Zion

Shalom from the Eternal City! It's an unbelievable place, and I can't wait to tell you all my stories so far! But as usual, to make this a complete journal, I must start from the beginning.

After taking a 6 Euro bus to the Austrian airport, I checked in to my Turkish Airlines flight, where I was obligated to check my baggage, something I was hesitant to do because the loss of my backpack would spell the end of my trip as I knew it. I waited for a couple hours and eventually we started boarding my first flight- to Istanbul, Turkey. It was about a half hour late, but we ended up arriving right about on time. The flight was pretty miserable, since the seats were tiny, and there were about 5 infants within about 10 feet of me, all of whom at some point in the flight started crying and yelling- not fun. However, it was nice of the flight crew to serve us all lunch, despite it being an only 1.5 hour flight. They also gave us newspapers, which was cool.

Upon arrival in Istanbul, I was already receiving a dose of Arab/Muslim culture. I saw a couple women in the ultra-hardcore Burkas with only a slit for their eyes. Also, there were some Orthodox Jews and many Africans and such. It was a long 3 or 4 hour layover, but I managed to relax and doze off a little. Then began the flight to Israel. To get into the security line for the gate itself (this is after everyone got through normal airport security), all the passengers had to show their passports and explain why they were visiting Israel. From that point on, I knew that security would be tight everywhere. The flight, again, was late, but not too bad. When we boarded the plan I found, to my delight, that the seats had a bunch of legroom and there wasn't an infant in sight! Once again, though it was only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight, they served us a small dinner of chicken and other delicious things. When we were landing, I got an excellent view of Tel Aviv, with its sprawl next to the ocean. I'll be seeing that city up close in about a week.

We landed and headed for passport control. After standing in line for a while and seeing some other people get rejected for a visa (hopefully after further inspection the passengers got it), I was in front of a young woman who demanded to know how long I would be in Israel, if I knew anyone in the country, why I was visiting, and so forth. Then she got hung up about the fact that I was travelling alone. I tried to explain to her that I've been going through Europe alone as well, but she kept on asking why. Finally, I just told her that it was because none of my friends would come with me! haha. Luckily, the truth resounded with her and she let me through. I had survived the legendary crossing through Israeli passport control. I know am limited in which countries I can visit with my US passport, since the trapezoidal red stamp that the young woman gave me refuses me entry into the more Muslim countries of the world. Oh well, that's why I have a British passport!

I got my luggage which (thankfully!) arrived, and went to find the shuttle to Jerusalem. The only option I had was a 50 shekel (about 18 dollars) bus. Since there weren't any other options, I chose that one. While waiting for other passengers to arrive, met a young woman who had just graduated from Berkley and was visiting Israel for a couple weeks. She was in the middle of it, and was coming back from a brief trip to Istanbul. I talked with her for a while, and she gave me a lot of excellent tips and suggestions. Then we were off to Jerusalem!

The drive took about 40 minutes, and since the sun was just barely still up, I got to view the incredibly diverse Israeli landscape. It contained everything from pine trees to vineyards and all the while there were deep canyons and steep mountains that we weaved through to get to Jerusalem. We dropped off a couple tourists at their hotel and then about 5 minutes later the driver stopped and let me out, telling me that Jaffa (the road on which my hostel is), was "that way", indicating the direction with a ridiculously ambiguous gesture with his arm. I paid him his money and he sped off, leaving me in the City Center of Jerusalem without a clue of where to be going. After exploring and deciphering street signs for a little, I decided to stop a young Jewish man and ask for directions. Thankfully, like many Israelis, he spoke excellent English and brought me to Jaffa Street.

I walked a little farther and found the hostel, which is a pretty low-key place in the center of the City Center, which is the lively modern part of Jerusalem. They set me up and showed me their rooftop access, which is extremely cool. The climate here is extremely similar to Phoenix's, but it is slightly colder here, so the rooftop is very nice.

I was hungry, so I walked around and found a little Middle Eastern food place and got my first ever Felafel! It was cheap, filling, and delicious! And you know how much that means to me. It was great, and got me really excited for the food here. Then it was off to bed. I couldn't sleep very well, because apparently here they believe in all-night construction, so someone with a jackhammer was going at it until like 4 in the morning. Hopefully they're done now and I can sleep tonight.

