CHRISTMAS IN ISRAEL-- Preview from PLACES: THE JOURNEY OF MY DAYS, MY LIVES

PLACES: THE JOURNEY OF MY DAYS, MY LIVES  -- Thaao Penghlis' upcoming book -- is now available for pre-order at Amazon. 

Thaao Penghlis enjoyed tea for two with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, carried the mythical Gloria Swanson into a Hollywood acting class and fitted Robert Redford for a suit (suggesting the then matinee idol shed a few pounds) before landing defining roles on General Hospital, Days of Our Lives and Mission: Impossible. The former career diplomat pursued the curious and complex path ofan actor's life to fund his unyielding desire for spiritual & exotic travel.  With the fervor of an archeologist and the passion of a seeker, Penghlis takes readers wtih him on spectacular adventures as he crosses Egypt's Sinai Desert, ascends Mt. Moses, is cleansed in a remarkable and shocking ritual in Havana, crashes in a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings in Luxor and navigates the behind the scenes drama of daytime television, often more sudsy and tumultuous than what appeared on screen.  This compelling and candid memoir weaves his deep Greek and Australian heritage with Hollywood escapades and captivating spiritual journeys to places few travel.

-----------------------------------------

The following excerpt was originally done as a recording with OutTakes Interviews on 8/28/12.

CHRISTMAS IN ISRAEL

In the summer of 2004,  Palestinian gunmen held captive the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for 39 days.  Monks were trapped inside the Orthodox Church for the entire ordeal.  The terrorists created a regime of fear and so an American monk and two Palestinians were killed.  It was now Christmas Eve, 2004.  And the tension had died down.

Excited, I arrived at Tel Aviv Airport on my first journey to Israel.

Leaving with my baggage, I was quickly surrounded by four Mossad agents.  Badges flashing, I was spotted as a terrorist again.  I smiled.  They looked threatened.

“Are you carrying drugs?”

“What?”  I said.  “On Christmas Eve?”

Blank.

I cut to the chase, having been through this before.

“I’m an actor.  You probably recognize me from Mission Impossible.  I’ve been invited to do publicity here for the studio.”

Their faces dropped.  Their masks disappeared; and embarrassed they apologized profusely.

It was lovely to see their human side.  I enjoyed the drama.

My destination that evening was to find a guide to take me to Palestinian territory and pray at the spot where Christ was born.  That evening, outside my hotel in Jerusalem, my guide was waiting; and we quickly began our journey.  Trusting the process and feeling I was on God’s path, I went with him in a van across the border into a dark street.  Twenty minutes later, there was another van waiting.  On the path along the way, the phone rang and they were speaking in their own language and then they began flashing their lights.  I got into the next van, introduced myself and by the time a third van appeared, I thought I was being kidnapped.  By this time, a scholar appeared and put me at ease.  Because of that tragic summer incident, it was forbidden to go there without proper connections.

In ten minutes, we approached the square.  In front of me was the Church of the Nativity where the Christ child was born exactly two thousand and four years ago.  Carols were being sung, echoing through the ancient square.  I remembered this was my parents’ dream to be standing here in the center of the Christian world.  They never did make it because of the constant turmoil that exuded from this sacred space.  I was in Palestinian territory on the West Bank and not a woman in sight.

Facing the church with my guide beside me, he explained the three entrances created through the ages; in ancient times, a chariot would charge through it.  Over the time, the door had been diminished to a small opening to where only one person at a time could enter.  In front of it stood nine military soldiers blocking the entrance.  No one was allowed in.  Because of the early uprising, it had become no longer a place of God but a fortress.  The sacred space of prayer was shut.

My guide explained my situation to them, but they kept repeating, “It’s closed.  It’s closed.”

He apologized to me.

“I’m not lucky,” he kept saying.  “I’ve failed you.”

I told him I was not going to give up so easily.

“To come all this way, I will call God in my own way.”

So we had a drink.

I said, “But you’re a Muslim?”

“I don’t care!” he said, frustrated.  “This place is like living in a box.  A reminder of the constant battle with the Israeli government.”

Two scotches later, my bravado rose up.

“Let’s try again,” I said.

“It’s useless.  They will threaten us again,” he responded.

