Temporary House Arrest

Early this morning, December 31, we received a frantic text message to get out of the hotel immediately because authorities were locking down hotels and not letting any internationals leave.  (There was a peaceful march scheduled today to coincide with the "official" march in Gaza since we couldn't be there where we belonged.)  As soon as we received the text from a fellow marcher, we ran to the window of our hotel and looked out.  The police were already there.  Three or so police vehicles and officers stationed outside the entrance to our hotel.  Across the street were the "Suits" as we call them.

We are on the 8th floor of this hotel directly above the only entrance (God forbid there should be a fire!).  We watched the show for awhile and as soon as we saw the restaurant waiter bring the officers tea, we knew we should just settle in and get comfy.

The lockdown lasted about 3 hours.

Two of five police vehicles in front of hotel.

Chai and cigarettes while guarding the door.

The phones also were blocked during this time.  We could receive calls, but not make any.  It was quite unsettling.

We decided to make the best of it and watch some TV.  All the American shows are on over here.  Battlestar Galactica, Law and Order: SVU, House; and the Arabic is not dubbed in as voiceover, it is subtitled on the screen, which makes it easy to watch the program because the English can be heard.  There was an Arabic commercial in b&w in which the camera pans across various toys -- dolls, bears, etc. and as the camera rests momentarily on each one's face, a single tear begins to flow down the toy's face.  The toys are seen lying in various scenes of rubble and destruction.  The final scene cuts to a child's bedroom in which there is a gaping hole from a bomb blast.  The bed is empty and the toy is crying.  The screen then goes black and the words "No more terror" appear on the screen.  My description makes it sound cheesy, but it was mesmerizing.

So that's it for now.  Soon we'll be able to do some more sightseeing:  Pyramids, Khan el Khalili, etc.

I'll keep in touch.  Thanks for reading.