Difference between revisions of "Middle East Essay: A Peaceful Vacation"

Revision as of 02:09, 22 November 2006

World Cultures Middle East Essay Instructions, Rubric

As I stepped off the plane in the Abu Dubai airport (AUH) I was amazed. The place was brand new and clean. I hardly even realized I was in the Middle East, the most troubled spot in the world. Why, then, had the State Department warned me not to come here! I didn't see any trouble, where's the conflict? Iraq, I guess, but I planning to steer clear of Iraq! I know I read about it every day in the newspapers, but I don't see any problems here. I am only planning to stay in Israel. The pictures I saw there seemed pretty nice. But then again, I also wanted to see other parts of the Middle East, so I chose to fly to Abu Dubai and drive to Israel. This will give me a flavor of Dubai, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories.

Highway in Dubai

I left the airport and started my drive through the Middle East. Abu Dubai was a busy, modern city. It seemed very western to me with all of the luxury hotels and skyscrapers. The place seemed like New York except much cleaner and newer. How could terrorism possibly occur here? Commerce and oil are king in this town.

I soon moved along into Saudi Arabia. However, I had a little problem at the border. They confiscated my bottle of liquor I was planning to bring home as a gift! They claimed that the entire country was dry! I remember hearing about the probation in the US and the problems that caused. I wounder how Saudi Arabia could cope. I would soon find out, as I rolled across the border.

Saudi Arabian Desert

Saudi Arabia was dry in fact. However it was in more then one way. This was a desert. Big expanses of sand dunes stretched as far as the eye can see in either direction from the highway. I was also warned that Saudi Arabia practiced this sharia law. They said that it was this sort of strict religious code, so they warned me about stay away from trouble with the police. Overall, Saudi Arabia was pretty nice. They used oil to finance their future, like the UAE. However, outside of the cities, the people looked very poor.

Palestinian Bombed Building

The last country I drove through before entering Israel was the occupied Palestinian territories. This place was like a empty wasteland, except there were people living in it. Israeli tanks rolled down the street and Israli plans thundered overhead. It seemed as if every 3rd building was bombed out. How could these people put up with this environment?

I was getting hungry by this time, so I wanted to stop somewhere for lunch. I didn't see a single decent place to stop. There wasn't a McDonald's or western restaurant for miles around. The only half-decent looking place was boarded up and closed. All of the other places seemed too dirty. I would not even go near them, not alone eat. Think of all of the diseases this place must harbor!

As I entered Israel, I was famished. But I momentarily lost my hunger as I noticed a big different in the landscape between here and Palestine. In Israel the streets were full of life and crowded shops. The farms were full of food and were very colorful. Water seemed to be everywhere. I heard this is a desert, but I don't see any evidence of one. There were even a few McDonald's in the city. This country seemed like Dubai and America. I'm starting to like this place. They even have malls with my favorite designer stores like Gucci in the capital, Tel Aviv. "Why can't Palestine be like this place," I thought as I entered McDonald's.

Boom! All of a sudden, a suicide bomber detonated right in front of me! I was scared for life. I had never know this sort of horror. Against my better judgment, I ran to the scene of the explosion. Blood and glass were everywhere! The was a small crater in the road with a twisted pile of metal of what was once a car. Smoke was smoldering up from the wreckage. The police were all ready running to the scene of the crime. They ordered everyone back, afraid another suicide bomber would take advantage of the crowd. I quickly decided to leave in fear of my life.

Most of the people in the city acted as if nothing had happened. This response was nothing like what I remembered after 9/11. How could this not affect the spirit of the Israeli's??? The mood in Tel Aviv seemed so normal! How could these people not let this tragic effect them the next day? What's more how could these people live with the constant fear of death?

I guess I would soon find out. I decided to do what the Israelis did and not let the bombing scare me. So I decided to continue my vacation, so the next day I went parasailing. It was great to be out on the ocian feeling the wind in my hair. I totally forgot about what had happened yesterday!

The day after that, I want to the Khamat Gader water park. The next day I stopped at several of the 133 museums in Isreal. I was having a blast touring the country. [1] Jerusalem was also a lot of fun. The Temple Mound, I learned, is a very volatile spot. The Muslim Dome of the Rock now stands where the old Jerusalem Temple use to be. The Jews believe that that is where the third temple needs to be built for the Messiah.

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Saddly it was now time to go back home. I flew back happy with my trip, except for that scare. But I was thinking about what it would be like to live with such volatility! I would not want that instability in Philadelphia. I would die everyday from the fear of being killed!