Travel Blog

Meeting a Palestinian Lover in the Holy Lands...

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When I was in Egypt, I met someone. It was brief. We met at a little store that sold herbal medicines from Arabia, among other magical things. I introduced myself, because I felt something. I think it was his eyes.

We went snorkelling on our first date, and spent the night making music at one of his friend’s homes. That was an incredible evening. Im a singer, and I’ve jammed with a lot of musicians. But never with Arabic musicians. From the instruments to the vocals, I felt like I’d been transported back to ancient Arabia… it was amazing. The woman who was hosting us that night turned out to be a Priestess sister, I felt Isis in her.

It was this man, that drew me to Israel. He was Hebrew, and just visiting Egypt for a short time.

{ This is Part 3 in a series, read part 1 here + part 2 here }

And so, after he'd left, and it was my time to depart Egypt, I decided to make my way to Jerusalem, and then on to Tel-Aviv, where he lived. Previously, I’d had no plans to go to Israel, but of course, this is how things go. Especially when you listen. Though it was a man that took me to the Holy Lands, I feel it was a much more ancient man underneath it all, pulling me there… Jeshua.

The morning I left Egypt, I packed all my things in my backpack, and hailed a cab to the Israeli border. The cab ride was 3 hours and allowed me to see even more of the arid mountainous landscape of Egypt’s Sinai region.

Once I crossed the border on foot, and took a bus to Jerusalem, I felt like I’d, yet again, entered into another world. It was hard to believe Egypt and Israel shared a border. The culture, the dress, the buildings, were all so different from what I'd just left.

On that bus ride, I’d had some funny feelings. And within a day or so, I understood what they were about. My Hebrew lover told me he realized he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend.

The man I’d crossed a border to see, was out of the picture. And there I was in Israel.
Ok. Perfect.
Good thing it’s magical as fuck.

So I started exploring on my own, in typical Beth fashion.

My first day in Jerusalem, I headed straight for the old city, one of the most enchanting and rich places I’d ever been.

The old city is where Jeshua and Mary Magdalene had walked through, many a time, as well as Mother Mary, and much of their family. The frequency of the place is intense. There is a potent sacred energy, as well as the messiness and shadow that comes from major religions and governments fighting for thousands of years, over a piece of land.

As I wound my way through the small streets, I passed many a shop.

It was in front of one of these shops, that sold Persian carpets, handmade scarves and beautiful fabrics, that I was stopped by a man. He was Palestinian, attractive, and fluent in English. The moment he found out I was travelling alone (most people come in groups, especially most young women) - he was insistent I let him take me out, to show me the old city.

He promised me he could show me things other people couldn’t… his family had owned shops in the old city for generations, he explained.

I told him maybe.

I still had the other guy on my mind, and he was clearly asking me out on a date. It’s not my style to get over someone by being with someone else. I like to take a week, a month, and sometimes even years if Im being honest, to clear my old feelings, before I feel ready to open up again.

And I usually say no to anyone I meet on the street, who asks me on a date.

But I wanted to be polite, and he was charismatic, so I said - maybe.

He made sure we got each other on Facebook so we could communicate.

After winding through a few more narrow streets, once I left him at his shop, I felt tired.

I sat down, and started chatting with a friend on my phone. I explained what had just happened, and through talking to her, I realized… “Im alone in Jerusalem. An attractive man whose spent his whole life here, just asked me on a date to show me things no one else could. My other alternative is to spend the night with white people at a hostel, and maybe go to a bar." (Sorry white people, I love you, I am you, but you know where Im coming from… When in Rome!) So… I decided to say yes.

I messaged the charming stranger, and he was so excited I'd agreed. He told me to meet him at a gate of the old city, when he closed the shop.

Later that night, when I went to go meet him, I was a bit nervous. But when I saw him, I felt more comfortable. He was interesting. Kind. And he had a lot of stories.

He guided me through the dark Arabian streets, most of the shops closed for the night, and up to a set of stairs, with a gate at the top. It turns out, he was taking me up to the old wall, the one that encompasses the city. Strictly off limits to tourists. Except me, apparently.

