Turkey: You will get used it it in time

"WELCOME TO TURKEY" reads the hotel handout, WE WISH YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR COUNTRY WITH HAPPY MEMORIES.

Here in Istanbul, rumors of Turkish hospitality live up to expectations. I have been served tea three times, queried about my ancestry, invited to go drinking, and given an extensive lesson on the knotting in Turkish Carpets (a double knot weave is better than single knot, and older enhances the tones of the natural dyes).

OUR CURRENCY IS CALLED AS "NEWTURKISHLIRE (YTL)" YOU WILL GET USED TO IT IN TIME.

The exchange rate to dollars is roughly 1.5, so i'm spending like a european on holiday. There are an enormous number of things to buy: this is a city of trade. The grand bazaar is endless, the city has a decicedly mercantile feel.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET ON THE STREETS IN TURKEY...THERE IS AN INCREASE ON THEAF BY NON-TURKISH PEOPLE AGAINST TOURISTS.

People on the streets are very aggressive, though it's impossible to tell who is or isn't Turkish. Sellers and restaurant stringers establish eye contact and feign insult ("I was just talking to you").

The people i've met are wonderfully locquacious, knowledgeable, and internationally aware... more so than in any other city in the world.

When in Jerusalem, Take the Bus

Spent the morning relocating from the Old City hostel to the Inbal Hotel, with an hour of frappucinoed Internet access at Aroma Cafe in the Jerusalem's fancy new mall, complete with a Versace.

I spent the afternoon bus jumping on the way to Beit Hakerem, to meet some long-lost members of the Magarik clan. The two boys, F and M, are talented artists (separate post forthcoming), and all three members of the family are fluently tri-lingual in Russian, Hebrew, and English.

Transmigration is a funny thing, particularly for the Jews.

I spent the evening at the Shalom Hartman Center, and heard Rabbi David Hartman lecture, in a rare and brilliant appearance. He spoke on Contingency in Jewish texts, focusing on the Joseph story, with frequent and wonderful detours into his life, personal and intellectual relationships, contemporary jewish practice, and current Israeli politics.

It was a very moving lecture; he told wonderful stories about his mother, shared his pluralistic and progressive vision for the Jewish people (defending egalitarianism, the Reform movement, and taking a page from Obama's book in speaking of the need for realistic hope), and confronted his mortality and physical pain.

I had a second dinner with D, an old Israeli friend of mine who is engaged in dialogue work in Israel. While he continues to bring Palestinians and Israelis together for dialogue, he is not optimistic about current prospects for peace. I ate shakshuka (cooked eggs with tomato sauce) and shared life plans.

I leave for the West Bank tommorow morning.

The Old City Revisited

I write from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, after hours wandering around the Muslim, Christian, and Armenian Quarters. My previous visits here have been on group tours, the the freedom is quite frightening- I am almost entirely unable to navigate the alleys and streets, and many of the merchants and people on the streets are incredibly unfriendly. There is a sense of deep hostility and resentment in the Muslim Quarter, which I have not encountered before in Israel... it is disturbing, and after two hours I feel angry myself. Why was I not taken here on previous trips? In a sense, I have been completely shielded from an entire side of the place.

Walking down one of the narrow streets in the muslim quarter, I walk past a small military post, and onto a wide, clean, white plaza where people are moving slowly and deliberately. My curiosity is piqued- I have never seen this before. I move slowly and carefully, until I am stopped harshly by an arabic-speaking guard, who escorts me back to the soldiers.

I find my way into the Jewish Quarter, and am overwhelmed with relief and familiarity.

ROI: Live from Kfar Macciabiah

I've come to Israel to attend ROI120, a leadership summit sponsored by the Center for Leadership Initiatives, a project of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation.

The best aspect of the conference are its participants, who hail from 29 differant countries (40 from the US, 40 from Israel, 40 from Europe/Latin America/other). I suspect that they were not chosen based on prestige or pedigree, but rather on being innovative/risk-friendly. They are wonderful people to be around professionall- young people with passion, vision, and sincere interest in changing the world through collaborative projects, organizations, artwork, and discourse. The geographic diversity brings together whole sets of Jews who would not otherwise know each other: i've met young jews from Austria, Luxembourg, India, Mexico, etc. Artists, journalists, bankers, storytellers, technology entrepreneurs... even comedians!

It is almost impossible to get any sleep- there are too many people to meet.

On Eagles Wings: Arriving in Israel

I arrived in the Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday morning, at roughly 4:00am. The LOT Polish flight was a grey journey: old plane, odd meal, full of random poles/russian/israelis...nothing special.

