When do we ride into Jerusalem?
By the way, that's a direct rip off from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. I had songs from it stuck in my head the whole time we were in Israel. Such good music, I love the funk. Best (arguably the only good) thing Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote, but I digress.
Our flight left Cairo at 2:45am. We had had a long day of pyramid and museum visiting, which was off ot an early start after our 7:00am arrival off the night train. We napped for about three hours after dinner before heading to the airport. We we questioned separately about how we knew eachother, why we were travelling, if anyone had asked us to take anything for them. Then our interrogators conferred. The procedure took about 20 minutes. After that, which was a little intimidating, the rest was easy. We got in to Tel Aviv at about 5:00am (there was a time change) and then took a service taxi to Jerusalem. The service taxi is an 11 passenger van that goes once it's filled up. It was nice- we met an elderly man who works at a peace organization in Bethlehem and a young man from New York who was celebrating pesah (passsover) with family in Jerusalem.
When we arrived in Jerusalem, our hostel was locked up and no one answered the door. We went next door and got the man to phone and wake up our proprietor. We had booked the room for the night before so we could rest for part of the morning, then go out and enjoy the day. Our room was not ready and after waiting around, going for breakfast, returning, and still not having a good room, we found another place to stay. Because it was coming on Easter and Passover, it was a very busy tourist time in Israel.
Finally, we rested for part of the afternoon then went out in the early evening.Here is one of my first pictures, near the old city walls.
As we were walking into New Jerusalem (the happening part of town), we had this haunting feeling of being in a recently evacuated city. It was the start of Passover and every business was closed. The were very few people walking, cycling or driving. As there were so many tourists,this was quite surprising. After walking along the main road for a while, we decided to walk back. We stayed in East Jerusalem- the Palestinian (Muslim) quarter- so more businesses were open there. After a few moments, I suggested we walk off the main road and in some of the little side streets with more character. Forturnately, this path led us to what appeared to be the ONLY open pub/restaurant in the area. We ate a glorious Greek salad and drank cider and visited with the lovely manager, who charged us about half of our bill. We went back the next two nights. Each subsequent night was busier- the first night we were the only people there for a good hour, then in total about 4 other people showed up.
The next day we went ot Masada, a fort by the Dead Sea. It was originally built by King Herod and later occupied by Byzantine hermits. It was a gorgeous day!
The next two days, we hung out in the Old City. The old city is surrounded by walls and gates. The interior boasts Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock), The Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the stations of the cross and many churches. There are many little shops and restaurants as well. I could have spent much more time there and in Jerusalem in general. It was amazing and I do feel different now that I've been there. All those verses I memomrized at school and AWANA have been revisiting my brain.
More pictures to follow- there is a different feature I have to figure out so I can get them the correct way on the screen.
Anyway, I am soaking my feet and should go. I have to pack for the school trip to Doha which leaves a little later on today.
shalom...
Our flight left Cairo at 2:45am. We had had a long day of pyramid and museum visiting, which was off ot an early start after our 7:00am arrival off the night train. We napped for about three hours after dinner before heading to the airport. We we questioned separately about how we knew eachother, why we were travelling, if anyone had asked us to take anything for them. Then our interrogators conferred. The procedure took about 20 minutes. After that, which was a little intimidating, the rest was easy. We got in to Tel Aviv at about 5:00am (there was a time change) and then took a service taxi to Jerusalem. The service taxi is an 11 passenger van that goes once it's filled up. It was nice- we met an elderly man who works at a peace organization in Bethlehem and a young man from New York who was celebrating pesah (passsover) with family in Jerusalem.
When we arrived in Jerusalem, our hostel was locked up and no one answered the door. We went next door and got the man to phone and wake up our proprietor. We had booked the room for the night before so we could rest for part of the morning, then go out and enjoy the day. Our room was not ready and after waiting around, going for breakfast, returning, and still not having a good room, we found another place to stay. Because it was coming on Easter and Passover, it was a very busy tourist time in Israel.
Finally, we rested for part of the afternoon then went out in the early evening.Here is one of my first pictures, near the old city walls.
As we were walking into New Jerusalem (the happening part of town), we had this haunting feeling of being in a recently evacuated city. It was the start of Passover and every business was closed. The were very few people walking, cycling or driving. As there were so many tourists,this was quite surprising. After walking along the main road for a while, we decided to walk back. We stayed in East Jerusalem- the Palestinian (Muslim) quarter- so more businesses were open there. After a few moments, I suggested we walk off the main road and in some of the little side streets with more character. Forturnately, this path led us to what appeared to be the ONLY open pub/restaurant in the area. We ate a glorious Greek salad and drank cider and visited with the lovely manager, who charged us about half of our bill. We went back the next two nights. Each subsequent night was busier- the first night we were the only people there for a good hour, then in total about 4 other people showed up.
The next day we went ot Masada, a fort by the Dead Sea. It was originally built by King Herod and later occupied by Byzantine hermits. It was a gorgeous day!
The next two days, we hung out in the Old City. The old city is surrounded by walls and gates. The interior boasts Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock), The Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the stations of the cross and many churches. There are many little shops and restaurants as well. I could have spent much more time there and in Jerusalem in general. It was amazing and I do feel different now that I've been there. All those verses I memomrized at school and AWANA have been revisiting my brain.
More pictures to follow- there is a different feature I have to figure out so I can get them the correct way on the screen.
Anyway, I am soaking my feet and should go. I have to pack for the school trip to Doha which leaves a little later on today.
shalom...
posted by Granola Girl at
9:08 PM
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