We climbed up the wall, and once at the top, I had the most amazing view of both the old city of Jerusalem, and the new. We walked around, to a beautiful spot, and my new friend to become lover, rolled a joint, and we smoked it, overlooking all of the magic. He told me about his family, about Palestine, about the hardships he’d faced, the triumphs he’d had, and lost, and about the history of Jerusalem. I was spellbound by his intelligence. His interest in things that actually mattered, like human rights, and taking care of his family.

From that night, we spent a lot of time together.

When I wasn’t with this new love, I was exploring more of Jerusalem, and it’s ancient churches. Most notably, the main Christian church, that is said to be built on the land where Jesus was crucified, and holds the apparent slab of stone, that he was laid on to rest, and arose from.

Honestly, my intuition told me none of that was true. I etherically felt another place where Jesus was crucified. When I saw the stone, that everyone was coming up to, touching, weeping at, going crazy over, my first thought was - that’s not it.

Jeshua is so sacred. I feel that. His legacy is incredible. I work with him all the time, I love him.

But I didn’t feel much of him in that cold, grey, imposing old church.

I felt control. I felt a lack of sunlight, nature, and oxygen.

And I felt a lot of people giving their power away, to a figure they were told was way above them. I felt that if Jesus was in the building, physically, he would have told the crowds to start worshipping their own damn hearts.

After that rich few days in Jerusalem, it was time to leave for Tel-Aviv. I didn’t really want to, but my accommodation had already been booked.

Tel-Aviv is a big city, with sky scrapers, and a much more modern culture. Even though Im a millennial, and was now surrounded by a music scene, hip restaurants, and shopping, I longed for the old quarters of Jerusalem.

And so I spent most of my time there in the old town, by the sea. I walked an hour everyday from my apartment to be there, and kept myself in the frequency of the ancients. My lover came to visit me while there, driving several hours just to see me for a short time. He could never spend the night - always having to return home to a strict Muslim house, where he lived, taking care of his mother.

He helped me on my healing journey with men. He drove all the way to see me, while being broke, and wouldn’t let me chip in for gas. It was a far departure from what I’d been used to.

And of course... Jeshua. I felt him. Holding frequency of the Sacred Masculine, burying his way into my life, and into my heart, in a whole new way - a far cry for the Jesus I had known in my traditional Christian upbringing.

But after not so long, it was time to say goodbye. The holy lands had ignited me. I knew I would return. But Mary Magdalene was calling me, from the shores of Southern France, and I knew I had to go…

…To be continued.

That time I was adopted by an Egyptian family...

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As I arrived to my apartment in Cairo, my host gave me some tips. One of them was to never walk alone at night in the area, and to wear long sleeves and pants. With that, he left, and I was standing alone, in a huge, semi-creepy apartment, if Im going to be real, overlooking the pyramids. 




This is Part 2 of an adventure series, read part 1 here.


I got as settled as I could in the space, and thought that I’d be off to visit the pyramids on foot, soon after. But the toll of the long bus ride was hitting me, and I decided against a big adventure. After all - I could see and feel the pyramids clearly, visiting them up close could wait until I had more energy.



When I was preparing to go outside, and wander around the neighbourhood I’d arrived in, I hesitated. “Do I put long sleeves on?” It was hot. I was in the Middle East after all. I decided against it. Im all for respecting cultures, but sometimes I have to make the call if Im actually respecting a culture, or a patriarchal belief system. My shoulders were covered in the outfit I had on, and so were most of my legs. I thought that was a good compromise, and wandered out of my temporary home, thoughtfully ignoring my Airbnb host’s advice. 

And I tell you… once my feet hit the ground, I’ve never felt more like a celebrity than I did in those 3 days in Cairo. 

People stared. And shouted. And ran to ask me questions. I don’t think long sleeves would have helped. 

After walking through the winding streets, looking for vegetarian food, and not finding too much, I was ready to give up and go back. I was tired from being stared and called after incessantly. When I was trying to find my way back, I saw a man, who looked to be in his late 50s, sitting on a chair at the end of a dusty brown road, with the pyramids rising up from behind him.