Losing my patience, I replied, “It’s Christmas.  It’s not supposed to happen this way.”

Determined, we went back and approached the guards.  They stood defensively.  The war was not over.

Suddenly the door opened and a Greek monk came out, puffing profusely on his cigarette.  I studied him, thinking God wasn’t talking to him either.  He caught my eye and looked at me.

“Are you Greek?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“From Mission Impossible?”

“Yes,” I replied.

He came charging over to me and hugging me as only Greeks do without apology.

“It gave me so much pleasure while studying theology.   What can I do for you?”

I said, “It’s Christmas Eve.  And I’ve wanted to go inside the Greek Orthodox Church since my childhood; and they won’t let me in.”

“Come with me,” he responded.

He put his arm around me and escorted me to the entrance.

The soldiers took a defensive stance with rifles threatening.

“Is this not a place of God?  Then behave yourselves.  This pilgrim has permission to enter.”

God spoke; and the soldiers parted.

As I bent over to go inside, I turned to my guide who couldn’t believe the change of events.

“You said you were not lucky?”  Luck is when opportunity meets commitment.  Persistence won out.

I followed the Father in and sat at the place of Christ’s birth, the sacred space that thousands had waited to see and take a glimpse of this famous spot of folklore.

I had an hour to myself uninterrupted.  I couldn’t help but be moved when I touched the core of Christ’s birth.  It was no longer a postcard.  I thought of my family and friends and the inner peace that touches within the depths of one’s beliefs.  I just sat reflecting all that had passed my way thanking the universe and feeling like a child again in its beginnings. My pilgrimage had evolved in the most sacred way.

Two years later while sitting in an Athens café, I watched two monks having a drink and a cigarette.  After a few minutes, one of the monks with a heavy bearded  face turned in my direction.

“Do you remember me?”

“No, I’m sorry,” I replied.

“I’m the priest who opened the door to you for The Church of the Nativity two years ago.”

My, what are the odds of that happening in the enormous world we live in!  It was an emotional moment for me.

We both embraced each other like spiritual brothers.

Another coincidence?  Or simply recognizing the signposts of life and knowing you’re on the right track?

A reminder that trust in the process does lead to victory.

These journeys are there for all of us.  The difference lies in the way we see.

-----------------------------------------

To see more pictures from Thaao's holiday to Israel over Christmas 2003, visit this link at his official website.

PLACES Around the World: An interview with Thaao Penghlis

An interview with Thaao Penghlis (Victor Cassadine, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Tony/Andre Dimera, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) about his upcoming book, PLACES (available for pre-order at Amazon.com ), as well as his travels around the world.

OUTTAKES:  What is PLACES about?  Is it an autobiography?  About your travels?

THAAO:  You reach a stage where as a young man, you are constantly moving forward.  One day you turn around and realize what you’ve accomplished; and you must acknowledge that...what it is that you’ve gone through.  The best way I saw of doing that is that I usually take journeys every year.  I took a journey in my mind last summer; and I began to write about the journeys that I’ve taken in the Middle East, South America and Europe.  I thought I’d do it for myself...but slowly I ended up writing 24 chapters.  It was amazing what I remembered...to tap into the mind after all those years, remembering incidences and expanding on them and reliving them.  Some were not as wonderful as others.  But it was part of what the map was for my life.  By putting these stories out, especially on how one journeys.  I thought it would be great to put in a book where people can see somebody’s point of view, especially when you’re traveling.  The pros and cons of knowledge before you get there.

OUTTAKES:  How was the experience of writing the book for you?

THAAO:  It was really a privilege for me...because when we go through life, you turn around and people die; and they never told you their stories.  They never told you what their fears were, what their appreciations of experiences were.  And that knowledge is gone.  I left Australia at such a young age that when I came to America, it was my first big adventure.  So I looked at life always as an adventure.  Even when I did work as an actor, that was to pay for the adventures.  That’s how I lived my life.  Also I did the same to my family.  I sent my parents overseas six times and brought them to America just so that they could catch up to where I’ve been.  I really enjoyed doing it.  It was not a chore at all.  

OUTTAKES:  What advice would you give to someone who is writing a book?

