My Top 3 Country

If you are me (which, I am assuming you are not, otherwise life would be even weirder) and lived in Dubai, you would probably have 3 places you'd really want to go.

I am not talking about ranking countries with regards to History or Nature only (I would never be able to list them under that criteria, as I really want to go everywhere) but I am focusing especially on those that are somehow "forbidden" or "out of reach"... (and yes, I am taking out of the equation countries which are really really unsafe, like Iraq and Afghanistan, just so that my mum can still remain calm)...

1. Saudi Arabia. Getting a visa into Saudi as a woman, single, who is travelling unacompanied by blood related man (husband or brother) is pretty much unheard of... which is why it was on the top of places I really really wanted to go. Good news is that I did manage to get to Jeddah at some point last year and experience it a tiny bit. Looking forward to taste the real stuff soon as I am hoping to get to Ryiadh eventually.

2. Yemen. Yes... the place in which tourists get kidnapped all the time and men carry their daggers, while walking on the streets... Pure bliss of History and stories... Did you know that much of what we know as Arab world started in Yemen? Even the tribe who created Petra originated from Yemen! And, in Sana'a, you can also find the first skyscrappers in the world... 6 floors tall!(I am sure that's how they felt at the time... like skyscrappers). Anyway, sooo want to go there, but I've been strongly advised not to travel solo, so still looking for a travelling buddy. Ciro, when are you coming? ;)

3. Israel. What can I say... If you live long in the Middle East, this is also one of the places that really attracts you (well.. once again, this is me talking! I am pretty sure its not a common opinion).
Israel is the silent word in someone's sentence, the comment you make after you check if someone is listening. Its the place you know you cant have stamped on your passport, otherwise you will not be allowed back into the UAE.
You hear about all the wars and the stories about the past and this and that, and at a point you just want to check it by yourself... Not because you want to know who is right or wrong, but simply because you just want to put it all aside (if ever possible) and discover its beauty as a place, with no religious or political boundaries. Just look at the places, the rivers, the houses, the people, as an essence of what they are and not what they represent.

And here I am... Writing this text from my hotel room in Herzlia, 10kms away from Telavive, listening to the waves outside.
Funny how they sound exactly the same as anywhere else.

"Your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy"

We sat down around the table, eating our pasta bolognesa, dipping our pita bread into lebanese style chickpeas, eating portuguese chourico with bread from the french bakery, while drinking Barack - peach liquor from Hungary.

We live in a muslim city, and some say we live in a western style.

It doesnt matter to me. We live respecting each other, not enforcing realities or stereotypes as Truth.

I like to think that we evaluate others and ourselves based on what we can build, no matter what is our faith, citizenship, gender or hair's color. It is far more important, than what we can destroy.

We dont look to Obama as a Messiah, or a saviour that will change the world today. His speech yesterday night did not stop someone dying from starvation, or someone being killed at that same exact time.

But it will smooth some bruises and, most of all, it will bring us HOPE.

Hope... that the word will spread and that we will accept the present as the only time it matters.

We can no longer discuss the past, because it is too full with blood, with hate, with envy and greed, just to name a few.
We can no longer foresee the Future as if we are trying to decide who will win the battle, and on which side we want to be.
We can no longer wait for someone else to be responsible for our own successes or failures.

We can only act NOW.
Each one of us.
Bit by bit.