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Greensboro, NC. -- Here in my home office is where my blog begins. I wonder at the contrast of today to tomorrow. Right now my dogs are cuddled close, the portable heater is on. I sip tea from a green travel mug, legs elevated on my favorite stool. That one made of pewter and leopard faux from San Francisco.

You could say I'm in my comfort zone.

A travel journal I used for a trip along the Eastern seaboard had this quote from Anne Morrow Lindberg: "Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock."

I am that snail. My home is my rock. I need a profound reason to leave it for any length of time.

Traveling to the Holy Land is a spiritual quest for millions but I never expected that I would go. I saw myself in Turkey or Morocco but not Israel. It was as though Israel was beyond my imagination to reach.

That is until I received an invitation and an itinerary from Yuval Ron.

Yuval Ron playing Oud.

Yuval Ron is leader of the Yuval Ron Ensemble. While living in Los Angeles, California -- my hometown -- I attended several concerts by the Yuval Ron Ensemble. They were pure poetry. After my first concert experience, I interviewed Yuval. Click here to download the article that appeared in Folkworks Magazine: Download file

The Ensemble's concerts blend Jewish, Sufi and Christian Armenian music into an epic experience of sound, story and dance. Yuval is Israeli and the Ensemble represents the same interfaith mix as the music they play. Their mission: to open a porthole for understanding of - and between - Middle Eastern cultures and to create a sacred space where audiences can tune into their hearts and transcend what divides them.

The Yuval Ron Ensemble

The Yuval Ron Ensemble has performed all over the United States and in Europe and were the first American-based Middle Eastern Ensemble to perform at an International Peace Festival in South Korea.

This month they play for peace in the Middle East.

But have I answered the question that is most likely percolating at the top of many minds - what inspires me? Why am I going?

GOD'S COUNTRY--Air travel is an intimate commitment. Someone selects a seat mate for you. You hope they put some thought into it. But then again, they do not know anything about you! Still you wonder: Will your mate be considerate and respectful? Or at least tolerable?

The moments before you meet your seat mate are fraught with anxiety. It is like waiting to see your new bride or groom for the first time in an arranged marriage. If you are sitting in a section with three seats across then you must immediately drop to your knees and ask God to have mercy upon your soul. This could be the longest commitment of your life.

At least the view is nice.

View from my seat high up in the sky.

My seat mate was Meir. An Israeli who imports and exports for a living. He exports Israeli goods. I should talk with him about exporting Israel pretzels. I bought some at a convenience store and they're the best I've had in my life! (Not at all dry like ours in the United States and the sodium content complements the flavor rather than overwhelms it.) I think I'll bring a few bags home to share with family and friends.

Meir imports products from China. I hope he has better luck than we've had in the United States. Meir: Test those toys for lead and pass on the dog food!

Meir was a great seat mate, helping me with Hebrew and Arabic pronunciations. I learned a few phrases but am still shy about speaking them. I say Shalom and then speak English. I'll work up to more. It's my first day and I'm running on 4 hours sleep and lost 7 hours crossing time zones. My bio clock is coo coo-ing! The English has a great word for how I feel right now: knackered. I'm bloody knackered alright!

Meir was surprised to find my iPod filled with Middle Eastern music. He loves Arabic music, so I gave him my right ear bud. I used the left. Our heads titled to the middle to give slack to the short cord. (Luckily the middle seat in our row was empty.)

I played him Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Natacha Atlas and Helm. He got a kick out of Natacha Atlas but favored the more traditional sounds. Then I played him an Ihlahi from the Yuval Ron Ensemble. That was the ticket. That piece hit a sweet spot for him.

All the time we were laughing. I would say, "Oh, oh, listen to this one Meir!" Lyrics to the Natacha Atlas song Haram Aleyk made Meir chuckle, "Oh if you could understand this - it is so funny...." And then he'd sing a lyric or two in English for me, "how could you do this to me...what is wrong with you...shame, shame on you..."