Filled with excitement, I woke up early and headed out into the city. I picked up the ubiquitous backpacker breakfast of a croissant, and went to the Old City, where all the amazing sights are. To get into the Old City, one must pass through the wall at one of the 7 or so gates. I went through the "New Gate", which was made in the wall about 100 years ago. Since it was so early, all the shops were closed, but I got a feel for the covered alleyways that define Jerusalem.

During my relaxed meanderings, I came across one of the most breathtaking sights of the trip- suddenly I was standing right above the plaza that contained the Weeping/Wailing/Western Wall! This, the supporting wall for the area on which the Jewish Temple once stood, is the holiest sight in Judaism. It was amazing to actually see the huge wall with the masses praying and touching it. I went down (through yet another security checkpoint) and watched for a while and took some pictures. However, that wasn't satisfying, so I borrowed a cardboard Yarmulke (they had them on hand for people to fulfill the head covering requirements) and went down to the wall, where I kissed it and prayed, although not nearly in the dramatic and official ways of the Hasidim Jews surrounding me. It was a great experience, and I think I would have felt incomplete if I hadn't done it.
After doing my bit as a member of the Jewish faith, it was time to do a 180 degree turn and be a Muslim for a moment. What I mean is that I decided to go to the Temple Mount, where the Jewish Temple used to stand, and where now the Dome of the Rock stands, which is a huge mosque. What makes the mosque unique is the fact that in it lies a huge stone, a stone that King David acquired and Solomon brought to the temple, which is the stone that is said to have been the place of Isaac's near-sacrifice by Abraham, as well as the place where Muhammad took off from in his journey to heaven.

However, it wasn't easy to get onto the Temple Mount. There was a security checkpoint and, since it is a very Muslim area, the security guard somehow saw that I had my Bible in my backpack and told me that I couldn't continue to the Mount with it. Thus, I had to leave it with some other guards and commenced to walk to the top. There, I got to see the beautiful Dome of the Rock and another mosque that is up there. Unfortunately, they would not let non-Muslims into these mosques, so I had to content myself with just looking at them. I also saw some of the great views from the that hilltop.

I retrieved the Good Book and walked once again through the streets of Jerusalem, but this time everything was open and there were people asking me to come into their stores and see their souvenirs, religious objects, leather goods, and spices. I resisted and, while taking in the beautiful scene of this mostly Arab market, I made my way to the Museum of Jerusalem, located in David's Citadel.


The citadel was a fortress built by King Herod and was later used by all the occupants of Jerusalem, from the Romans to the Turks. In it, they have exhibits detailing the long and interesting history of this city. Luckily, they had free tours of the museum in English so, for 2 hours, I was led around by Susan, our tour guide, along with some other Americans and a German. Coincidentally, one of the Americans was a graduate student of Economics at Columbia! Susan was a great tour guide, and I learned a ton about Jerusalem's history and I got great views of the city from the citadel's tower:By then it was lunchtime, so I went in search of some nourishment. Again I returned to the narrow allies of Jerusalem's Old City and eventually found a place that sold me a Shwarma- which is similar to a Gyro, but with many for fixings and a much more Eastern flavor. Delicious! As I finished it on the go, I left the Old City through the Damascus Gate, a large and old gate that many of the local Muslims use.

I walked for about half an hour up Jaffa street, past my hostel, and came to my destination, which was Mahane Yehuda Market. It's a long street covered with people selling spices of every sort, nuts, fruit, fish, vegetables, and everything in between. The amount of fresh produce I saw was astounding, and the possibilities of great food made me want to stay here for a long time. I guess I envy the locals here, who get to eat every day the fresh result of their fertile soil. It was definitely a uniquely Middle Eastern experience. By then I was exhausted from all my walking, so I took the long way to get back to my hostel, where I did some planning for the rest of my trip and did my laundry (which was also on the roof).

The Market:


In case you can't already tell, Jerusalem is a breathtaking city, and I am so happy I put forth the extra effort to do this stretch of the trip. The whole culture here is so unique and I love seeing and learning things about a new place. I also hope that this firsthand experience will help me be an informed participant in the Palestine/Israel debate, which is pretty prominent on Columbia's campus.

Well, that's all for now! Stay Classy.