It’s hard to even know where to begin when describing a place like Jerusalem. I struck out for the Old City by myself after the White Night in Tel Aviv, and wasn’t too sure what I “needed” to see. I was dropped off a few blocks from the Jaffa Gate (one of many entrances to the city), and of course began snapping away en route.
Walking along Jaffa Road.
Even in Israel, there are some things that just follow you around!
Before I could even locate a hostel, I was swept up by the first of many Arab storekeepers I would meet. After a few trips around the block you began to get a feel for the algorithm they use to lure in tourists:
“Hello please, how are you? Where are you going?”
(Name off a place/point to a map)
“Ah yes, very good place. Down this way, I take you…”
(Move forward ten feet)
“But first, come see my shop! It’s very nice, please, this way…”
And just like that, you’re browsing silver plated tea cups, nagilas (hookahs) and wooden camels! I ended up picking up a nice bedspread/table cloth/rug/tapestry that was handmade up in the north for my parents — but not after a fair amount of bargaining! You really have to be on your guard, as the store owners can move pretty fast. One second you’re walking inside, the next they’re asking what kind of credit card you have! Even at the checkout, they attempted to add a “surcharge” to cover the cost of running the machine. This is not so unreasonable, until they start bartering with you over the exact amount and you realize they are just trying to skim a few extra bucks off you!
I checked into a nice hostel, and got a private room so that I could recover from a night of wandering on the beach in Tel Aviv and not sleeping. I then started to explore the city, which is divided up into the Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian Quarters.
Standing room only -- just don't slip on the really worn stone steps!
The deeper you go into this labyrinth, the cheaper (and possibly better) the food gets. Since I am now virtually addicted to falafel, I of course helped myself. I also went outside to walk around the “modern” city, and stumbled upon a block party of sorts, that apparently happens every Friday until Shabbat!
The common denominator of all of Israel: live music and overpriced beer!
But after the Shabbat began, the city went stone quiet. I wandered around some more, and enjoyed the unique and well-worn architecture that permeated even the newer parts of Jerusalem.
After calling it an early night and sleeping early (but not before the evening prayer reverberated throughout the city), I awoke the next day to make a friend at the hostel who became my travel buddy. At first we tagged along with a free tour, but we quickly became aware of how much of a nuisance the residents perceive groups of 40+ tourists crowding a tiny market avenue to be. We decided to avoid the feeling of being herded around like cattle, and opted to follow a guidebook and map and explore ourselves:
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The purported site of the Crucifixion of Christ.
In particular, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was an amazing visit. Regardless of one’s religious views, it is nonetheless impressive to be in the presence of such a holy site. Indeed, it was incredible just to observe how moved some of the other visitors were to be there — some had no doubt been waiting their entire lives for this chance. And whether or not you believe in Christ, it is powerful to realize that you are standing at a site whose events would unforgettably shape modern history. Perhaps this makes the so-called “Jerusalem Syndrome,” where a visitor to the city returns to his home believing himself to be a prophet, slightly more believable!
Near the Wailing Wall, right before we were asked not to take photographs!
I won’t go into the details of the history of these sites (in other words, I don’t feel like plagiarizing Wikipedia), but needless to say these sites are at least as old as your grandfather. After I had walked enough miles to qualify for a half-marathon, I retreated to the city to kill some time (a.k.a several more hours) before the Shabbat ended and I could catch a bus back to the lovely Sede Boqer.
The closest one will ever get to being in the movie "I Am Legend"!
The one slightly disappointing aspect of the trip was the difficulty I experienced trying to get people to help me practice speaking Arabic. When I would say hi to an Arab storekeeper, I would normally not even be understood at first because they are expecting me to address them in Hebrew or English. They would become curious where I studied Arabic, but were surprisingly reluctant to teach me local words/phrases. Perhaps this hints at a suspicion that I was a government operative or something! However, my relatively poor speaking ability no doubt soon dispelled this notion from their minds. It is both to my credit and embarrassment that after 1.5 months of being here, I can already get around with Hebrew significantly better than I can with Arabic — which I studied intensively for two semesters! Ah well…
Now, back to work until the still-in-the-works trip to PETRA! Check back soon — and in the meantime look at this sweet picture of one of our collector dishes focusing the sun (for once! Usually they are doing maintenance on it):
Maybe this is how they did the special effects for the end scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."