Border crossings

In the last three days, we have crossed two different borders. First, from Syria into Jordan, then from Jordan into Israel. Surprisingly, the Israeli border was not much stricer than the Jordanian. At each, we had to run our luggage through scanners and then wait for our visas to be issued. The biggest hangup was because one of our number had lost her passport in Turkey. Thus, every border-guard that looked at her temporary passport was suspicious of it being a forgery.

In Israel, we were rushed through the process and our director didn't even have to get his luggage scanned. Apparently, Israel is trying to improve its image by being extra nice at the borders. Still, some of us got interesting scrutiny. As I was walking into the building, a plainclothes guard carrying an M16 starting trying to call me aside. Since I didn't realize he was talking to me, I kept walking. Finally, he got my attention and wanted to know where I lived and if I was really part of the group. The same guard also pulled another guy in our group aside and demanded to know "Where do you pray". Apparently, his answer of "In my church" was satisfactory.

Once inside, as we went through the metal detectors, my passport was kept for 10 minutes while they checked something or other. Altogther, our group took barely 30 minutes to get through the entire border.

Now, we are staying in the Armenian Hospice alogn the Via Dolorosa in the Muslim quarter of the Old City. We can see the Dome on the Rock from our roof and the Wailing Wall is less than five minutes walk from our door. In the next two weeks we will be meeting with Israeli settlers, Palestinian leaders, and government representatives to discuss various aspects of the conflict here.