Postcards from Armageddon

 

                                                                        Tel Har Megiddo, Israel 

My blog entries may seem incoherent at the best of times, so who knows how today's attempt will go. Yesterday we made the marathon journey home from Israel, including the 12-hour direct flight, and flopped into bed at 3:30 AM Tel Aviv time. I decide that going to the gym, first thing, might aid in resetting my jetlag but now I'm not so sure. 

This was a remarkable experience in Israel, and we travelled quite literally from one end of the country to the other and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee with a careful soak in the Dead Sea and snorkelling in the Red Sea to boot. This was my fourth trip to Israel but first in nearly thirty years. It was tailored to our interests thanks to Ruth's sister and brother-in-law who have lived there most of their adult lives and were our gracious hosts.  

Family and friends were dubious about our choice to visit for a number of reasons, as were we. After we booked the current right-wing coaliton government came to power and its policies are disturbing, Somehow we arrived there after major protests abated, after missile strikes from Lebanon stopped, and other violence largely calmed down. 

Of course, Iran did threaten to wipe Haifa and Tel Aviv, two cities we visited, off the face of the Earth while we were there,  at the slightest provocation -- whatever that means. Israel lives in a constant state of wariness and readiness, yet daily life bustles along. While our hosts took us from one end of the country to the other we made train forays to Haifa and Tel Aviv on our own. We were often sitting in the midst of soldiers, teenagers chatting it up the way teens do in North America except that they were in uniform and sometimes carrying automatic weapons. 

One of the many interesting stops was at Har Megiddo, a great mound or tel, an archeological layer cake of civilizations which have occupied the site -- at least 30. This was a strategic place on trade routes from Egypt to Mesopotamia and eastward and the nearby plains were the place of great battles through the millennia, including during the ill-fated Crusades. That name, Har Megiddo, became our anglicized Armaggedon, where the last battle between good and evil will take place. Megiddo was the inspiration for James Michener's epic 60's novel, The Source.

There is a strong sense that Israel is still "ground zero" or a focal point for world events despite the fact that the length of the country is about the same distance as from Toronto to Montreal. In the days ahead I'll share some of our excursions, experiences, and insights. Please stay tuned!