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Day 5, Down to Eilat
Aug. 25th, 2006 09:20 pmDig finally got really interesting- I pulled out two completely intact oil lamps, and we found a small ladies ring in my square. Ilan is cute with his metal detector. Hillary's square has definitely hit architecture- ashlar wall and floor- which D, of course, also claims to have predicted with his rod. He gloats, Katee becomes obsessed. Probably Roman, finally a reason to come back to this area next year. D gave his little demonstration on how to do a cross-section properly. It's been frustrating that this dig has seemed so unprofessional; I don't think I'm coming away with as much of a skill set as I was hoping for. So this was interesting.
Petra trip finally! I to the Tel Aviv central bus station,which is mind-boggling. Like grand central station- dingy and crowded and dodgy and incomprehensibly huge. 4.5 hours to Eilat. The desert is indescribable.
Arrived and missed the border crossing by 10 minutes, and so had to find a hotel. Ended up paying 250 sh for the dodgiest hotel I've ever seen. It seems to be a place that foreigners stay when they come to Eilat to work. Lots of Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian 20-something men smoking in the hallways.
Walked around Eilat- it's just a tiny wedge of land stuck up against the Red Sea, developed into this beach strip that looks like it's trying to be Vegas. Huge amounts of neon, crappy tourist stalls, etc. Not really an enjoyable place. The water felt stale and the sand was obviously artificial. Lots more interesting conversation at the hotel. The politics of archaeology, differences between here and Europe, how all the foreign grad students (including Greg) just hate the way this dig is going, how inexperienced a lot of the leaders- including Katee and Rowl- are. About opportunities elsewhere, how to break in, how to do this for cheaper. Digs run by the Poles, by D... I think D is doing a big of a little-sister thing with me, but I appreciate it.
Petra trip finally! I to the Tel Aviv central bus station,which is mind-boggling. Like grand central station- dingy and crowded and dodgy and incomprehensibly huge. 4.5 hours to Eilat. The desert is indescribable.
Arrived and missed the border crossing by 10 minutes, and so had to find a hotel. Ended up paying 250 sh for the dodgiest hotel I've ever seen. It seems to be a place that foreigners stay when they come to Eilat to work. Lots of Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian 20-something men smoking in the hallways.
Walked around Eilat- it's just a tiny wedge of land stuck up against the Red Sea, developed into this beach strip that looks like it's trying to be Vegas. Huge amounts of neon, crappy tourist stalls, etc. Not really an enjoyable place. The water felt stale and the sand was obviously artificial. Lots more interesting conversation at the hotel. The politics of archaeology, differences between here and Europe, how all the foreign grad students (including Greg) just hate the way this dig is going, how inexperienced a lot of the leaders- including Katee and Rowl- are. About opportunities elsewhere, how to break in, how to do this for cheaper. Digs run by the Poles, by D... I think D is doing a big of a little-sister thing with me, but I appreciate it.