After getting to sleep in until 7:15am, we are up, showered, breakfasted and back on the bus for new adventures.  Our first stop is the Israel Supreme Court.  We get another guided tour, but the guide is difficult to hear and the handout brochure seems just as informative.  I do learn a few facts about this high court: It is comprised of 15 justices (5 of which are women and 1 is of Arab descent) and cases may be tried by 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 justices depending on the seriousness of the matter.  The chief justice is the most senior judge and all judges are elected by a special committee.  There are two dilemmas facing the Israel Supreme Court.  One is that the country has no constitution so there is a lot of disagreements about how to decide cases and what to base decisions on.  Second is that the issue of seperation between church and state isn't clear here.  Currently rabbinical courts handles cases involving religion (which includes marriage...which therefore includes divorces).  So if you want to get divorced you must go to a rabbinical court, but to solve issues of spousal abuse, child custody or property divisions, you must go to a civil court.  It gets a little muddy. 

Afterward, we go back to the hotel for a 2 hour lunch break.  Sara and I go back to the room and sleep soundly for 90 minutes (we're that tired) and then grab a quick lunch before getting back on the bus.  We go hear another lecture (this one at the Van Leer Institute) about the seperation of church and state in Israel--the main issue is how does Israel preserve it's status of being a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time when muslim populations in the country are increasing and Jewish populations are decreasing? 

Next we have the option of going back to the hotel for a few hours or having free time in the city.  Sara and I have had no time to explore Jerusalem on our own so we eagerly pick the latter option.  We go for a walk with a guy, Gregg, from our group down Ben Yehuda Street (the main shopping street in town) and window shop.  We see huges amounts of kippot (traditional head coverings) for sale including a Seattle Sonics one.  We buy more iced coffees and make our way down toward the Old City.  We stop at an artists' colony that we've passed in the bus several times, but find that it's closed.  We keep walking and find another cute shopping district.  It's getting close to dinner so we stop for more falafel (soooo dang good) and a bit of shopping before meeting our group again. 

We meet at the King David Hotel--the swankiest hotel in town.  In 1946, the British Mandate was headquartered here and the Zionists (led by future Israeli PM Menachem Begin) bombed it. Since then the hotel has been completely redone.  We only pause outside before walking to a nearby neighborhood for a dessert reception at a donor to the program's house.  The house is beautifully decorated with Middle Eastern decor on the inside.  Outside their is a large couch with tons of pillows under a canopy, a second level balcony, hot tub and waterfall.  The place is gorgeous.  We enjoy another warm Jerusalem night and mingle with our cohorts while enjoying wine and dessert (yummy apple cobbler). 

It was still a busy day, but not as busy as yesterday... Tomorrow is another story.

Seen the palm tree islands of Dubai from the sky on the way!

Bored so I jumped on a mission with a couple stops!

Today we see a new side of Israel in Tel Aviv.  If Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were siblings, Jerusalem would be the good child that listens to the parents, gets good grades and follows all the rules.  Tel Aviv would be the wild child that stays out until all hours of the morning. 

It's not that the city is that hedonistic, but compared to Jerusalem, they're night and day--or should I say, they're Cain and Abel.  For starters, Tel Aviv is a young city--really only developing in the 20th century.  It's also modern, hip and full of nightclubs, bars, discotheques and beaches.  Jerusalem is filled with synagogues, churches and mosques.  I saw none in Tel Aviv.  Modest dress is a must in Jerusalem.  Anything goes in Tel Aviv. 

Today we fully immerse ourselves in the culture of the city. 

We start with a visit to to the Museum of Babalonyan Jewry (also known as Iraqi Jews using modern geography).  We learn that Abraham was from southern Iraq so the place is of special significance to all Jews.  Next we go to Tel Aviv University (which is still in session due to a winter teacher's strike) to hear a presentation on Ethiopian Jews and their exodus and acceptance into Israel. 

For lunch we have sandwiches on the grounds of the campus and then attend a photo exhibit done by participants in a related Kivunim program for college students. 

From here, we travel downtown (and get our first glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea) and are granted a wonderful treat: we get 40 minutes of shopping time in the city.  I use my time wisely... I buy an iced coffee (I'm getting addicted quickly) and sundress then use my remaining time left to wander the outdoor market. 

