The Journey

Alarm was set for seven, but when it went off I reset it for fifteen more minutes. When that alarm went off, again, I turned it off and just rolled back over. The next time either of us woke up it was eleven o’clock and we decided that since this was vacation, it was one of the treats. We got ready to go out and caught a cab to the train station so that we could buy our tickets for Luxor, leaving in two days. Then we headed to Islamic Cairo and Al-Hussein mosque. We got our first Egyptian meal, pizza, and made our first Egyptian friend, Nargi. We sat in his restaurant for a little while. Nargi and his nargila joined us and we watched people fill the mosque for one of the five daily prayer sessions. The mosque filled until people were left to pray outside and we were able to take in the whole ritual.
After their ceremony, we finished our lunch, took our shoes off, and went inside the mosque. Some were still chanting and others just relaxing on the rug lined floor. I did not feel extremely welcomed and it was not like we blended in. No one said anything or was mean, but the looks we received were not all smiles. If I made eye contact with someone or gave a nod, then they would acknowledge me, but no words were exchanged. We kept it brief and made for the Khan El-Kahlili market. The mosque was at the mouth of the market and the following alleys were just lined with street shops and shacks. We walked around and admired, then crossed the street to the Mosque Al-Azhar, the oldest institution (university) in the world.
Then continued down the street and met Egyptian friend number two, Mohammed. He was a very nice guy, the Muslim Arnold Schwarzeneger, and wanted to show us around Islamic Cairo. We figured why not and began to follow him; he first took us Mosque Al-Salih Ayyub. The mosque was very old and had a minaret with a wonderful view of the entire city, even the pyramids in the distance, our first glance. The stairs go up in a circle and during the final leg up the minaret, the staircase goes pitch black and you must put a hand on the wall in the center to help yourself balance while you figure out where to step. From the mosque, Mohammed took us to a papyrus shop and we saw some beautiful artwork. Doron and I each got a couple of pieces and said our goodbyes to Mohammed. From here we headed for the Egyptian museum, home to a plethora of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
One of the many challenges in Egypt was the language barrier. Neither of us speak nor understand any Arabic, for instance, when we get cabs it is a challenge to communicate to the driver where we want to go. For the most part, we are hitting up the main sights, but even some of those require a lot of hand signals. So when we got a cab to the Egyptian museum, the driver thought we wanted the Nile river. Luckily the museum is on the Nile and we were a couple blocks away, so we just hopped out and walked the rest of the way. As we were about to cross the road in front of the museum, friend number three came into the picture. His name was Sharky (Sharuki?) and he recommended that we save the museum for another day, when we could afford more time to walk through. He suggested we split a cab with him to Giza, just outside the city of Cairo and where the pyramids sit. It made sense, the museum would close in an hour and sunset at the pyramids would be pretty special. So we took him up on it and headed out of the city.
Now, as nice as all of our friends have been, two out of the three have led to Doron and I spending some money. Sharky was one of the two and led us to his buddy’s guide shop. We ended up heading into the desert and checking the pyramids out by horseback. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and fun way to see the pyramids and the Sphinx . We got to go up and climb the third biggest pyramid, something that I do not believe would have happened if we were just walking around on our own (I don’t think it is allowed, I mean, our guide kinda snuck us around the side of the pyramid and was whispering the whole time). This concluded our tour and we rode back to the guide post and there was Sharky, just hanging out.
He invited us over to his house for dinner and cocktails, but we passed and cabbed back into Cairo. As we drove out of Giza the sun was setting behind the pyramids and it was like a painting, absolutely magnificent. We seemed to go the long way home, but D and I were not complaining, we just looked out the back window.
