A Drive to Israel

It finally arrived; the book that I have coveted for oh-so long—Ali Salem’s A Drive to Israel. Unfortunately, dear reader, I’m in the middle of Fluke, a book by Christopher Moore. Nevertheless, I’ve found the first few pages of Salem’s book to be so captivating I think I’ll have to alternate between the two.

The book is described thusly:

“In April 1994, the popular Egyptian playwright and humorist Ali Salem filled up his old Soviet-built car, loaded the trunk with copies of his books, and set out to visit Israel. On his return, he wrote a travelogue that became a best seller in Egypt. Ali Salem’s A Drive to Israel, translated by Robert Silverman, is an engaging account of Israel through Egyptian eyes and a challenge to the Egyptian establishment’s policy toward Israel.”

I’m sure there are lot’s of Arabs who are curious about Israel, as Salem was. I know there are a lot of Jews and Israelis that are curious about the Arab countries. When you live in tiny Israel you can’t help but to be curious about what lies beyond the ever present borders. So many times I’ve been in the north of Israel and gazed into Lebanon or Syria and wondered what it would be like to be able to keep driving to Beirut or Damascus. Realistically it would probably be a horrendous experience because Lebanon and Syria are still officially in a state of war with Israel. Nevertheless, one can’t be in Israel and not imagine what lies across the borders.

I wish more Arabs and Muslims were like Ali Salem ... and Big Pharaoh and Egyptian Sandmonkey (see links).