Next we visit an art gallery dedicated to Ruben Ruben (the Grandpa Moses of Israel).  He painted a lot of Israeli (especially Tel Aviv) landscapes and his work is beautiful. 

It's close to 3pm, but our day keeps going.  We go to a dance theater to watch an Israeli troupe perform folk dances for our benefit.  Then we walk a 1/4 mile through the streets (and past a wedding) to a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant for dinner.  We're pretty hungry so we dive right into the food: warm pita, eggplants, hummus and lots of other sauces.  I confess that I have never tried falafel, quite possibly the national food of Israel, and I get to sample it tonight.  For those of you who have yet to experience this dish, you simply must try it.  Falafel is chickpeas mashed with seasonings and rolled into balls that are deep fried.  The ball are served in a pita with hummus, spices, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles and some tangy sauce.  It is SOOO delicious!  For dessert... you guessed it...watermelon! 

It is late when we finish, but the night is still young (or so we're told).  We go to the local Tel Aviv playhouse to see a production of a play that roughly translates into "Woman of the House."  Those of us who only speak English sit in the balcony so we can read subtitles (like at the opera) while the play is performed.  The play deals with many different issues in Israeli culture (suicide bombings, military conscription, historical traditions, modern cities, death and even yes...watermelon consumption).  I thought the show was fantastic--serious, but with plenty of engaging and funny parts.  I also thought this gave a really good glimpse into what life is like for Israelis.  There were lots of locals in the crowd and they seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. 

The show ended around 11pm and though we had done and seen a lot already, there was still one more stop to make.  One can't visit Tel Aviv and not go to the beach so we made a midnight pitstop at a popular beach.  Some in the group changed into swimsuits and dove right in.  Others (like myself) preferred just to dip our feet in the water.  It was a warm and pleasant night.  The swimmers reported seeing jellyfish in the water.  I enjoyed just taking a moment to breathe in the salt water and appreciate the day.  

We were back on the road after midnight and back at the hotel 18 hours after we last weft in.  In bed at 1:30am and we don't have to wak up again until 7:15am...

I begin today in a most precarious situation.  Our group is taking a tour of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City including the grounds around the Dome of the Rock (a mosque that covers holy ground of all three major religions) and I am denied entry because my skirt is too short (it ends just above my knees).  Lucky for me there is another girl on my tour who has come prepared with an extra skirt and I quickly throw it on over my dress so I can enter.  We have a very brief tour of the area (it's close to noonday prayers and only Muslims can be in this area at that time--a loud alarm will sound when it's time for Muslims to gather and us to leave).  We learn that Jerusalem is the third holiest place to Muslims (behind Mecca and Medina) and that the Dome of the Rock is on the site where Abraham offered his son in sacrifice to God (also significant to Jews and Christians, but they claim that son was Isaac, while Muslims believe it was Ishmael).  We are also told that the Dome is where Mohammed ascended to Heaven (the dome created when the rocks of the earth tried to ascend with him) during his spiritual transformation. 

One woman in our group is muslim and is allowed to enter the mosque, but only after close scrutiny.  First she must delcare allegience to Allah and name Mohammed as his phophet.  Then she must recite the first chapter of the Koran and finally she must completely cover her head.  Only then is she allowed to go in.  We learn that the Dome of the Rock is generally used as a mosque for women and that most men come to pray at the nearby El Aksa mosque which faces toward Mecca. 

After a quick lunch back at the hotel, we travel back to the Old City again to visit the Christian Quarter.  Prior to arriving here, we overheard one of our group leaders mention that we'd have paramedics travel with us through the Christian Quarter. I am surprised by this and wonder why we'd be more prone to allergic reactions, strokes or choking accidents while in this section.  As we begin the tour, I realize that an Israeli paramedic is different from an American one.  This paramedic was young, buff and equipped with a very large and very powerful gun.  We were packing heat!  It turns out the Christian quarter is largely sympathetic to Palestinean causes so for safety's sake we traveled with an armed guard. 

Our tour guide tells us that the Christians in Israel are mainly those of Eastern influence (Greek Orthodox, etc), but that there is a growing number of Western influenced Christians arriving.  We visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchure which is the site of both Jesus's crucifixtion and ressurection.  The church was built on the site in 320 by Helena, mother of Constantine.  Since arriving in Israel, I confess I've felt a bit ignorant as I know very little about Judaism and it's made it somewhat of a struggle to keep track of all the history I'm witnessing.  Today I realize my limited understanding of Christianity makes me an expert in my group when I witness the following conversation:

Tour Guide:  This was the room where Helena discovered Jesus's cross.