When we returned to Cairo, we decided to go for a bite and this is where we met friend number four, Doctor Sherif. Doc Sherif worked at the Egyptian museum as an Animal Mummy Reconstructionist (he restored discovered mummies of animals). The Doc led us to an Egyptian restaurant that was very cheap and looked pretty clean. We ordered kabobs (lamb) and falafel.; it was our first truly ethnic meal and we were both satisfied with the outcome. Doc only stayed long enough to help us order, but told us to call him the next day while at the museum and maybe he could bring us downstairs and show us his work. After the meal we were both exhausted and walked home to our “apartment” for the strangest shower I have ever had.
There were three bathrooms in our hotel/hostel and all three contained showers, well sorta. On the wall was a shower head and no where in the bathroom was a designated shower area (the toilet is in the shower, the bathroom floor was also the shower floor, the shower is the bathroom). The water just sprays from the wall and the floor was somewhat slanted toward a drain. After a shower and a couple games of sheshbesh, D and I went to sleep, promising not to sleep in the next day.

Arrived at the border at half past nine and began the process of crossing into Egypt. I could not have had an easier time getting out of Israel and into Egypt, but my traveling partner did not have it so easy. Doron is an American-Israeli and did not bring his Israeli passport with him, just his U.S. one. The customs agent on the Israeli side then pulled Doron away to fill out some paperwork, so I went and hung out in no man’s land between the two countries (as well as continents).
Thirty minutes later he joined me and we continued the crossing process. We walked into the Egyptian arrival hall, put our bags on the x-ray machine and walked through the metal detectors. I went through without a hitch and started to fill out a customs form, but again, Doron was held up. It had nothing to do with his nationality, but rather the machine picked up on something in his backpack that was not welcome to experience Egypt. After a bribe and handing over the unwanted object, we got our passports stamped and entered Egypt, into the city of Taba on the northern tip of Sinai. We had only eight minutes until our ten o’clock bus to Cairo and had to hire a cab to take us the 1/4 kilometer (got accustomed to the metric system) down the road to the bus stop.
We just made it to the bus on time, threw our bags beneath and climbed aboard. The bus pulled off and within the first thirty minutes, we went through three checkpoints. At all three, the soldiers would ask us for our passports and bus tickets. I did not mind these interruptions because it made us feel safe. We drove west, through Sinai, and through the Suez tunnel into mainland Egypt.
I went in and out of sleep for the next six hours, but once we got closer to Cairo my head was going from side to side in awe. The city is amazing and buzzing with action. Public busses do not close their doors and people just hop on and off, sometimes even hang off the sides. There are not many traffic signals and if there are, they are rarely obeyed. Pedestrians only walk in crosswalks by coincidence and cars seldom stop to allow a pedestrian to cross. Everyone just weaves in between each other, something that took a little while to get used to.
Once we got off of the bus the cab drivers were right there soliciting, making it hard to get off the last step of the bus. Even though we knew the price the driver wanted was more than we should pay, we hired him to take us to our intended hotel (even the “Tourist Police” officer was assisting in the racketeering). The entire way there the driver was telling us not to stay at the hotel we wanted and tried to sell us on his “buddy’s” hotel. We got to the hotel and climbed the six flights of stairs, only to discover that the accommodations were not what we were looking for and walked out. Instead of walking down the stairs we took the elevator, by far the scariest elevator ride of my life. It was a cage of death, with old french doors that did not close. It leaned to one side and shook the entire way down. I almost kissed the floor when we got out, but remembered where I was.
There was another hotel that I read about in my guide book and it was just around the corner. It was pretty grimy, but cheap and had a good location. The rooms was not bad, but the bathroom and building represented the price. Doron and I got a double room and it was something like $3 a night. We got settled and went out for some food. A lot of people had told us of stomach illnesses that resulted in some Egyptian cuisine, so we played it safe for our first meal and visited a McDonald’s (ha ha). It was definitely the most satisfying and cleanest McDonald’s I had ever been in, a little scary. After our dinner we walked around and got associated with the streets of our neighborhood, downtown Cairo. We decided to go to a movie and have a lazy night, thinking it would prepare us for a full day of sightseeing the next day.