The man spoke English, and started engaging with me immediately, asking what I was doing. But this man was different. I wasn’t immediately turned off. My intuition told me it was safe to converse. And that’s when he invited me into his home to see his “dancing horses”. “What now?” I thought, “Dancing horses?”

Normally, I would have blown off an invitation from a strange man in the Middle East to enter into his home. But my spidey senses said… “Go, it’s safe.” And I listened. 

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As I entered into this man’s home, right in front of where I was sitting, I was introduced to many members of his family. Many of his adult children, his wife (actually ex-wife, but that’s a whole other story…), and his grandchildren, all lived in this 2 story house. The women were downstairs in the kitchen, making food. 

This home was very far from what Westerners are used to. On a superficial level, it was kind of dirty. Ok, well it was dirty, but not in a bad way, simply from a lot of dust and sand blown in from the desert. I don’t remember any real glass windows. It was simple, small, and immediately told me “This is the real Cairo.” So, as a travel junkie, I was in love. Out of my comfort zone, slightly wondering what I was doing, and simultaneously, in love. 

And so, this man, Nasir, guided me upstairs to see his dancing horses. 

They were photos. 
Of dancing horses. 

From days long past. 

It was kind of hilarious, but while I didn’t get to see any dancing horses in real life, I stepped into a local family’s world for the next 3 days. A family whose living came from giving people tours of the pyramids. 



These people literally adopted me. They told me that. They said “You are our sister now, our family.” They had me over for dinner. They took me to their son’s wedding reception, and then, to the wedding. 

Ok people. The wedding. That was one of the craziest experiences of my life. 

The night of the wedding, I tell Nasir I’m pretty tired, and he told me we didn’t have to go to the wedding for long. (A lie... :D)

So he gets his sons to pick me up at my apartment, on foot, and I meet up with everyone. Turns out Nasir’s fancy idea is to have me ride his camel, Mickey, through the winding streets of Cairo, until we get to this wedding. 

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Ok, sure. Let’s do that. 

I have never ridden a camel at night through very, very busy streets. I have never had said camel stop traffic to cross the road. Until that point. 

It was great. It was chaotic. I was kind of freaking out internally. But I kept telling myself, “Girl, this is once in a lifetime experience, just go with it.”

So, we get to the wedding. It turns out it’s in the middle of a street. Sort of 80’s prom decoration. And it’s a PARTY. The moment I get there, and people find out there’s a white girl at the party, shit got cray. 

I was the only white person, the only foreigner actually. It was then I understood some of what major celebrities go though. People were tugging at my hair, on my dress, everywhere I turned they wanted a selfie, or were pointing at me. I could hardly walk, I had a trail of people clinging to me. 


And then, they made me dance. I love to dance, so it wasn’t necessarily a problem, but it was quite difficult with children and women tugging on you. I probably should have mentioned that - there were no men tugging on me. So even though I did in fact, feel ambushed, I was surrounded by women and children, so I felt safe. I also had Nasir and his sons watching me from our table. 

And so - we danced. Turns out, Middle Eastern hijab wearing women know how to get DOWN! Kissing before marriage? No. That’s a no no. Grinding and gyrating around like a bellydancer. That’s allowed apparently. It was awesome. We went wild. 

I will never forget that night. 

We finished the night by eating falafel at Nasir’s. I was kind of uncomfortable with that, because the women were serving us, and not eating with us. Somehow, as a white woman, I was able to eat with the men, but not his female family members.

This whole experience lit a fire under me. The pyramids. Which Nasir took me to, on his camel of course. The activations from those structures still resonate through my being. The patriarchy. Which made me so much more aware of why the Divine Feminine is needed in this world. And by life. Amidst different cultures and languages, I still found the women, and we danced. We danced, and we celebrated. 

And shortly after, I left Cairo… back to Dahab, where I would spend a little more time, before taking a cab and a bus ride to Israel, to see a Hebrew lover I had met a long the way… 

…To be continued!