Eilat, Israel
Well, another long dry spell of not posting to my blog and a dearth of photos from my travels. What can I say? Not much, except to warn anyone who things they might want to keep a blog … save yourself the trouble unless you are very dedicated to writing and/or journal keeping. The self imposed guilt trip of not posting is not worth the trouble!
OK, with my obligatory self-flagellation out of the way I can get on with this post. As I write this I am sitting at a mall-side café in Eilat, Israel looking out at the northern end of the Red Sea. The last month has been rather paradoxical in that a lot has happened for me, but not in the typical travel adventure sort of way.
[Ed’s Note: I wrote this this morning, but have not found a reliable internet connection until now (early evening). The only decent open wifi spot I found, where I am sitting right now, is at a bus stop across the street from the main shopping mall on the main drag running through town!]
I arrived in Israel exactly one month ago on Christmas day. I started out in Jerusalem and then spent most of my time in Tel Aviv. I made some small trips to Bethlehem, Haifa and Nazareth. I am now about to cross into Egypt – which I am really looking forward to.
While I was in Tel Aviv, I spent some time at the Landmark Education center and assisted on two back-to-back weekends helping on the Production Team for the running of a Forum and Advanced Course. Some of you know that I am a Landmark grad having done the Forum and Advanced Course back in Aug & Sep when I was home in Seattle. I’ll save comment for what I think about Landmark for another occasion, suffice to say that attending the courses were extremely profound and what I have learned has changed the course of my life in ways I could never have imagined.
Being able to participate in the Assisting Program at the Tel Aviv center was amazing. It was also great fun and inspirational to be able to spend time with the people I met there.
As a result, I find myself operating with a new sense of freedom and enjoyment for my travels. To be honest, there have been time on this trip where I have really questioned why the hell I was out here rambling around and spending my savings. That self-doubt has disappeared and, like a ship cut loose from its anchor, I am free now to enjoy and appreciate my adventures in a whole new way.
Posted in travel note | Tagged Egypt, Israel, Landmark, Tel Aviv, travel | 1 Comment »
So the yoga is going well. I have gotten in four classes in five days, with one day off yeasterday so I could do a day trip to Bethlehem and to give my body a break at the same time. The studio here offers some interesting classes, of which I have taken every opportunity to try out. I figure that I am here so might as well.
The candle light only class was very interesting. The class is at night and there is some light that comes in through the windows, but basically the room is lit only with candles – and it’s tough as hell! Since you don’t have any visual cues, balance goes right out the window! Also, the mind tends to wander off a lot more than in a regular class. Again, not having visual cues sets the condition for the brain to wander off, sort of like Nixon rambling around on the beach in San Clemente after he resigned. I digress.
The other cool class, also my favorite, was the silent class. The instructor does all the postures with the class and the only things she says are “start” or “change” or similar. It is really great for focus and discipline as well as harmony in the room as everyone gets into synchronization to keep the timing for each pose just right.
Of the two other classes, I have done one in Hebrew and one in English (tonight’s class). The Hebrew class was just like when I was in Budapest and attending Hungarian classes. Most Bikram instructors have done their training in English so are always able to offer corrections and encouragement in English when needed. The English class I had tonight was really good, both since my body is starting to respond as well as the style of the instructor. She had just the right mixture of encouragement, information and direction.
I should be able to get in one more normal class before my seven day pass is up. As well, I am going to book a private lesson … I am excited and nervous about this. I’m nervous cause I don’t want to look like a buffoon to the instructor, but that is just my “wanting to look good” instinct kicking in, which I can safely ignore. I am excited since it will be a real boost to my practice.
Posted in Yoga | Tagged bikram, Tel Aviv, Yoga | Leave a Comment »
31-December-2009 by David
So, one of the reasons I planned to visit Tel Aviv was that there are two Bikram yoga studios here in the city! I did my first class yeasterday since leaving Budapest back in October and it felt really good to get back into the heat and my body! I was able to get in three days of “normal” yoga when I was in Istanbul at the excellent Cihangir Yoga studio, but this is the first Bikram studio I have come across since Hungary.
Prior to class, I made sure to mentally prepare myself for the heat in the room to be a bit overwhelming and for my body to be super stiff and uncooperative. I also made sure to hydrate well and to get a decent night sleep. Between my mental and physical prep, I was able to make it through the whole class having to only rest once out of sequence (during Tadasana). I was really amazed how well my body performed, especially given the stresses I have been putting it under since I started my trip.
Tonight I will be going to a special class that I have not seen offered anywhere else. The class is held in the evening with the only light source in the room from a few candles. Normally in Bikram, you run the set 26 postures by using visual cues from the mirrors on the wall and by synchronizing with other students in the class. In the special “candle” class you feel your way through all the postures!
This studio also offers private lessons which I am defiantly keen for, and I will probably book one for next week. Can’t wait!
If you want to check out some info on Bikram or the the studio in Tel Aviv, here is the link:
Yoga Tel Aviv
Posted in Yoga | Tagged bikram, Tel Aviv, Yoga | Leave a Comment »
31-December-2009 by David
[Author's Note: I'm going to play catch-up a little bit with posting about my travels and other stuff. I tend to have a self-created high standard for what I think I should be posting which actually acts as a barrier. So, I am going to call myself out this and post more often. So, expect a small flood of posts over the course of the next days.]
