Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes, I am home, safely. Thanks for your concern you guys.
I'm going to sound like a horrible person, a bigot, a racist, worse, but I do NOT like Islamic culture. Egyptian Arabs were horrible. I have never felt more uncomfortable. I didn't fear for my safety but you can feel their eyes on you and as a woman I am definitely treated as second class, I would argue third class because I am not a Muslim woman. The night Israel struck Gaza was an interesting one. Three of us were standing on a beach in Nuweiba looking at oil tankers in the Red Sea, and there were lights visible across the sea in Saudi Arabia and there were a lot of planes, I had a feeling something was going awry. The next morning we left for Jordan (MUCH MUCH MUCH nicer people, cleaner people, more respectable, I'd go back).

We were dropped off at the port and it was horrifying. Excuse my language but it was really a s**t hole. Literally. Walking past the Egyptian men was awful, they'd make comments and ask me to sleep with them. We were stuck there, in filth, for hours and then they put us westerners on a bus and we were not allowed to look out of the window and the dashboard was painted over so the driver only could see the road. We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere and went through interrogation on top of them checking our passports so that there was no sign of us being Israeli or having been in Israel (even though Egypt has a peace treaty).

The ferry was as filthy as the holding place. People washing their feet in the bathrooms, sleeping on the filthy floor, Palestinian PLO scarves EVERYWHERE. I got stared at more than the other women with me, and I think it's for my dark curly hair, everyone else was noticeably American.

Jordan was much nicer to us. Lovely people for the most part. After the last call to prayer on Friday there was a Palestinian demonstration that was interesting to watch. I got out of there the next morning.

Part of me wishes I just went to Israel. I'm glad I took off my chai, even though I was reluctant. I had a Christian Arab ask me if I was a Jew, and he was extremely hostile while he said it, I don't know what even provoked that. I told him I was Catholic. it was nuts.

In anycase.





Sigh* Those are the mountains of Israel behind me.

Toda!

No I don't think we have met, but it is nice to meet you =]. I'm Amanda!

I was coming out of David's Tomb in the Old City, I turned my mobile on and it said:
"Jawal! Smell the jasmine and taste the olives! Jawal welcomes you to Palestine! For customer support, text HELP to 2345."

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Egypt. I'll be telling my Egyptian friend about that one. It does remind me of this one time, in Jericho... *drifts off to post on other thread...*
I have one of those scarfs! Don't ask, it was a present from a goyim friend. And those mountains in the background! I've walked on them this time I visited the Dead sea.

To be fair, Media, you were entering their home territory, and you were looking very much like something they recognized. Your body was outlined by your clothing so that they could see your figure, and your hair was uncovered. Of COURSE men reacted to you as if you were (G*D forbid) a prostitute; that's how they look there. The next time you visit the Middle East, wear something that conceals your figure and your hair, and people will behave very respectfully. That is, they will pretend not to notice you, allowing you privacy from their eyes, while thinking "What a modest young woman, how respectful, how dignified -- I wonder if she would be a suitable match for my son."

In the US I've noticed the exact same thing, only here, the Jewish and Muslim neighborhood wouldn't see me at all when I was in my T-shirts and jeans, but suddenly were welcoming the moment I put on a skirt, a longer shirt, and a scarf. In fact, there are times when I've made friends specifically because I was dressed this way, and someone came up to me with a smile and said, "Are you Jewish? I thought so!" or "Are you Muslim? Ahh, yes, we do have similar customs, don't we?"

In the Western world, "nakedness" is the norm -- that is, bare legs and arms, bare midriff, low-cut tops for women or shirtlessness for men, body-clinging clothing, flowing hair for women, bare-shaven faces for men. Western Jews and Muslims know how to act with "naked" people... by not interacting. But in the Eastern world, it's not nearly as common, and the only people who would reveal their bodies are those who would willingly share their bodies; it's an intentional advertisement. You can't blame them for misunderstanding your intention.

As for people washing feet in the bathroom, well, they had to, didn't they? A Muslim washes face, hands, head, and feet before praying. They also perform wudu after certain other bodily functions and activities -- breaking wind, eliminating urine or feces, having sexual activity. After other activities (including but not limited to menstruation and preparing a body for burial), one performs a more thorough cleaning called ghusl. A public bathroom is the correct place to be washing feet, when one is away from one's home or mosque when prayer time rolls around.

Jews wash our hands three times before praying and before eating bread, and at certain other times. In fact, in the times of a standing Holy Temple, we also wash our faces, heads, ears, arms, and feet as well, almost exactly as Muslims do when performing wudu.

Their ghusl is an echo of our mikvah preparations. A Jew undergoes preparation and mikvah immersion either as the final step of conversion to Judaism, or as a preparation to marriage, or as a monthly event separating the time of menstrual separation and the time of conjugal permissiveness (being permitted to touch your husband again now that you are no longer in a state of nidah, menstrual separation). We also give a dead body a purification and a mikvah immersion, and there are mikvah immersions at other key points in life, too. We have this in common.

But it's a good thing you said "la shukram" so much. "Shukr" is "gratitude" in Arabic, so expressing gratitude with "la shukram" probably saved you a lot of problems.

I'm glad you made it back safely, but I'm sorry you had to put up with all of that!