Was greeted by passport control officer who joylessly cross-examined me... my complicated and somewhat evasive replies were met with a frusturated plea/assertion of authority: "you know, I am the customs officer, so it is MY job to ask YOU the questions." She then proceeded to take my boarding pass (I later returned to retrieve it).

The "new" Ben-Gurion Airport is quite impressive, I get the impression that the number of carriers which now fly to Israel has doubled or even tripled since last I was here in 2003.

This was an Israeli arrival unlike any other: in previous trips, i'd been with a group from a New York El-Al Flight: this time I arrived alone, from Poland.

After an hour or two of wandering around the airport, I took the first morning train to the Tel Aviv Bus station, and walked a few blocks to board the 35 bus. The bus moved through a working class neighborhood (an Israeli later referred to the area as slums, the first time i'd heard this phrase uttered in Israel), with morning commuters who treated me and my suitcases as tolerable nuisances. They moved me around based on the boarding and exiting of other passengers, and the bus driver pointed out Kfar Macciabiah, the site of the conference.

I arrived at roughly 7:30am, checked into the lovely hotel, took a shower, and went promptly to bed.

Back in Warsaw

I took a 14:00 train from Gdansk to Warsaw, and arrived back in city slightly after 19:00, to the setting sun- the nicest weather i've seen in Warsaw.

Am flying direct to Tel Aviv tonight, from 10:55 to 3:55. I am very curious to see who else will be on a flight from Poland to Israel: for Jews, from the old world to the new.

Polish Trains

Polish Trains were a pleasure, I took

-the intercity super-express from Warsaw to Krakow (lovely, new cars with AC and free tea, with a laptop plugs).., back.

-the first class warsaw->gdansk, (long ride, not as modern a train)

-the express gdansk-warsaw (very long ride, poorly air conditioned, no free tea, old dining cars with tableclothes and frequent unexplained stops).

On no occaisons did I engaged in conversation with other passengers. Most refused to move when I passed through aisles, but when I moved for others or held car doors open, I got smiles and thank yous.

All in all, traveling by train poland is a pleasant experience.

The Warsaw Convention: JFK-WAW

The Swiss Air logo is lovely.

It may be the most impressive aspect of the airline. I flew out of a frenzied JFK, on a packed and remarkably small airbus plane that became airborne more than an hour after the scheduled takeoff. It took an hour to serve dinner, which was not bad- the flight attendants were tall, blonde, friendly, and flirtatious. The entertainment was limited; watched part of The International, which was accompanied by Toy Story and Toy Story 2 on the surprisingly small 5-8 movie selection. The bathrooms were especially clean and well-kept. There was almost no room to walk around in the back of the plane, and I had a sleepness night.

They do give you Swiss chocolate as you exit the plane, the Zurich airport is a masterpiece of planning, transparency, and minimalist style (almost entirely glass, which seems to be the new style). The flight from Zurich to Warsaw was unremarkable.. it was easy to distinguish the poles from the western Europeans upon boarding the plane.

Chopin International Airport does not make an impression, with one exception: there seems to be no passport control or customs. After picking up my bag, I walked through two sets of doors out to the waiting horde of blonde/white haired, fair-skinned people of similar height and facial features, standing silently.

I took a taxi to the city center, a smooth and grey ride for 41 zloty, roughly $11. I attempted conversation, noting the make of the car (mercedes, good car), which was met with silence. Remarkably, when I handed the man a 50 zloty note and asked for 5 back, he handed me a 10 back, noting he didn't have a 5. We looked at each confusedly, before I suggested he use some of the change sitting in his cigarette tray. He considered this, and then did so.

It was the easiest and least complicated arrival in a foreign country i've ever experienced.

Broke and Inside a Soccer Ball

Saturday morning consists of checking e-mail. Three lines stand out:

I'm in the abu dhabi airport right now connecting to Cochin. There's this huge room which serves as the main lounge in this terminal - it feels like I'm inside a giant soccer ball.

Sent from my iPhone

-T played soccer at Stuyvesant High School.

we are all broke

-British Journalist, responding to my complaint about international travel during a recession.

I don't have able to study because I am very poor

-Cambodian Tuk-tuk driver for whom i've been doing business development.

Moving on at the Movies

Saw the new Pixar film "UP" in a Georgetown theater (Washington, D.C.)  As with most Pixar productions, it was excellent and suprisingly moving. It explores loss (death and other), escapism, and adventure.  Early on, there is a brilliant montage in the film that expresses enormous emotional connection without words- really strong filmmaking. 

The film spoke to me deeply, I'm looking forward to taking flight in thirteen days.