This picture of Natacha is from her "Best of" album. She's holding the top of a hookah hose. Hookahs are water pipes for smoking tobacco.

JERUSALM--A country carved out of stone is unlike anything I have ever seen. It reminds of an idea commonly held in the art of sculpting - particularly in the day and medium of Michelangelo - that figures are "liberated" from their marble blocks. But it's not the kind of liberation that comes from letting go. It's the kind that comes from great strength, focus and ingenuity. Not to mention commitment.

From the Mount of Olives' lookout

The way the old and new blend to complement each other in Israel reminds me of Edinburgh, Scotland. On Princess Street there are new buildings on one side and old ones mixed with beautiful gardens the other. Scottish architect James Craig and subsequent visionaries had the idea that ancient times and modern day could inhabit the same space harmoniously. They were right.

Harmony was the theme of the tour today as well. Yuval Ron emphasized that in our orientation but he didn't have to. The group whose geography ranged from California to Europe echoed that very sentiment in their introductions. The truth in the group's words came to life as a schedule change was made after an inquiry about Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and exhibit hall in Jerusalem. A group of near 20 people - with Zev (our guide) and Yuval's help - agreed to go to Yad Vahem today!

The sleek and proud architecture of Yad Vashem.

(Gethsemane and the Old City are rescheduled for later in the week.)

I have to be honest. Though I wanted to go to Yad Vashem, I arrogantly thought there wouldn't be anything there I hadn't already learned. I had been to the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. - an amazing place - and to a concentration camp in Germany. I had seen countless movies and documentaries. I had done several Holocaust projects in school. In short, I think I had Holocaust burnout.

Shame arose in me as I toured Ya Vashem. There was much I didn't know. I realized it wasn't so much Holocaust burnout as the unconscious need to avoid the sheer pain of learning more, of revisiting soul crushing horrors.

Genocide does not make the Holocaust unique. Tragically, there has been genocide of many peoples in history. It is that Jews (in addition to homosexuals, Catholics activists, Jehovah's Witnesses and nomadic Roma) were systematically killed in Europe, Asia and Africa. Their murders were not contained in one region or even one continent and many governments and populations across the globe conspired in the killings.

But not everyone. Reading the names of courageous individuals and populations who had worked to save Jews at the risk of their own lives was a powerful and emotional moment. Among these were Muslim Albanians. Yad Vashem currently features an exhibit with this very story.

Click here to read about this exhibit that travels to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, January 2008.

The final room of the museum is dark with Hebrew letters projected on the wall. From these letters emerge quotes about the Holocaust experience ranging from the physical to the philosophical. I'll leave one with you from Jean Amery, an Austrian-born essayist.

"The word dies wherever reality demands absolute dominion."

Miraculously the word was resurrected in the writings of Jews and others who lived the Holocaust.

Our word is our vote. Our letters to the editor. Our blogs.

MASADA/DEAD SEA--Today I made one of the biggest commitments of my life - to get up at 6:00 am and visit the Old City in the mellow morning light before the tour takes off to the Negev Desert to spend a day with the Bedouins.

For me 6:00 am is for roosters and humans with an early rising gene that didn't recombine in my favor.

This means I'll have to let the pictures tell the story. At least for now.

Desert cliffs against the Dead Sea

Striking green on the top of Masada

Kids trace the line between original and reconstructed stone on Masada

Dancing for joy! That's me in the foreground with Yuval on Oud in the background

Click here to link to additional photos, including larger versions of some shown above.

Dusty Masada stones against the clear Dead Sea.

DEAD SEA--After hours of baking in the heat of a very mild day on the great Mount of Masada, I could not imagine the contrast that would come next. The Dead Sea. Cool blues balance warm desert yellows. A lightness filled my heart in this place that holds much weight.

Literally.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. The feeling of gravity is strong; the salt content high. Water does not drain here at 1300 feet below sea level. It evaporates leaving behind extreme concentrations of minerals. The result: easy floating. No matter your size, the Dead Sea acts as a natural life preserver.

