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Jerusalem:
1 September - 6 September
Wednesday, 1 September: The taxi from Haifa brought us through the Judean hills, the terrain getting hillier as we approached Jerusalem. There's something special about Jerusalem...it's not like the streets are paved with gold or anything...but there's just a whole different feel.
We
arrived at the Jerusalem Tower Hotel, which was in the ideal location.
Within walking distance to the Old City, and two blocks from the Ben Yehuda
pedestrian mall, which features every type of restaurant/shop/club you
could want!!
We
walked to the Old City today, passing through the Jaffa Gate. We went
through the crowded shuk (marketplace), selling everything from
spices to Judaica to food to tacky T-shirts, and got slightly lost trying
to find the Kotel, the Western Wall. Eventually, we did find it,
passing through security and entering the huge plaza which faces the kotel.
We had to split up at the Wall, since it is separated into a men's and women's side, in keeping with Orthodox tradition. We touched the wall, and followed the custom of placing our own handwritten prayers into the cracks in the wall. There's no way, in words, to describe the quiet majesty of this wall...it's fairly small, but the effect it has on Jews from all over the globe is just immeasurable.
We
went to the Tower of David museum next, which is a Crusader-era castle
just inside the old city walls. From its highest level, we had magnificent
views of the Old and New Cities. Inside, we explored t
he
historical exhibits, and saw the 1800s model of Jerusalem.
Later, we shopped at this outdoor jewelry market near our hotel, and then walked to Ben Yehuda Street. We spent lots of money at "Mr. T's," Jerusalem's well-known T-shirt shop. We ate dinner at Blues Brothers Argentinian Steak House.
Thursday, 2 September: We
took a taxi to the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Since the Knesset wasn't
in session, we were able to sit in the diplomatic gallery inside the Plenum
of the Assembly. We saw the Prime Minister's chair, and the tour guide
explained a little about how the Knesset functions. We then saw the reception
hall, which had tapestries and mosaics designed by Marc Cha
gall.
As you might imagine, security is very tight at the Knesset. Visitors are not permitted to bring cameras inside, and your person and bag are searched before you go in. Large concrete barriers separate the building from the parking area, and the patrolling guards out front seem to keep their fingers on the triggers of their Uzis at all times!
We walked to the Israel Museum next, and spent most of the rest of the
day there. It is a huge museum, featuring art, archaelogy,
Judaica, and more. One of the highlights was in the Judaica wing, where
the Museum has three completely restored synagogues -- one from Italy,
one from India, and one from Germany.
We visited the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known fragments of the Torah, are exhibited.
That evening, we returned to Ben Yehuda Street and ate dinner at a kosher Kentucky Fried Chicken, and later had ice cream at Ben & Jerry's.
Friday,
3 September: Today we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust
Memorial Museum. It was an incredibly moving, indescribable experience.
That night, as Shabbat was approaching, we went back to the Kotel, to watch the Shabbat festivities. The men's side was especially active, with lots of singing, dancing, chanting, etc.
Later, Eric and Raya went to Strudel, a cyber-cafe just off Ben Yehuda Street, where we had a couple drinks as we checked our email.
Saturday, 4 September: Today we took a "walking tour" of the Old City Jewish Quarter. We walked through the religious neighborhood, saw an excavated Roman road, a Karaite Synagogue, and views of the Mount of Olives.
We had lunch at La Piatta, an Italian restaurant on Yoel Moshe Solomon Street.
Later, we went back to Ben Yehuda Street for dinner, and then returned to Strudel for Coronas and web-surfing. Back at the hotel, we watched CNN's live coverage of the signing of the Sharm-al-Sheik agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Sunday, 5 September: We had arranged for a tour today, and the bus picked us up at the hotel, and we headed off...
That night, we ate dinner at The Yemenite Step, and later Raya and Eric walked along Ben Yehuda Street, enjoying our last night in Jerusalem.
Monday,
6 September: We took a taxi to Hebrew
University, Mount Scopus Campus, where Raya was a student in the summer
of 1992. We walked around campus, through the Sherman Building (sort of
a student union), the Academon Bookstore, the dorm where Raya lived (after
convincing the guard at the gate that we were harmless tourists!), and
viewed the amphitheater.
We headed back to the hotel to pack and meet our "special taxi" to Tel Aviv...