THAAO:  What I did was I looked at the beginning, the middle and where I’m at now.  I looked at the high points of my youth...the high points of my adult life.  Suddenly I thought...oh wow, yes, I had that experience.  I wrote all of these experiences down as I could remember.  By tapping into one…it’s amazing what the mind does. It opens the door; and another memory suddenly falls down, one that you forgot. So I would do a whole synopsis of all the different things in your life that were exciting...that would be informative.  The obstacles you overcame.  The joys that resulted by going through that tunnel.  In many ways, it’s a wonderful exercise for yourself.  Approach it like your life is worthy.  It is...because you’re here and you’re working it out.  Everybody has a story to tell.  That’s what’s so great about some of the modern media is that people are getting a chance to tell the world, "Listen, this is what I did, even if it doesn’t seem too great".  It may be done through words.  It may be done through photographs.  But in some way, that person felt that that picture changed their lives or meant something to them. 

OUTTAKES:  How did you get interested in archeology?

THAAO:  I think it had to do with when I was in school.  I always topped the class in history.  I could rattle it off.  I could do a whole essay and then rattle it off to the class; and the teacher said I was cheating, but even then I was memorizing things.  Even today with the way my memory served me, all the things that I did in my youth is the foundation with what I’m doing today.  All the art world that I got involved with when I was 21.  The people that crossed my path...who were just extraordinary discoverers that I traveled and sat with -- archeologists.  I always think to myself that I would love to find a treasure.  Even if it was a little bottle.  So I started to climb over fences that I wasn’t allowed to.  I went to the island of Delos in Greece (pictured above) where there is the most uncovered historical architecture in history.  This was a huge port in ancient times that has not been touched. So I climbed the fence; and right away within ten inches of soil, I started finding all of this stuff.  I found pottery; and I found ancient glass; and I found a chain.  I looked at just the discovery in itself.  Holding something in my hand meant something quite extraordinary to me...in the discovery in that it hadn’t been touched in all those years...for hundreds and hundreds of years.  It is the same that I find with acting when it is done well.  When I realize I’ve got the part in me, there’s a revelation there...a euphoria that not many other things in my life have done, apart from my family and the occasional love life that I’ve had that expressed itself and became euphoric.  So that’s why I decided I wanted to be an archeologist.  Then, of course, I got into acting by mistake.  That’s sort of a hobby or an interest.  But now I want to do a show that deals with the discovery and the knowledge that I’ve experienced and unraveling those secrets.  So in some ways, its still paralleling my life, both creative and both discovering what I didn’t know before.

OUTTAKES:  How do you pick where you would like to travel to?

THAAO:  When I finished Mission Impossible in 1991, I remember coming back to LA.  I was reading a newspaper. There was an article on people climbing Mount Sinai where Moses supposedly met God.  I thought "Oh, my god, I thought that was just a movie".  I didn’t really think of the fact that you could go there.  That became the first time I started taking journeys and working them out about what it was that I wanted to do.  When I went across the Sinai desert and then took the camel up to St. Catherine’s Monastery and spent time there; and then climbed it at one o’clock in the morning -- it was the beginning of my adventures.  And I’ve done that again.  I did it twenty years later...but it was just as euphoric as it was before.  When I went to Egypt my first time, I went to a place called Saqqara where they have all the burial sites.  They had just found a new tomb of a nobleman.  My guide, who was quite a scholar and had a lot of influence, said, "Listen, I’ve been invited to go in; and if you like, they’ve just uncovered it".  So I went in as they opened the door of an ancient tomb that was called the Tomb of Mere (pictured above).  When I went in there, I sat in the sand because I wanted to meditate. I felt a really strange attraction to that room.  As I was doing my meditation, I was feeling the sand with my hands.  And out of one hand came up a wonderful necklace full of semi-precious stones...and in the other was a mummified cloth of a jackal.  I put the necklace back because it didn’t belong to me, but I kept the cloth of the jackal.  That was my first discovery as an amateur; and it was unbelievable to the point where I just began to sob.  When I was leaving Saqqara, I realized that maybe if one believes in previous lives that this was a time that I connected to my ancient past.

OUTTAKES:  What is the most amazing place that you have visited?

