I spent two nights in Jerusalem and then three nights in tel aviv and had such a great time.
Jersualem.
When I got there I was extremely overwhelmed. There were so many different men trying to help me and wanting me to stay in their hostels that it really scared me. I knew where I wanted to go and what hostel I was looking for but it was so hard for me to get there because this guy told me he was helping me but really wasn't and it was just a mess for me. Then this little boy who was like 12 reached up my dress and grabed my thigh- i was stunned. I finally found where I wanted to be checked in and changed and started to feel alright. I went out and explored the old city by myself and it's shocking that I didn't get extremely lost through all the small market streets. The markets were so colorful with all the spices and fabrics hanging everywhere. Its such a small ally way that it's really surprising when people come with big carts and push everyone out of the way. After asking a lot of people (who all wanted money) where the western wall was I finally found it. i had to go through a metal dector and there were military men and women everywhere. The big dome rock was shinning bright and I could look down and see the western wall plaza. It was a lot different from what I expected. It was hetic and crazy with tourists and people taking pictures. I am a toursit myself but still I thought it would be a little more peaceful and not a bunch of kids and old people in tour groups. I went down to the wall, the womans side because it is divided by sex, and it was hard to actually get to the wall because there were so many people. I finally did put my piece of paper in the wall and backed away from the wall to show respect since it's a direct line to god. I thought that there was going to be some great reglious revelation or something but there wasn't. I understand the meaning and how much the wall means to the jewish people but it didn't change my life or anything. Then I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre- whoa that was insane as well. This church is serious. There are 6 different branches of the christian church that make up the Holy Sepulchre since it's where Jesus' tomb is and the rock that his dead body laid on. It was crazy. The line to get to see the inside of the tomb was about 2 hours long and I didn't feel like I needed to actually go inside. People have started to place notes in the cracks of the tomb like at the western wall, which I found intresting. The rock that Jesus laid on was another big deal. Pepole were touching it and rubbing cotton swabs on the rock and then putting them in zip block bags. I thought about rubbing my passport on the rock so Jesus would bless my travels but I didn't want to offend anyone. I got extremely overwhelmed. Too much relgion is hard for me to handle. Everyone in Jerusalem is so religous and so passionate that after seeing the western wall and the Holy Sepuchre I needed a break.
That night I went to Zion Square where there was a famous Israli band playing and a camera crew that looked something like an MTV crew filming the whole thing. Everyone was nuts about it and just so excited. It was fun to be right in the middle of this big fee concert. Later on this guy showed me around the Old City at night which was truly beautiful, there were no tourist, no one yelling at me to buy something the city was quiet and peacful like I wanted. We stopped and sat on a wall that over looked the new city and then the muslims started praying. It was really an incredible moment being in the Old City of Jerusalem at night seeing the whole city and having the praying from the muslims as a background sound. It was really a special night
I spent the whole next day on a tour seeing the dead sea and Masada. Both places were extremely hot, hot, hot. I was happy that I saw those places but damn it was hot. I was surprised that I didn't get sunburned at all! there were incredible views of the desert from masada. It was really fun to float in the dead sea I was with someone i met at the hostel and we had a really fun time running around in the desert.
The second night I was in Jerusalem was actually Jerusalem Day therefore, it was crazy. The traffic was insane everything stopped and people just sang and danced and waved huge Israeli flags around. I went down to the wester wall right before the metal dectors and just watched everyone. there was a band playing and so many people in the plaza and by the wall that it was hard to imagine they had any room at all to dance- but they did. That night for dinner I went to an Arab resturant with two guys from the hostel, it was an incredible huge dinner but it was odd i was the only women there and none of the men spoke to me. If i asked them a question they would answer the guys i was with.
It was a great couple of days in Jerusalem I learned so much but still there is so much to learn about that city. It was overwhelming but I was able to have an amazing experience.
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