I am not a terrorist
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2008
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39
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Trip End
Nov 27, 2008
Jerusalem,
Israel
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Unfortunately for me, while in Israel I came across at least one person each day that appeared convinced I was in Israel for the purpose of terrorist activity (well, I suppose I have a threatening demeanour!?). On arrival, our bags were all opened and x-rayed multiple times (this happens to everyone), and then I was singled out as having a suspicious itinerary (and I couldn't remember exact dates of entering and exiting some recent countries - I didn't even know the date that day!). Accordingly I was put through a brief interrogation and then my passport, and subsequently Ben's as well, was taken away for an hour while we waited. I am not sure what they did to 'check us out' during that hour, but we were eventually allowed into the country.
We spent our first day exploring the Old City, which is divided into Armenian, Jewish, Muslim and Christian quarters.
Armenian Church
Most of the Armenian population here lives within their own community, and they speak Armenian, with English as a second language. The Jewish population speak Hebrew, while the Muslims speak Arabic. It appeared best, thus, just top stick with English - indeed you could offend if you used the 'wrong' language, as one of our group did when she said thank you in Hebrew, only to get the chilly reply that it would be best to say 'shukran', Arabic for thank you.For the Jews, the site of most significance is the Western Wall (previously known as the Wailing Wall by Westerners - they do not like this name, but after standing and hearing the 'wailing' there yesterday, I can see where they got the term from). The Muslim quarter is the largest quarter and is filled with many shops lining the passageways, much like the souks in Egypt or the rest of the Middle East. Large groups of Christian pilgrims could be seen following the Via Dolorosa (way of the cross) through the Muslim quarter - many were carrying their own wooden crosses and singing hymns at the various Stations of the Cross. Their ultimate goal was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, reported site of the crucifixion, washing of the body, and the tomb of Jesus. The church was very crowded, although apparently it wasn't a particularly busy day.
The following day we headed out to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. It is impossible to visit this memorial without being deeply moved, and it is truly horrific to bear witness to the deeds that were carried out by one group of humans against another.
Our final day was spent revisiting the Old City, in particular going up onto the Temple Mount, site of great importance to Muslims.
Passageway in Old City
It is from here that Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven, and the Al Aqsa Mosque is said to be 2nd in importance to the Mosque in Mecca. This Mosque, however, has the plainer outer appearance, while the Dome of the Rock has the golden dome. The area of the Temple Mount was very peaceful, as was our walk later around the ramparts of the walls of the Old City. It was pleasant to be removed from the chaotic, noisy collection of humanity down in the narrow passageways of the Old City for a period.I haven't mentioned food for a while, one of my great loves, so I will make a small mention here. We were lucky enough to find a great restaurant called Zuni in the area of the Ben Yehuda mall (an area full of bars and restaurants). I had a really fantastic creamy, mushroom pasta dish here as well as un ultra-creamy delicious crème brulee. I even returned the next day for yet another great pasta dish - pumpkin and marscapone tortellini (yum!). I was hoping for a great steak last night, but unfortunately the South American steakhouse did not live up to my expectations. I have enjoyed much better steaks in Australia and Argentina. The wine we have had here has been from the Golan Heights; it has been quite good, but I wonder where they were producing wine prior to the 6 day war....
Anyway, enough for now. After a sleepless night at the crazily busy airport waiting to check in 3 hrs prior to our 5am flight (urgh!), I am hoping to soon board my flight and have a sleep when I can dream about the tapas and paella to come in Spain!!