So, Jerusalem. What can I say about the single most important city in the Western hemisphere? I spent 4 nights there and barely scratched the surface. Geographically, the city is not laid out in such a way that it is easily accessible. The roads twist and turn around the various hills and valleys and the different neighborhoods lie at funny angels to each other which strangely reminds of me bread dough – when you kneed and fold dough it just keeps expanding and filling the space.
I spent most of my time in the Old City which is an amazing place. As a traveler, I never felt safer (expect for maybe in Syria) wandering the narrow streets and alleys. The Old City is kept amazingly clean and the shop merchants, while overly friendly, as a rule, do not seem too pushy with their invitations to visit their shops and to buy their mass produced trinkets and wares.
What was really amazing was the realization of how deeply Jerusalem is embedded into my psyche, and I would say the minds of anyone raised in a Judeo-Christian country. It was amazing to see sights like the Western Wall, the Tomb of David, The Cenacle (a probable location of the Last Supper), the Dome of the Rock, the Dormition of Mary (the place where Mary fell into her eternal sleep) all layered and stacked on top of each other.
To see Muslims, Christians and Jews as well as tourists, those visiting for religious reasons and those as standard travelers, from all parts of the world mixing in the narrow streets of a city that has over 3000 years of history is, well … I don’t really have any words for how it is!! You really should see it for yourself.
I would seriously encourage everyone to visit at least once in their lives
Posted in travel note | Tagged Christianity, Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Jewdism, Judeo-Christian, Old City, travel | 2 Comments »
28-December-2009 by David
To commemorate my return to posting on my blog, I have some photos from my time in Israel.
In a bit I will post some comments on my absence from blogging as well as sharing some experiences from my time in Syria and Israel to date.
Tomorrow (Tue the 29th) I will travel to Tel Aviv, where I will spend New Years and hopefully get my yoga on and catch up with some more photos from Syria and Turkey.
Until then, enjoy a bit of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
Posted in news | 1 Comment »
16-December-2009 by David
The News Of My Demise Has Been Greatly Exaggerated.
Especially so since there has not been any news of such kind. Rather, I have not been posting much since leaving Athens. To be frank, have been (still am) in a bit of a weird head space and not really feeling all that up to sharing much … even though it is probably the moment when sharing is the most important thing to do. I’m rather pressed for time right now so am not in a position to give a fuller account, suffice to say that I am somewhere in the middle of a three way tug-of-war between my sense of “doing,” “having” and “being.” My sense of wanting to “do” and “have” are straining furiously at my “being” and are making a lot of fuss and drama about the whole thing. My “beingness” is just calmly sitting and watching the show.
So, I must off and do. I want to get to Antakya before the day is out and then I am heading for Aleppo, Syria and Damascus after that. Updates and postings when and as feasible.
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
It has been a busy last few days, but I have survived unscathed and not any worse for the wear. Being Athens during the protests has been a very interesting experience and I’m not sure yet what I think about it all.
Anyway, I have published 4 stories on Demotix and I invite you to take a look at them. Below I have listed individual links to each story. They are listed in reverse order by date.
Click on the photo to go directly to the story page.
Day of Protests Ends with Molotov Cocktails
Demonstrations Continue in Athens as Protesters Clash with Police
Chaos in Athens as Protest Turns Violent
Despite Rain Athenians Gather to Remember Grigoropoulos
Posted in demotix, photography | Tagged Athens, demonstration, demotix, Greece, Grigoropoulos, photo, photojournalism, police, riots | 2 Comments »
Here are a few photos from last night. There was some sporadic action with protesters overturning some dumpsters and setting them on fire. What was interesting how mundane of an action this was as none of the “average citizens” reacted as if anything special was happening. There is a real resentment towards the police here and the level of antagonism between people and the police is very high.
The gathering at the memorial for Alexandros Grigoropoulos, the young man who was shot last year, was peaceful but subdued. A steady rain kept people off the streets. However, December 6th is the actual anniversary of the shooting and mass demonstrations are expected for today.
Photos are over on flickr: Athens Demo December 5, 2009
Posted in photography | Tagged Athens, demonstration, Greece, photography, photojournalism, photos, police, riots | Leave a Comment »
Getting to Athens has been an interesting experience, but I made it safe and sound although a bit wet as the weather has turned a bit. While Athens may be a big destination for a normal tourist I am really here for one just reason: to cover the demonstrations (riots) to commemorate the one year anniversary of the shooting death by the Greek police of 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
The death of Grigoropoulos touched off two months of mass demonstrations that sometimes spiraled into extreme violent action, both by the protesters and the authorities.
No one is quite sure what will happen this year. Certainly there will be demonstrations and protests in several cities around Greece.
I will be covering the demos for Demotix. I have hooked up with another photojournalist here and will be posting photos and reports as and when I can. I promise to be careful.
There is a good wikipedia article on what happened last year, if you are interested to know more of the back-story check out the article here: 2008 Greek riots
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Athens, demonstration, Greece, Grigoropoulos, photojournalism, police, riots | Leave a Comment »
Happy New Year
1-January-2010 by David
Wishing everyone a happy, safe and prosperous 2010!
Posted in commentary | 2 Comments »