Lady in my group:  Which cross?

TG:  THE cross

LIMG:  Which one?  The one Jesus carried?

TG:  Well, yes, um...he did carry it.  But he was also crucified on it. 

LIMG:  Oh, really...oh, okay. 

After our tour we go back to the hotel for dinner (more veggies, rice, pita, hummus and watermelon) then a concert of North African music featuring an amazing Moroccan singer.  Then Sara and I go back to our room where we are lucky enough to find an episode of "The Office" on TV (Jim:  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?  Dwight:  I can travel anywhere in the world...except Cuba.). We waste precious sleep minutes watching it, but it's well worth it.  Tomorrow we're up early for Tel Aviv.

It's the shabbat, which technically means I am totally free for the day and can finally catch up on the sleep my body is so desperately begging to have.  Only I have decided to take full advantage of every minute I have in Israel and have planned a full-day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea.  It sounded wonderful 2 months ago, but not so much at 2:45 am when my alarm goes off and I've only had 3 1/2 hours of sleep.  Twelve of us are up at this ungodly hour so we can hike up Masada while it's still cool and enjoy the sunrise.  We sleepily pile into the taxi van that will take us there (it's about an hour drive) and travel through two armed military checkpoints.  We arrive at Masada when it's still pitch dark (according to the Mamas and the Papas "the darkest hour is just before dawn" and I think they're right) and begin our ascent. 

Masada is, as a tour guide will later describe, "an island in the desert."  Or as my handy brochure points out, it is a plateau located "on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea, between Ein Gedi and Sodom (yes, that Sodom).  It is a mountain block that rose and was detached from the fault escarpment...the plateau is 450 meters above the level of the Dead Sea and is approximately 650 meters long and 300 meters wide." 

Masada is historically significant because it is the site of one of the first events of the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans which occured in 66 BCE.  When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, rebel Jews fled to Masada (which had been built as a palace fortress by King Herod).  The Romans eventually caught up with the Jews and planned to capture them and force them into slavery.  Rather than submit to this fate, the Jews drew lots and systematically murdered each other (women and children included) until only remained (who was then to have committed suicide, but decided at the last minute to stay alive in order to share the story).  This was done to show the Romans that they would rather die than live as slaves. 

We climbed the semi-steep snake path to get to the top, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the rising sun.  We arrived at the top just after 5:30am in plenty of time to watch the 5:45 sunrise over the Dead Sea.  Sunrises are always beautiful, but they seem extra special in places like this and after you've had to work for the reward.  Our group plops down on some rocks along with tourists from many other countries.  As the sun begins to peek out over the lands of Jordan, we all begin singing, "Here comes the sun...do do do do...Here comes the sun."  Proof once again that the Beatles speak all languages as even some Frenchies start singing along. 

Most people descend shortly after sunrise to beat the approaching heat.  The twelve of us in my group are stuck here until 9:30 when another group of less-adventurous Kivunim participants arrive after coming up via cable car.  With them is our guide, Hillel, who tells us more about the history of this place and supplies us with new (and cold) bottles of water.  We all take the cable car back down and at 11am we're already beat.  We were tired before today, but now were just plain exhausted.  I stop to get a frozen coffee--I'm resorting to all sorts of tactics to keep my energy going--before getting back on the bus. 

Next we stop at Ein Gedi--a kibbutz located in the middle of the desert and home to a waterfall and many ibex (Hillel tells us the ibex are native to the New York Times crossword puzzle--Ha Ha!).  We have lunch at a small cafeteria and then drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the planet. 

The Dead Sea is actually a lake, not a sea, nestled between Israel and Jordan.  It is 1378 feet below sea level and its shores are the lowest points of dry land on Earth.   It is the second saltiest body of water in the world (behind Lake Asal in Djibouti) is 30% saline. It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.  It has a strong sulphuric smell.  No animals can live inside the water and even boat travel is impossible. 

We change into our bathing suits and head for the water.  It's stinky, but warm like a bath.  It is very easy to float, in fact impossible not to float.  I keep trying to bring my legs down to touch the bottom and I struggle immensely.  The people in my group take turns passing around a newspaper so we can lounge and read in the water.  We discover mud on the banks of the shore that people apply to their bodies.  We coat ourselves in mud then bask in the sunshine before rinsing off.  Our skin is smoother, though still stinky.  We also visit the hot baths (water that is more than 100 degrees Farenheit and smells like a fishbowl).  Finally a good rinse off and then back on the bus toward the hotel. 