With such buoyancy I figured it was a rare opportunity to do water ballet. I felt very adept until a clever spin gave me a soft scrape across the face. Near the shore the sea floor is covered with salt deposits hard and sharp like rock candy.

Wear your shoes. And maybe a face mask for tricks.

Recovering from my stint as a water ballerina.

Smiles abound in the Dead Sea. Everyone enjoys floating without a raft until oops- a splash. Accidental of course. No one splashes in the Dead Sea on purpose. The sting of the salt teaches that lesson fast. As much as 35% saline saturation. Now those spickets make sense. Fresh water is pumped in for rinsing salt from affected eyes.

But what is bad for the eyes is good for the skin. Emerging from the Dead Sea I noticed how moisturized, even plump my skin felt as if I'd taken a paraffin bath. Mud would have been next logical step in my new skincare regime but the sun was setting and the bus was leaving.

Still it was great fun watching others mud up and rinse off.

Covered in thick brown goop humans tend to resemble gorillas. Even body language changed as the mud people shed their human form. Full-grown adults hunched over and chased each other like jungle animals, blinding white bouncing from their mouths as their heads fell back in wild laughs.

Common ancestor indeed.

At the Dead Sea the people come alive.

NEGEV DESERT--I have a very vivid imagination. That or I watched too many National Geographic films in my formative years. Spending an afternoon with the Azazme Bedouins conjured up images of tents and camels, dancing with the women of the tribe and having a cultural exchange that would be forever etched in my memory. Well I got the tent and camel parts right.

Azazme Bedouin tents at the site of our day of music and feasting

My favorite camels of the Azazme

I know that plural means more than one. But it shattered my naive expectations to discover that the "Bedouins" we were spending the day with consisted of two male musicians, a son of one of the musicians and a very humble and generous soul who ceaselessly served us. Yep, you guessed it - also a man.

I should have realized something in reality didn't match my fantasy when we were given only a few words about how to dress and no information as to what customs to follow. Clue one.

When I asked Yair Dalal what type of dance would be appropriate (or not appropriate) he said because our group is not of the tribe we could dance as we wanted. Clue two.

But it still didn't sink in. Clueless.

And to think I have a cultural anthropology degree....

Ah - but the setting was beautiful and the Azazme (pron. AzAHzme) were consummate hosts. They played music for us, served us course after course of delicious food they must have easily spent all morning preparing and even showed us how they prepare their bread. If you come to my house I'll give you a place to sleep, some clean sheets, a towel and complete access to the fridge. But cook!?!? How about some hummus from the Farmer's Curb Market. It's really good!

Chicken and meat shown here but the Azazme also prepared 100% vegetarian, animal-free fare for us

If we were to dine with a traditional family, much more cultural preparation would have had to take place. And we're a big group. Usually 20 or so but on this day we numbered 30. I don't know about you but I can't recall last time I had 30 strangers over. At least not since I was 16. And I can't talk about that because mom might be reading....Or worse, dad.

Our group enjoying a magnificant lunch

Okay. So it wasn't much like I expected but it was a highlight nonetheless.

THE OLD CITY, JERUSALEM--There is much talk about the significance of Jerusalem particularly in terms of three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yet I've often wondered why people - even entire cultures - cannot currently appreciate their connection to the Old City without fighting for control of it. A fight that is tied to history. A past that cannot be released.

And then I went to the Old City.

King David's Tower and the outside view of the Wall Mount

Within the walls of the Wall Mount

I walked the Wall Mount, traveled through the Armenian and Jewish quarters, visited four churches and eight stations of Christ. I lit a candle for my beloved who passed. When I sat in front of Jesus' tomb time stood still and not a muscle moved.

Jesus' tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Old City is alive with energy from the past that you can feel in the present. It's as thick as blood and as deep as its cavernous chambers. It can make passion for connection burn beyond rationality.

Near the Eastern/Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic areas of the Holy Sepulchre

It took being there to gain that speck of insight.

