I was excited to take a trip to Jerusalem on Aug. 20, 2012, but was sad that Hadossa couldn't go with me because she is not in my program at the university. They said that they couldn't allow outsiders for insurance reasons. So I had to go without her, but I plan to take her there next month. Our day was packed full of interesting information and places.
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| Sataf |
We left Tel Aviv at 8:00 AM and had breakfast at a place called Sataf. The girl's bathroom there had no toilet paper, and some of the girls were braving the situation the best they could. I went into the men's room (no one was in there) and found plenty of toilet paper for everyone in the girl's room. Sometimes you just have to make things happen.
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| view of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives |
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| Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives |
Then we went to the Mount of Olives and I had my first camel ride. I plan to have more camel rides in the future. Camels are wonderful.
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| on the Mount of Olives |
We went to a movie called the Time Elevator that gives a history of Israel with many special effects. The platform that your seat is on during the movie moves around and makes you feel all kinds of sensations such as if you were on a roller coaster or falling, and mist comes into the air when you splash down in the water. It was great fun.
We also went to Ammunition Hill where an important battle took place in the 6-Day War. Thirty-six Israelis died in the stone canals before we gained the upper hand over the enemy.
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| near the shuk outside the Old City |
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| entrance to the shuk outside the Old City |
We explored the shuk outside of the Old City and discovered that the prices there are much better than the prices in Tel Aviv.
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| near Jaffa Gate |
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| a side passage that caught my eye |
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| shuk inside Old City |
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| Church of the Holy Sepulcher |
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| door of Church of the Holy Sepulcher (probably built during the Crusades) |
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| inside Church of the Holy Sepulcher (I don't believe the claims made about this place) |
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| inside Church of the Holy Sepulcher (I was looking for the bathroom) |
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| on floor of Church of the Holy Sepulcher |
We finally made it to the Old City and walked through many stone passageways and small neighborhoods. We went through a shuk inside the city, too, which seemed to be run by Arabs. We saw the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in which the bathroom does not have toilet paper, so be sure to carry it with you whenever you go to Jerusalem.
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| Ethiopian Church area |
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| walking across some rooftops |
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| 2nd Temple ruins near the Kotel |
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| 2nd Temple ruins near the Kotel |
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| on the women's side of the Kotel |
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| the Kotel |
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| Who eats such tiny scoops of ice cream? |
And to top the evening off, we went to a Kibbutz called Ramat Rachel for dinner and had the most amazing Israeli dinner ever. There was fish, chicken, beef, roasted potatoes, green beans, lovely bread, rice, and numerous delicious salads. The beef was so amazingly delicious--mixed with spices, formed into lumps, and stuck on cinnamon sticks. Then we had dessert in barbie-doll sized dishes. By then we were so full that it hardly mattered how small the desserts were. Over all, it was a wonderful day.
Here's a video I made of today: https://youtu.be/XnOeypiYTmw