Once I get back to my room, I take a really good shower and then sleep soundly for 90 minutes before Sara wakes me to go to another lecture (this one on Israeli literature) and then dinner at an art museum.  Luckily, it is a worthwhile lecture and dinner (fresh Italian food-yum) because I'm still very tired.

So far we've focused on the older parts of Jerusalem.  Today we venture into modern history.  This morning we visit the Holocaust Museum --Yad Vashem (Hebrew for "A name and a place" taken from Isaiah 56:4,5 --"For thus says the Lord: to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name...I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.")

It is a thoughtfully-designed, beautiful memorial.  The area around the main building is landscaped with carob trees (significant because the Bible says that carobs will give you sustenance until better times come) planted in honor of each of the "righteous gentiles" who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.  Our tour guide walks us through the trees and reminds us that "evil is not a neccessary. It's always a choice.  Even at the worst of times, there is always a choice.  Yes, an order may be given and an order is to be obeyed, but God gave you a brain too." 

The building is triangular shaped (think pup tent) and built on the slope of a hill.  You enter from the bottom of the hill and the entranceway is very dark.  A film collage of European Jews of the 1920s is playing on the wall.  The darkness sets the mood for the terror that is lurking in these people's near future.  As you walk through the building, you criss cross between rooms for each of the years leading to the end of the war.  Our guide is a knowledgable man who has clearly spent his life studying this history.  He tells us fascinating stories as we walk past photographs, mementos and videos of survivors.  He tells us that the ugly term "death camp" is really a euphamism as very few people actually stayed in these places--the average time spent by a Jew in a death camp before death was just 2 hours.  He also talks about the Warsaw Uprising where Jews fought back against their Nazi oppressors.  He tells us that the Warsaw rioters were not resisting in order to survive, but rather resisting as a way to fight back and get revenge even though death is guaranteed.  I notice a tour group of Israeli soldiers nearby and a big, bulky soldier who could pass for Bluto's son has tears in his eyes.  I think about today's Israeli army and wonder how this soldier feels about fighting back oppressors, revenge and certain death.  As we continue to make our way through the museum, the light gets stronger and brighter.  The last room of the museum is dedicated to preserving the names of everyone who died in the Holocaust.  The room is lined with binders containing the names of anyone who died (although, of course, there are still many nameless victims).  Anyone who lost a relative in the Holocaust can fill out a form to make sure the name is remembered here.  Finally, you exit the building and walk out onto a balcony overlooking Jerusalem.  It is powerfully symbolic.  The Jews suffered terribly, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel--the creation of Israel, a permanent home for the them. 

Next we travel to the Jerusalem Forest for lunch (a picnic of Burger King while sitting on pointy rocks--definitely not having it my way) where we hear stories about Israeli soldiers who fought here to protect Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem during the war of independence in 1948.  Then it's on to Mt. Herzel to visit the grave of Theodor Herzel (the founder of the modern Zionist movement which calls for Jews worldwide to return to this land).  We also visit the gravesite of Yitzak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995.  From here it's on to the military cemetary.  I notice that Israeli graves are different than American graves.  They are above ground, not below and the tops are like open planters for families to grow memorial flowers.  It is also the tradition here to place stones, not flowers, on people's graves as a sign of rememberance.  This is because while flowers can whither and die, stones will always stay there.  We visit the grave of Uri Grossman, an Israeli soldier killed on the last day of the 2006 war with Lebanon.  We hear a eulogy written by his father before leaving the cemetary for shabbat. 