GALILEE-- I'm on the Nof Ginosar Kibbutz. The wireless internet connection isn't connecting. I've been trying for over an hour. I finally moved from my hotel room to the computer room in the lobby. Cost to use their computers is high and the speed is slow. No discount for the wasted time of wireless failure so I must type fast!

Most importantly, I cannot upload my photos.

Thus I am sorry to say it'll be at least another day before I can post again.

It'll be worth waiting for!

I'll be talking about the personal tour of the Old City I got from a Jerusalem local on Sunday. A totally unexpected adventure! (And wait till you see the pictures.) Today we visited Safed and Jish. Tomorrow Haifa to talk with Arabic and Jewish teenagers about their peace work - within themselves and across cultures. Then back to Jerusalem.

Much to share. I apologize for the delay!

Shalom, Salaam
Faun

WAKE FOREST--Before I left for Israel Bradley George of WFDD interviewed me about my journey into Israel. The interview will air between the times shown below on November 21st:

Morning Edition: 5:00-6:00 am
All Things Considered: 4:30-6:30 pm

It'll also be posted online!

88.5 WFDD
Wake Forest University
http://wfdd.org

HAIFA--Being a native of California, I grew up with the best of both worlds - ocean and mountains. So when we pulled into the city of Haifa, I lit up like a little girl on her birthday sitting in a sea of presents. Haifa is an exquisite port city. Much of it is built on Mt. Carmel and the views are unparalled.

View of Haifa from Bahai Shrine on Mt. Carmel

View of Haifa from hotel room on Mt. Carmel

In addition to generous views, Haifa has generous residents. It's the number one city in Israel for charitable giving even though its only Israel's third largest.

And if that weren't enough, Haifa is know as city of "real coexistence." This was expressed by those who work at Beit Hagefen, an Arab-Jewish center established in 1963. Why is there so much co-existence here? Beit Hagefen staff joke, "Moses wasn't here, Jesus wasn't here and neither was Mohammad. There's nothing to fight about!"

Haifa is an island of sanity in an insane area for Israelis.

For me it's like home.

Friends I made at a local cafe with the best lattes ever! The man on the far right is a soap actor. To the left are his daughter and his daughter's friend.

Keren, the lovely girl who made my soy latte absolute perfection

HAIFA--The Yuval Ron Ensemble performed two concerts while in Israel. The first was at a theater in the Arab-Jewish Center in Haifa: Beit Hagefen. The second was as part of the International Oud Festival in Jerusalem.

As you may have already read, Haifa feels like home to me and this was only underscored by the the concert. From the first song, the audience opened their hearts to the music and the message. Najwa Gibran sang with such beauty and intensity, I couldn't help myself from clapping and shouting AYWAH! "Aywah" means "yes!" but it is not the kind of "yes" which answers a question in the affirmative. It is the "yes" of emotion, when you have no choice but to cry out.

Najwa Gibran singing a composition of her father's

An Arab woman sitting to the right of me echoed my aywahs. I turned to her and smiled. She responded in kind with a warm smile that glowed from her eyes. The rest of the concert we clapped and shouted together. The music connected us even though I only know four words in Arabic and she didn't speak English.

Audience at Beit Hagefen

The Yuval Ron Ensemble's concerts span cultural and spiritual modalities by playing Jewish, Sufi and Christian Armenian music. That audiences in the Middle East respond to their concerts re-invigorates their mission of peace which at times can be daunting.

The last song was a Sufi song. Yuval Ron invited the audience to participate by clapping and singing. You could feel the energy rise and joy burst out as everyone in the room joined in. All the musicians stopped playing except for Norik on clarinet. The band came to the edge of the stage, clapping and singing with the audience. We were one at that moment. No longer band and audience. No longer Israeli or American, Arab or Jew, Christian or Muslim. Just people in the midst of the divinity of music.

The Yuval Ron Ensemble ignites audience at Beit Hagefen

Following the concert was a reception with food and drink. CDs sold like crazy and enthusiasm from the concert filled the halls outside the theater. Everyone mingled. It was a night of celebration. A night that united hearts.