After the movie I mapped out an itinerary for the next day and called it a night; I was overcome with excitement for what was to come our way. Finally put the guide book down and went to sleep, by the way, lots of mosquitos.

On May 21st, 2006, Doron Schulman and Josh Goldstein got on a bus leaving from Kibbutz Ketura and destined for Eilat. Their journey had one mission, obtain a visa to visit the African country of Egypt. This was supposed to be an easy task, but like most things in foreign countries, nothing is easy. This trip only set the tone for a journey that would change two men forever.

5/21 Visas[u]
The bus ride was not too long and the Egyptian consulate was not far from the bus stop. After a brief cab ride we were climbing the stairs, only to find a group of irritated travelers hanging out on the front porch. One of the guys greeted us and invited us to sit down and get comfortable. Apparently the General Consulate was busy with a conference call and would not be signing any visas until he was finished with the call. Fortunately, this worked in our favor because what our friends who had visited Egypt never mentioned, was that a passport photo needed to be handed in with the visa application.
So we hailed a cab and went back to the bus station where there was a Kodak shop was nearby. After getting some pictures taken we cabbed back out to the consulate. The wait was only thirty minutes and we received our stamped passports at the same time as those who had been waiting since the consulate opened. Then it was back to the kibbutz to pack and get some rest.

When I awoke, I was not ready to start a new day. I was real hung over and needed to hydrate. Deborah was already awake and making breakfast, which was so wonderful. I got up and parked myself next to the water jug, my new best friend. After breakfast we got ready for the day and headed back to the Ha’carmel market where on Tuesdays and Fridays they have a art fair along with the normal market. The weather was perfect and it was time to soak up some sun.
On our was down to the market Jeremy’s schoolmate Danny met up with us and we walked down to the market. The crafts were marvelous and so creative. One lady had clocks made out of flattened, glass liquor bottles and another had baskets made of recycled newspapers, but one would never know if she did not mention it. They looked like normal, straw baskets, but if looked at closely you could see article and pictures. We walked through and then decided to pick up some lunch. We stopped at a restaurant on one of the street corners and were advised to order the “toast sandwiches.”
Jeremy and I split a market salad, a typical cucumber and tomato mound with huge piles of carrots, tuna, and corn on top, and “feta toast,” a toasted bagel sandwich of feta, pesto, and tomatoes. It is more than just the huge portions that make every meal enjoyable, everything is just so fresh and the combinations of flavors are amazing . Unfortunately, I broke my streak of no meat, but I got over that as soon as I took my first bite. So far, I have not received a meal that did not satisfy my every want and need (especially when you pay no more than $15 dollars). After the feast we walked back up through the fair and I, now the experienced “Tel-Avivian,” showed Allie the shop where I purchased my phone. It is nice to walk into a store in a foreign land and be greeted by a familiar face.
The girls were going to rent a car and driving to the Dead Sea for the night, so we walked down the beach to the rental shop. When we got there I took a seat and was whipped by a wave of exhaustion (still very hung over as well). The car the girls got was by far the nicest Ford Focus I had ever seen, especially for a rental, and Jeremy drove us home. He was stoked because it was his first time driving in eight months and did not realize how much he missed it until we pulled out the parking lot.
Jeremy’s street crosses with Dizengoff St., which is very busy and left turns are only permitted at specific times during the day. As a result, police park a little ways up from the corner, usually right in front of Jeremy’s building. They wait for people to make the left when not permitted and then walk into the middle of the street and instruct the drivers to pull over. In the twenty minutes that I was out front, I watched them get six or seven different people (it did not seem to get old for the policemen).
After the girls took off Jeremy and I got comfortable on the couch and watched “Waiting for Guffman,” one of four hilarious movies directed by Christopher Guest (others being “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Best In Show,” and “A Mighty Wind”). We both laughed heavily and then topped it off with some more sheshbesh. Finally, I was almost back to normal; laughter is truly the best cure for any pain or sickness.