It has been a long and emotionally wrenching day.  Luckily it is Friday and shabbat begins at sunset--no work for the next 24 hours.  We all go to synagogue services around town.  Sara and I go (with others) to a reform synagogue.  It's my first experience in a synagogue and I'm pleased with how enjoyable the services are.  People enter, grab their siddurs (prayer books) and join together in 45 minutes of songs and chants in praise of God.  There is a rabbi leading services, but he's there more to keep the beat rather than preach to the congregation.  I don't know any of the songs, but I'm still able to enjoy hearing the voices and watching the people.  There is no driving after services, so we walk home, enjoying the warm evening.  We have a late dinner and get to bed around 11pm... Luckily, I don't have to get up too early tomorrow. ;) 

This morning we are up bright and early for a tour of the Israel Museum.  First we hear a lecture and see a slideshow presentation of the some of the museum's highlighs (torah coverings and personal items of people lost in the Holocaust are among the highlights).  Next the curator of the museum comes to speak to us about the Dead Sea Scrolls which are housed here. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents from the Hebrew Bible written prior to the year 100 AD.  They were found in caves along the West Bank beginning in 1947 and continuning through the 1970s.  They are significant because they are the oldest Biblical texts in Hebrew.  The first discovered scroll was purchased by an Israeli archaeologist on November 29, 1947--a noted date here as it was the date the UN approved the creation of Israel.  Later four scrolls were put up for sale (by a seller who clearly didn't know what he was selling) and advertised in the classifieds of the Wall Street Journal on June 1, 1954.  Today they are housed here.  Only occasionally are the actual scrolls put out on display--usually it's just photocopies on display.  Today we get to see the Book of Isaiah scroll on display.  It's the second longest scroll at 734cm in length and it's out as part of a special exhibit celebrating Israel's 60th birthday.  President Bush toured the exhibit two months ago when he was here.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are all housed in a special part of the museum called the Shrine of the Book.  From the exterior, the building has an odd shape.  Our bus leader Leah calls it "a dollop of whipped cream" and Sara says it looks like "a white Hershey's Kiss."  It is actually designed to look like the clay pots that the scrolls were discovered inside. 

Afterward, we very briefly tour the outdoor model of the Old City and the surrounding sculpture gardens before visiting the art museum.  There are six museums in the country exhibiting art from the last sixty years of Israel's history (again as part of birthday celebrations).  This museum features work from 1998-2008.  We see a lot of cool, modern pieces including a photographer's recreation of the Last Supper using Israeli soldiers as Jesus and the apostles. 

Next we go back to Ramat Rachel for lunch and another lecture.  Then in the early evening we depart for the Ein Karem neighborhood and a visit to the Church of Notre Dame.  As soon as we enter, we are "challenged" to remain silent for the remainder of our stay.  We're led to a chapel where three new-agey musicians play for us.  I am a little uninspired until we follow the musicians outside into the lovely gardens of the church.  The music becomes more tranquil and less Yanni-esque and were allowed to just sit and take in our surroundings.  When the music is over, we are allowed to roam freely (but silently) through the gardens.  I stop in one courtyard to sit and it suddenly dawns on me that I am in one of the most peaceful places on earth.  It's so quiet, beautiful and serene here.  I'm also in one of the most conflicted places on earth (I'm still in Jerusalem after all).  It's an amazing juxtaposition.  So many times I have felt relaxed and soothed in this city yet I can never forget how volatile my surroundings are.  I'm thinking about this contrast when the silence is broken by the wail of a distant police siren reminding me once again that everything is at odds in this city. 

We leave the church and walk a short distance to a neighborhood restaurant where we have a catered, outdoor BBQ dinner in the garden above it.  It's a beautiful setting.  We watch the sun set on the city as we enjoy BBQ (including soy patties-yum), salad, pita, hummus and for dessert....watermelon. 

Afterward, it's back to the hobbit beds for some sleep.

"Here old is REALLY old." -- Benah, our tour guide of the Old City

Today is a field trip to some of the most amazing places in the world.  We begin with a bus ride through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (of Psalm 23 fame) which I am surprised to learn in a real place (so named because of all the killing that took place here during a long ago battle).  We pass Oskar Schindler's grave in a Christian cemetary and then park just outside the Old City walls.  The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian.  The Armenians are Christian so their quarters kind of blend in together.  The Jewish and Muslim quarters are the largest in area. 

We begin in the Jewish Quarter on Mt. Zion.  We enter the Zion Gate which is riddled with bullet holes, remnants of Israel's 1948 fight for independence.  Benah the guide reminds us that "here tradition is stronger than the truth."  It's hard to accurately know what happened when and where in this city and most people rely on faith, not facts, to guide them.  We walk past the site of Jesus's last supper and the trees where Judas hanged himself.  We enter the room where King David's tomb is, though Benah points out that from an archaeological point of view, it is unlikely to be the actual King David's tomb.  The room is designed with Muslim influences therefore making it much more recent than King David's life. 

