On the Jesus trail

As I've mentioned before this has been a very strange trip for me. Every day all these questions pop up in my mind and while some of them are answered instantly, by the very kind people who have been accompanying me on this journey, others kind of just linger in the air like the right answer will find them if they just give it enough time. I'm constantly in my head, wondering about this and that and trying to puzzle together every single little thing I learn and experience into some logical order that makes sense in context with my every day life. It's exhausting and overwhelming but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I've been asked why I can't just relax, kick back and enjoy the ride by going to the beach and just take the attractions I visit as they are instead of being in a constant mode of ponder. The answer is quite simple: it's because that's just not me. I have always been very curious and thirsty for knowledge and I can't just turn that off because there happens to be sun and some palm trees around. Listening to people's stories, asking questions and conversing with people that hold different views from my own is like nourishment for me. And what better country to reflect on the human experience than this hot pot of religion and contrasting views that is Israel?

Religion rules the world. The key to understand a person is understanding what he or she believes in.  Even in the Nordic countries where most people are religious only by name there are immigrants that follow different rules, sects and congregations that challenge the norms and even social rules that have their roots in the spiritual world. Israel is home to important shrines and holy places to three of the major religions of the world (Jews, Muslims and Christians) but also some lesser known groups like the Bahá'í and Druze. Many of the tourist sites, I would even go as far as saying most of them, have some references or significance to these faiths so there's no escaping it. Apart from that, IYHA has planned my trip in such a way that every day I'm traveling with someone from their organization. This is a unique once in a life time opportunity to experience a country with a different local every day and I have to make the most of it. How would I otherwise know that in a little Druze village somewhere close to Akko people are considered weird if they wear their seat belts inside the town's limits or that in the the same village it's believed that if a cat gets hit by a car it's because it decided to commit a suicide? I can come to Israel again a 100 times but THIS will never happen again!

Speaking of the IYHA and the Israeli hostels: They are nice. Too nice almost. Every hostel I've been to has offered great spacious rooms, private bathrooms, minibars and a TV. And free WiFi of course. My favorite by far was Akko where I spent last night but that doesn't mean the other two weren't nice. Agron Hostel in Jerusalem was the least fancy but it offers a great location close to the old city, the city center and convenient bus connections to just about anything. The one I'm at now, Karei Deshe, is like some sort of castle next to the Sea of Galilee and it even comes with a private beach. What I loved about Akko was both that it's brand new and really nice but also the spirit of the place somehow. The hostel was under siege from elderly Israeli artists that were there on some sort of artist retreat and they were hilarious to watch, even though I didn't understand anything they were saying, and quite endearing. The location is amazing, right next to the old city, but the rooftop of the hostel is open to its visitors where you can see amazing views over the old city and all the way to Haifa. 

One of my favorite moments of this trip happened up there last night when there was an Arabic wedding next to the hostel and the noise that came from it made me go up and take a look. I had a view over the whole scene and stood there by myself watching people dancing and young men being carried around while everyone cheered and clapped.It was like being a fly on a wall except I was on a roof. A little bit earlier I had heard the call to prayer from the beautiful mosque in town which dominates the views of the old city. It was then that it dawned on me that I'm actually in the Middle East.

One thing that I will say though that the hostels here are lacking a bit in the social aspect of things which makes you a bit lonely when you are traveling on your own. I think they are a bit better suited for groups and families. Not that I'm complaining - everyone has been SO nice and accommodating and they are really working together to help me make the most of this trip. Like Khaled (I think that's how it's spelled), the manager of Akko hostel told me yesterda, he feels like he's part of a big family and he even invited a lot of the people from the whole association to his wedding when he got married a few years ago. For these 10 days I'm the visiting cousin that the family takes turn babysitting and showing around.For that I'll be forever grateful.