial and provocative are the Jewish settlements plunked in the middle of old city, not on the outskirts as elswhere. Palestinians have been displaced to make way for these settlements, each protected by a high fence or wall and armed soldiers. The population of the three settlements is reportedly somewhere between 300 and 500, with something like 1,000 soldiers to protect them. Streets and alleyways that used to go through are now blocked off, and hundreds of shops in the old souk have closed, either their metal doors welded shut by the Israelis or abandoned by shopkeepers who no longer had business in this tense place.

One of the settlements looms above the centuries-old market. The settlers, fanatics by anyone's standards, took to throwing shows and trash down on the narrow market paths below. Nets and fencing suspended over the streets (below) now prevent this detritus from hitting passersby. Hebron authorities are so eager to repopulate the old city that they are offering free housing, free schooling and free medical care as incentives to Palestinian families to return to the heart of the city. It would take that for people to be willing to endure the inconvenience and even humiliation literally and figured heaped up them by the small minority of settlers in their midst.

Visitors get an eyeful if they walk through the market, passing many forever-closed shops, en route to Harem el-Kahlil Mosque, which should be sacred to all three major mono-theistic religions. It holds the red and white striped  Tombs osf the Patriarchs -- where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and other members of the family are buried. They are revered by Arabs, Christians and Jews and should be sacred to all. But it was the site of one of the West Bank's worst incidents -- and there have been a lot of incidents. In 1994, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an American-born Israeli  physician with undisputed credentials as a fanatic, donned his Army reserve uniform, entered to mosque and threw a grenade, killing 29 people and wounding 125.

When we left the mosque and again passed through a floor-to-ceiling metal turnstile watched by an armed soldier and walked down the net-covered byways and shuttered market stalls, I bought a beaded bracelet in the colors of the Palestinian flag from one of the young vendors. It was a sad and sobering afternoon. There are many Israelis and non-Israeli Jews who favor peace talks and peace. But the government, with its many travel restrictions, makes such talks difficult. I hope something clicks in, that the conservatives and fnatics on both sides lose power and influence, and that future generations will live in harmony and peace.

En route out of town, we stopped at a glass and ceramics shop (three photosjust below) with one traditional glass-blower showing off his craft for visitors' camera. Then we briefly visited the pools of Solomon, an ingenious water storage and delivery system from antiquity. The pools are located in a shaded area that is currently roped off (bottom) while workmen do some restoration or repairs. Across the street is is a newer resort amnd conference center.

In the evening, we had dinner with Palestinian tourism VIPs at the Tent Restaurant back in Bethlehem. I had to make myself chat and socials, enjoy the group of young dancers and tasty food. Everything was good, but in truth, I continud to be haunted by Hebron and had trouble focusing on the feast.

West Bank Travels: Day 2, Part 1

Holy sites for beckon the faithful -- and their digital cameras

We started the morning at Shepherd's Fields (top image, below), where -- according to the New Testament -- the Angel of the Lord visited the shepherds to tell them of Jesus' birth. I learned that two millennia ago, the shepherds and also their animals spent their nights underground in caves and grottos in the soft limestone. The manger as usually depicted is therefore a much later European interpretation of where animals were kept. A hole in the ceiling let air and light in, and smoke out. A metal walkway down the side of the valley enables visitors to see some of these grottos, many with small rooms that are now used as chapels for small groups of the faithful to pray or sing. Benches and small altars (middle image) have been set up for these groups. On the valley rim is a domed church that we did not have time to visit.

We had breakfast at the nearby Golden Peak Hotel -- buffet and chance to meet with some Palestinians involved in various social justice and peace movementsa nd various good works, and also tourist promotion efforts to bring more visitors to Palestine and the West Bank. Nidal Abu Zuluf, who advocates for non-violence as inspired by anti-Apartheid actions in South Africa (and of course, Mahatma Ghani in India and Dr. Martin Luther King in the US) is most impressive. Karios Palestine is a Christian Palestinian document expressing that approach effecting change and bringing about social justice and equality.

The people, who harbor hopes for better times to come, are very different from images of Palestinians we see on our news programs, which tend to report on the violent and the negative. After a decade of military occupation by the Israeli army, the construction high walls all over the landscape to contain Palestinians and the imposition of Jewish settlements in their midst, it is remarkable that anyone can remain positive and try to help their people. But some -- many, in fact -- do.

The exterior of the Church of the Nativity is not beauitful, so don't expect something like the grand cathedrals of Europe. The hulking, undorned Byzantine structure has suffered from centuries that included assasult, netglecs and renovations that were often undertaken for defensive reasons. A large doorway was made narrowerand lower, so that a horse and rider could not enter and also so that men had to bend down to get through and there heads lobbed off if they were unwelcome.

Inside, the atmosphere is less reverential than I remember from a visit during the Society of American Travel Writers convention in Israel some 25 years ago. But that was before digital cameras, which cause people to travel around looking at the world through the image display. I am as guilty as anyone and do it too. People dress more casually now, talk more and more loudly, and are in a greater hurry than they were then. I'm not religious, but then, I lit a candle to honor my Aunt Margaret, the only church-goer in my fanily.This time, the group zipped through the side room when the candles are now sold.  I saw a few robed monks and priests and a couple of nuns -- far fewer propotionally now than then. A quarter of a century ago, the church seemed like a place of pilgrimage for the faithful. This time, I'm afraid that it felt more like something most tourists cross off their bucket list. The main church is cavernous, largely devoid of ancient ornamention but with the abundant lights and lanterns that characterize Eastern rite churches.

The main church is cavernous, largely devoid of ancient ornamention but with icons, lots of silver and abundant lights and lanterns that characterize Eastern rite churches.

 Under the Byzantine-style Orthodox portion of the double church is a grotto where Mary is believed to have given birth to the Baby Jesus. The spot, a silk/satin-draped niche (below), is marked with a plaque on the floor. Many people get down on hands and knees to touch or kiss the plaque, resulting in many photos of many backsides. Again, small rooms accommodate groups of pilgrims who sit on plastic chairs, praying or singing. A quarter of a century ago, I seem to remember a lot of lit candles and quieter contemplation. Not now.

St. Catherine's Church, the immediaely adjacent Catholic church built in the 19th century, is somewhat Gothic in inspiration. It has a vaulted ceiling, high clerestory windows and wooden pews, more closely resembling many a Catholic church around the world. Someone is refinishing wood right now, so people were walking through, photographing and even praying to the sound of an electric sander and the smell of varnish. Most people passed though it on their way underground to older grottos, caves and chapels. The upper church and Manger Square are the places from which Christmas Eve Mass is telecast around the world

Underneath is the grotto where St. Hieronymus (St. Jerome) lived and was entombed until the Crusaders stole his bones and moved them elsewhere. He is credited with translating the Bible into Latin. He was said to have been hermit, but he had a housekeeper and her son in the gotto, so he was a hermit wtih at least minimal companionship.

To be continued when I have time.