We travel along the Cardo, the main road of the Old City that cuts through the heart of it (hence the name Cardo).  We see places where the road has worn away to the original road that lay here thousands of years ago.  Next we tour an archaeological museum and see relics from Herod's palaces of 2000 years ago. 

After a quick lunch of rice, veggies and of course, more watermelon, we have a little free time to explore the Old City.  It is a hot day and since we've arrived in Jerusalem, Sara and I have kept seeing the same small freezers of "Nestles Nok Out" ice cream bars everywhere.  We decide to get some ice cream as we puruse the market stalls of the Old City.  The market is packed, cramped and slightly dark.  We navigate up and down each aisle, but cannot find any of the ice cream freezers we've seen everywhere else all week.  A normal person might just give up the quest for ice cream, but it's REALLY hot, we're a little fatigued and it sounds so good.  So we keep walking--briskly as we've been given only 45 minutes of independence--but we can't find anything, but cheap sandals, tacky souvenirs and spices.  Somehow we stumble into the Muslim Quarter and wander into what I call a Vegetarian's Worst Nightmare.  It's a grocery corridor filled with the strong aromas of Middle Eastern spices, onions and meat.  We see a display of goats heads within arms' length.  We see animal carcasses (leaving nothing to the imagination as to where this meat came from) hanging from the ceiling.  We walk even quicker, keep our eyes down and our focus at the literal light at the end of the tunnel.  Finally, we emerge into an open aired section of the city where there are plenty of small cafes....and Nok Out bars.  We are so excited.  We only have 10 minutes to buy, eat, enjoy and get back to our group meeting place.  We both decide that there is no way we will go through Butcher Alley again and somehow through sheer luck (because I know our navigational skills aren't that good) we find our way back.  

Afterward we get back on the bus and return to Ramat Rachel for another lecture, dinner and time to change before returning to the Old City at 10pm.  We come to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site in all of Judaism.  Since the destruction of the first and second temples, Jews have come to the Western Wall to pray (the location of the temples is where the Dome of the Rock--a Muslim mosque now sits so it's as close as Jews can get to the temple site).  Before we have time to visit the wall, our program leader Peter tells us, "The wall is alive.  You've seen other examples of antiquity today, but they're all just ruins--only alives to tourists.  Not the Western Wall.  The wall has karma."  Peter is right.  The place is magical.  The wall is crowded at this late hour with men praying on one larger side than the women (seperated by a dividing wall).  We write prayers on little pieces of paper, wash our hands (as is the custom) and walk up to the wall.  It amazes me that in such a well-known, much-visited public place every single person is having the most private, intimate conversation with God.  Some people go up to the wall to touch it, whisper to it or pray.  Others stay back holding prayer books and reciting words.  It is an amazing experience to witness.  Once we've been up close to the wall, we walk backward (always facing the wall) to meet with our group again. 

Next we take an underground tour of the Western Wall (much of the original wall is now buried underground as the result of thousands of years of construction here).  We go down nine stories to walk on the original road outside the wall which was used by the likes of King Herod and Jesus.  We learn that Muslim villages built over the road and walls in the 7-9th centuries.  We also learn that the full Western Wall (of which we walk the entire length) was only discovered in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  When these tunnels that we're walking in were first discovered, many Arabs were upset because they thought the Jews were trying to infiltrate the Dome of the Rock and Jewish archaeologists and construction workers were even murdered as they worked here.  In truth, Jews would never dig underneath the Dome of the Rock as to not disturb what both religions refer to as the "holiest of holy," the site where God touched down and created man.  The tunnels are narrow and cramped, but we get an impressive view of the Jerusalem of yesteryear. 

Our tour wraps up just before midnight.  On the bus ride home we watch the clock go from 23:59 to 00:00--an experience we will repeat several times before our trip is through.  It was a long day, but a profound one too.

I arrived in Dubai at around 8pm and immediately found a taxi bound for Abu Dhabi.  We got lost along the way to the airport due to the construction taking place around the exit to the airport.  He ended up calling one of his friends to ask for directions.  We also asked two other people where the airport was located.  I finally got to the airport and checked in with the airlines.  As i was checking in,

I just arrived to Amman, Jordan after a sweltering 4 hour car ride with 3 other people in the back seat with me.

I am trying to decide if I should go to Dubai for the next 4 days or just stick around here.