JERUSALEM--Dear readers: Because of the technical difficulties I've recently been having with wireless connections and the intensity with which we travel, my blogs are less consistent than they were in the beginning.

But I am writing every day! I just cannot upload every day.

Therefore, please check the blog not just at the top for the most recent because I am entering blogs on the actual dates that I wrote them. My upload of 11.23.07, for example, is shown on 11.18.07. It's about a new experience in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Please check throughout the blog for new entries.

More blogs will be added in this fashion. The best thing to to is to subscribe to the blog so you can be assured you will not miss any!

Shalom, Salaam,
Faun

JERUSALEM--Just talked with dad over Skype. He had a great question. Why are my photos so small?

The answer: A constraint of the blog is that photos can only be 199 pixels maximum in width.

My original plan was to link to larger photos through Webshots. It was a great plan until uploading a few high resolution photos took over 40 minutes! It already takes quite a bit of time to resize the photos for the blog. I just don't have enough time to do both. So I made a choice. The blog is much prettier with photos, isn't it?

The good news is that my blog will be up at least through the first of 2008. I'll add links to Webshots (or perhaps another service). You will get to see the photos full size or near!

You will also be able to read more and more about my journey as I fill in the missing days when I return to the States.

Incidentally, I've added a Webshots photo link to the Short & Sweet-Masada & Dead Sea entry. You can also click here to see that slide show.

Shalom, Salaam, Peace,
Faun

NEVE SHALOM/WAHAT-AL-SALAM --I've always wondered what an Oasis of Peace would be like. Would the air be clearer, the clouds brighter, the water purer than elsewhere? Would it have two palm trees and a hammock for every resident? Would eyes never tire of the natural beauty? Can one get closer to the source there?

Such Utopian questions! I laughed at myself -until we arrived. Half of my questions had a "yes" answer.

Neve Shalom is in the hills overlooking the Ayalon valley midway between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. It boasts the kind of views I imagined privy only to the highest flying birds. Several in our group compared the landscape that of Tuscany, Italy.

View of valley from Neve Shalom.

It was in this beautiful place I learned that an Oasis of Peace is not so much a destination as an intention - an intention backed by committed conscious action.

Neve Shalom is a binational community of Arabs and Jews who equally govern. Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel says: "When Jews and Arabs get together, work together, live together, they create their own miracle."

Perhaps peace talks would do well at Neve Shalom.

The idea for an ecumenical community that later evolved into Neve Shalom in originated in 1973 1972 by Dominican priest, Father Bruno Hussar - a secular Jew born in Cairo who converted to Catholicism after a mystical experience.

Unique origins. Unique place.

Neve Shalom's spiritual center.

But Neve Shalom urges people not to think of it as Utopia or an island free of conflict. The village is not immune to the difficulties and paradoxes living in the state of Israel presents. The difference is their commitment to equality, understanding and inner peace.

Inner peace?

Amidst the pink of a dusk sky, we were invited to walk Neve Shalom's meditation trail - in silence. Silence is essential to quiet the mind and turn inward to the soul. We were told to feel every step as we walked. I felt a profound transformation in myself and the energy of the group.

Neve Shalom staff member introduces us to the silent meditation walk.

So many of us on this tour are chronicling this journey that cameras and notebooks are like fellow travelers - always present and active. Even as a yoga teacher I felt the challenge to put away my recording devices and just be.

But I did. As I walked I tuned into my breathing and stayed aware of every movement I made. At the end of the walk I was the most centered I had been on the entire trip. All the going gets addicting. We get used to running on adrenaline. It's too much trouble, too much time to stop.

And much of the world functions this way. Or retaliates to the way this kind of living has taken over.

The mediation walk also gave me energy - real energy to replace my underlying exhaustion that I had not thought possible. I felt close to my deepest self.

What other possibilities could be for the world if each one of us would walk in silence for just 20 minutes a day?