Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Druzim; a world within a world

Waking up to greet the dawn, we were on the bus by 6:30am. Fully loaded with three quarters of a liter of coffee, I boarded the bus, ready for a hike in the north. My day now is a little rough if I begin without my coffee. Priorities in life people, remember priorities! :)
First we stopped at a detainment camp south of Haifa that was used during the British Mandate to keep the Jews there until there were enough visas to release them into Israel. Freakishly similar to the concentration camps-but only aesthetically. This was minus the killing/labor intensive/starving conditions. It was quite eye opening, to see those kind of conditions in the land that is supposed to be the safe haven for the Jewish people. After that, we journeyed to the site of the hike. My director and I don’t exactly see eye to eye. Generally speaking, I am a very rationale, respectful person. You see, I have a hurt foot. I wanted to go on the hike, I was prepared and fine. He treated me like a 7 year old. Then I acted like one, though not publicly. You know those people who really get under your skin, and even when you try to get along, there is just something? Well unfortunately for me, that is the case. He made me sit on the bus while the others did the two hour hike. It wasn’t bad, our Ulpan house mother stayed with me and we hung out, watched a movie and I did some homework.
When everyone returned, the bus took off again, this time to a Druze village. For those of you who don’t know who the Druzim are a religious community found primarily in the Middle East whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam. They generally disagree about being affiliated with Islam, depending on geographic regions. They are an extremely secretive religion. No one knows about the contents of their Holy Books. And marriage out of the Druze religion is forbidden and grounds for excommunication. As is revealing any of the secrets of the religion. If you aren’t religious, then you may not talk about the religion with the unreligious person. This applies even to husband and wife. The house we visited today, they explained the basics of the religion and the daughter who was 20 told us that her mother is religious and may not have conversations concerning the religion/inner most rituals with her husband. Interesting, right? (www.druze.com & http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/12/Focus%20on%20Israel-%20The%20Druze%20in%20Israel) The food was amazing, as usual. Kofta (my favorite Arab meat!) and tons of salads, laffa (special Arab bread made on a hot dome shaped grill) and fig juice. We went to the shook after that, ate some amazing kunefa and bused it back home where everyone on the bus passed out like kindergarteners in need of their morning nap. Overall it was a successful, emotional, rather strange day.

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