Today begins with back-to-back lectures in our hotel conference room.  The first is a presentation by a photographer named Frederic Brenner, a man who has traveled to 40 different countries over the past 25 years capturing images of the Jewish Diaspora.  We watch a slideshow of his work and listen to him speak.  Next we hear from David Horovitz, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post.  He talks about the current state of affairs in Israel.  He says that people generally feel safer today than a few years ago, but the threat of Iran is worry to everyone. 

In the afternoon we take a walking tour of Jerusalem and visit a few neighborhoods.  The places we visit our diverse.  As we enter one extremely Orthodox neighborhood, a woman standing by the gate tells us in Hebrew, "Please leave our community."  And a boy taking out the garbage shields his face from us as he passes.  As we walk around, we stop periodically in small courtyards to hear local music and folk songs being played for our benefit.  We also have an opportunity to visit a synagogue and hear about its traditions. 

I notice that there are LOTS of stray cats in Israel.  They seem to be everywhere.  Another member of our group (there are 98 of us altogether) tells me that Jerusalem had a big mouse problem a few years ago so they brought in the cats.  The mice are under control, but now the city is dealing with an overpopulation of cats. 

Our last stop on the walking tour is a visit to the home of Rabbi Arye, a famous Israeli spiritual leader.  As our guide tells us about the Rabbi's house, a neighbor walks out and begins to tell us about Arye and his famous visitors (Menacham Begin amongst many).  Then the man says Shalom and we continue back to the bus. 

Dinner is at our hotel.  I've noticed that a lot of the food is pretty salty so I'm careful with what I get.  I make a dinner out of rice, vegetables, pita and hummus, a meal which will be my staple for the next two weeks.  Dessert is watermelon.  Watermelon is very big here and is served at all three meals.  It's been a while since I've had good watermelon so I take advantage and enjoy it. 

After dinner, we attend a two-hour lecture on water usage in the Middle East.  Informative, yes, but it's been a long day and we're all still jet-lagged.  When it's over, we go back to our rooms and get a little bit of sleep before we start again in the morning.

Reader, if u have been folowing my other euro-trip blog, this story is about 18 days of catching up on partying while being in a place like Iraq for 10 months!!! Some said we would not suceed, but Buddy we did!

As we waited in kuwait for a flight to get to germany, Blake and I discussed what we would do when we arrive in Frankfurt.

I told him I was gonna rent a car first and then have a drink! We were both excited!!!

Nic Blake, since this was his first time going to countries in Europe had set a goal to take pictures of everything, to include the beer we drank and take the coasters... I didnt have any goals for this trip but to have a good time. You go to a place one time, you never have the same experiance, visit twice...i guess i was anticpating for surprises!

This blog will be about fun storytelling, so i can remind myself what happened because I have very bad short-term memory 'relapses' , shouldnt really call it losses, cuz it takes me days to remember someone's name and or a name of something, sorry.

It took a LONG, LONG time to get here.  I left Austin at noon on Sunday and arrived in Tel Aviv at 10pm on Monday night.  That includes a 2 hour weather delay and electrical problems on the plane that involved shutting it off and rebooting it (while on the runway, but unsettling nonetheless).  But I am finally here and can hopefully relax a bit. 

Or maybe not... After we got picked up at the airport, one of our guides tells us that the freeway to Jerusalem might be backed up.  He explains how a terrorist forced a tour bus off the highway on this date and people are out at the Memorial on this night.  Yikes!  Terrorists taking over tour buses--a new worry for me.  He also explains that we can't take any alternate routes because we don't have an armed guard with us and we'd need one for the backgrounds.  Gulp!  I suddenly wish I'm back on the plane with faulty wiring.  We drive by a new light rail station that was just completed.  Our guide explains that it was at this site that the terrorist with the bulldozer plowed into a crowd of people recently.  Wow!  My Middle Eastern adventure is really getting off to a good start. 

I survive the bus ride and make it to our hotel, Ramat Rachel (named thusly because it's at the site of burial of the Matriarch Rachel).  It's in the southern end of Jerusalem.  Before 1967, the swimming pool would have been in Jordan.  One side of the hotel looks toward the lights of the little town of Bethelam.  It suddenly hits me that I'm in Israel.  Really in Israel. 

I reunite with my coworker Sara and stagger into my little bed (it's really short...we call them Hobbit beds) for some much needed sleep. 

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