Day 10 Why My Hair-dryer Feels at Home

Upon my arrival at Tantur on Day 1, I was pleasantly surprised that I did not need an adapter to use the sockets in the walls. Like the webpages tell me, I found the unique hybrid Type-H/C/M sockets that are to be found nowhere else in the world. But lo and behold, right next to those are the British Type-G three-pin sockets, the kind I would find back in Malaysia / Singapore where all my appliances and devices were purchased. In other words, my hair-dryer feels more at home here than in Canada! I learned today that these Type-G sockets are not commonly found in this land. Why then do they appear in Tantur? I am one-third into my time here, and only today am I beginning to appreciate this particular detail.

I promise that I learned plenty more today than what is on my wall. (Ask me about the ecumenism lectures and the Sabbath eve service). But what I learned these past ten days is exactly what makes me pay attention to this detail, and the mini-historian in me want to join the dots together.

Tantur was built in 1967. Until almost two decades earlier, the little thing called the British Mandate in Palestine was happening to the people and the land. During that time, the Type-G socket was designed in 1946, and became a standard in 1947. In 1948, the British withdrew from their Mandatory role. Immediately after, war broke out. When the dust settled, Jordan ruled this hilltop. So, when Tantur's building plans were made, it was to be under Jordanian governance. (By the way, Jordan was a British colony just as Malaysia and Singapore were, which is probably why all three countries...and Tantur...use the Type-G plug even today). But one day after the ground-breaking ceremony was done, the 6-day-war broke out. After that, Tantur was annexed by the Israeli state together with all of (and more than) Jerusalem. That was 55 years ago. But the British legacy remains, for better or for worse, in people's living history...and on my wall.