THAAO:  Last 2010, I followed the Holy Family’s footsteps up from when they escaped from Herod in the 4^th century AD.  I had followed all the places they had hid...all up and down the Nile which today has become monasteries and sacred wells and sacred caves.  I went to all these places; and it was just amazing to be able to sit in a place and think about where I was.  This is where they hid; and the water was still running after two thousand years.  Those things stay with you.  Even when you touch water or you splash it on you or you drink it, there’s something about it that registered something within myself.  Maybe because of my spiritual beliefs.  For me, when something talks to my inner core, then I have to pay attention.  Those things feed me.  So when I would come back to LA, I was so full of discovery that my work became even better because of it...because all of the passion that I had stirred up in myself in these places. When I would go back to Days of Our Lives, the colors of the character would change strictly upon what I did two weeks before that with my travels.

Wadi Rum desert; Jordan

OUTTAKES:  What is the most danger you've been in on your travels?

THAAO:  One of the most dangerous was when I met with my friend from Australia who is Lebanese.  We met in Egypt and went in Lebanon in Beirut -- which was not a great experience because of the traffic and the lack of rules that people drive by.  It was insane.  We went down to a place where the King of Jerusalem, Montferrat, had been assassinated by the Hashashins -- who were the terrorists of their day in the 11^th century.  They were like black belts and assassinated him there on the street.  I wanted to go see where this happened because I was investigating the crusaders, but because of the Israeli war with Hezbollah, there were cluster bombs being dropped in the area. The UN said that we could not go in that area because there were too many bombs.  So when I was at a gas station, I was just getting in a car when suddenly the door opened; and a man came in, pulled me out and put me against the wall.  He said to me, "Are you an Israeli spy?"  The look on that man’s face was with just such hatred.  I said, "No.  I’m Greek."  And then my friend started talking Lebanese to him.  They got into an argument; and my friend stood up to the man.  As he’s doing this, I’m looked around.  There were all these bullet holes in the buildings from the war.  I thought, "Oh, my god, this is going to be one of those stories."  My friend got the man to let me go, but for the next three hours, we were always afraid we may be pulled over because it was Hezbollah territory.  And then we went to go to Shabelle up in the north -- which is their great state.  As we were driving up there, we had machine guns on us all the way up which took two and a half hours.  And I’ve been in certain situations even with Massad agents who thought I was a spy as well.  I don’t know what it is.  It’s all the roles I’ve been playing all my life, I suppose.  I’ve come out looking like an assassin!

Egypt

OUTTAKES:  What attracts you to the Middle East?

THAAO:  In different parts of the world, we have different ways of expressing ourselves and getting information.  When I went to the Middle East is that they are a veiled society.  When you look at their windows, they are all camouflaged.  They are very small tidbits of squares that you can see out of, but you can’t see through.  So they see about you; and we can’t see about them.  So those places always had an air of mystery.  Even when I would sit with the Bedouins in Jordan, there was always a sense of mystery.  When you look at the movie, Lawrence of Arabia, Arabs always had a sense of mystery.  So I suppose it intrigued me; and I had to constantly uncover that mystery.  That’s why I got involved with going to places more than once.  I've been to Egypt ten times; and I've been to Greece and Italy a lot.  I've been to Jordan three times.

OUTTAKES:  Where would you like to go that you haven't been?

THAAO:  China.  I studied Chinese history for three years in my youth, so I know the periods, the history, the pottery and the different states at the time.  Their archeology  is also fascinating because  it has a veil as well.  You can’t read their mind.  That is fascinating.  So that’s where I’d go.  India would be one as well.  Probably China more than any other place.

OUTTAKES:  What is your favorite place that you've traveled to?

THAAO:  Santorini in Greece (pictured above).  You walk along there; and you see the whole ocean.  Two thirds of that island in 1500 BC went under because of what was probably the greatest earthquake known to man...a  volcanic eruption just imploded what’s left.  So when you go along there, there’s an innate sadness in that island.  Someone said, after six weeks, you’ll end up weeping here.  It just permeates the island.  But what a beautiful landscape, it’s just breathtaking.

This interview was previous recorded on Blogtalkradio (OutTakes Interviews; host:  Laurie Baker, 8/28/12).  Audio recording can be heard at link below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/outtakes/2012/08/28/thaao-penghlis