Since both of us had to get up with the sun, we made it an early night. In the morning Jeremy was going to take his motorcycle test and I was boarding a bus for the south. Tel-Aviv has treated me very well and I know I will return before my time in Israel is through.

Once again I woke up early, sleeping just feels secondary right now because there is so much to do and see. I moved into the living room and set up my computer and sat down to a bowl of some of the best granola I have ever had. Jeremy went off to class, but returned not too long after because it ended up getting canceled. This gave us a chance to go walk around before Jeremy’s third guest arrived. Jeremy, Deborah, and I headed down to the Ha’carmel market to walk around and get some food.
The market was buzzing with action and you could find anything you desired, whether it was fresh produce and fish or clothes and toys. Jeremy picked up some whole wheat pitas because he will not eat the white ones since they contain a lot of sugar. We walked around looking for somewhere to sit down and eat. Jeremy led us off of the market’s main strip and turned down a side street. Down a couple blocks was a place similar to the restaurant that Jeremy and I found in Jaffa. It was off of the main drag and filled the table with plates. We got some of the typical dishes, like hummus, salads, and falafel, but also ordered a plate of shakshuka. Shakshuka is a blend of tomatoes, onions, and seasonings served in a skillet and is heated up to cook eggs that are cracked and cooked over the blend of veggies. It hardens a little and can be cut into slices like a pie and tastes incredible.
With full bellies we headed back to Jeremy’s so that he and Deborah could head over to the airport and pick up their friend Allie. To kill a little time before leaving for the airport, Jeremy and I played a couple quick games of sheshbesh (backgammon). I stayed behind and began the book Catch-22. Jeremy has a wonderful porch off of his room that faces the street and I decided to bring the nargila outside and sunbathe while I read.
Jeremy and crew returned after a little while and Allie had her mind set on some falafel (she had been traveling for over 24 hours). Deborah chose to stay behind and take a nap, so Jeremy, Allie and I went on a quick falafel mission (as most of you know, I rarely turn down an opportunity to enjoy fine cuisine). Jeremy took us to a wonderful eatery where the falafel balls were prepared fresh for each customer. The shop owner did it all, he not only prepared a variety of different types of falafel balls for our sandwiches, but served them in warm, whole wheat pitas. They were exploding with goodness and a taster for each part of your palette. I rarely find myself hungry during the day because after each time I eat, I am so stuffed that I can barely move (severe itis).
It was late in the afternoon and we were all feeling worn out, so we met Jeremy’s girlfriend, Yafit, for some coffee. We all sat around, sharing conversation and all benefited from the caffeine boost. Although the last thing I needed was more food, we had to make another stop at the falafel stand (it’s just that good). We brought the food back to Jeremy’s and got ready to paint the town. Now that all of us had made it to Israel, it was only right that we go out for some drinks. First, we had some cocktails at Jeremy’s apartment and then Yafit wanted to take us to a bar called Friends.
The bar was about a fifteen minute walk away and super dark inside (apparently typical of bars in Tel-Aviv). Our bartender was a tall Israeli that spoke very good english due to some collegiate studies in the states. Ofir used to be a volleyball player at Pepperdine, transferred to Duke, then to NYU, only to come home before graduating due to a shoulder injury. He was very good at his job, rarely letting my drink empty out. We spent the whole night drinking like fish and closed the place down. Most of you know that I am not a heavy drinker, but my inhibitions were taken from me at customs when I entered the country.
I was quite drunk and it made the walk home enjoyable. We walked past the corner store where the day before I befriended the store keeper in my search for a cell phone. I jogged across the street to thank him for helping me out and conversed for a little while. Aaron gave me a couple of bottles of water, which was much appreciated on the our stroll home. We made it back to Jeremy’s and all got ready for bed. Thus far, everyday has kept me moving and come bedtime all it takes is for me to go to sleep is my head making contact with the pillow.