Middle East Essay: A Peaceful Vacation

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  • I can't scan in my metaphor poster. I kinda missed the point of the metaphors going from concrete to abstract, so I won't post them. Sorry. I did the Prison of the Middle East.

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May change/be updated - still in progress - may still contain inaccuracies

This is a work of fiction!

A Peaceful Vacation 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 on staying in Israel. The pictures I saw of Israel seemed pretty nice. It seemed pretty calm there. 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 the United Arab Emriates, Saudi Arabia and the occupided Palestinian territories.

Highway in Dubai

I left the airport and st arted 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 they possibly tolerate terro rism here? Commerce and oil are king in this town, it seemed very stable.

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 t hat 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.

Sau di Arabian Desert

Saudi Arabia was dry in fact. However it was in more then the way I just mentioned. A desert covers most of this country. It seemed to go on forever like the ocean back home. What would happen if you got lost in it? Big expanses o f sand dunes stretch for as far as the eye can see in either direction. It sort of felt scary!

Another thing I was warned to avoid in Saudi Arabia was sharia law. It's this strict religious code enforced by the government, which is a monarchy. If you're caught stealing, they will cut your hand off. No thank you! No wonder they warned me about stay away from trouble with the police. Overall, however, Saudi Arabia was pretty nice. They used oil to finance their future, like the UAE.

File:Bu ilding.jpg
Palestinian Bombed Building

The last country I drove through before entering Israel was the occupied Palestinian territories. This place would seem like a empty wasteland, people lived here. In addition, Israeli tank s rolled down the street and Israeli plans thundered overhead. It seemed as if every 3rd building was bombed out. How could these people put up with living in this environment?

I was getting hungry by this time, so I wanted to stop somewhere for lunc h. 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, le t alone eat there. Think of all of the diseases those place must harbor!

So, 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. 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 or America. In fact, I'm starting to like this place. They even have malls with my favorite designer stores like Gucci in the capital, Tel Aviv. I could definitely live here! "Why can't Palestine be like this place," I thought as I entered the McDonald's.

A West Bank Bombed Bus

Boom! All of a sudden, a suicide bomber detonated right in front of me! I was scared for my 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.

The next day, most of the people in the city acted as if nothing much 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 affect them? What's more, how could these people live with the constant fear of death day after day?

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

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. [1] They were just like the ones at home. I was having a blast touring the country. Jerusalem was also a lot of fun. The city was a mixture of old and new. 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 to come. The Muslims seem quite happy with theur place of wrship the way it is curretly. In fact, the destruction of the Dome of the Rock is what some historians believe to be the most likely possible cause of World War 3.

Sadly (sp), my vacation was soon over. It went so fast, the way all vacation do. In fact, it was a quite normal trip except for that incident. But now, it was time to go back home. Overall, I was happy with my trip. I had lots of fun in Israel. But I am thinking about what it would be like to live with such volatility! What would it be like to know that suicide bombers might explode in front of you everyday! These poor people live with this fear for their entire lives. I would not want to live with this instability in Philadelphia! I would die everyday from the fear of being killed! No thank you!


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