Update from the Holy Land

I planned to write another post about Istanbul as my next post, but we are currently in Jerusalem, and I felt like I needed to write a post about this incredible place. 

We arrived in Jerusalem on Friday from Tel Aviv.  We arrived on a public bus and negotiated a cab fare to our hotel.  The hotel was not what we expected, I think the nicest way to describe it is to say that it is well past it's prime.  We saw a sign in the lobby indicating that valuables should be left with management, so before leaving to explore the city we thought we would leave our computer bag with the front desk.  The man behind the desk was confused and didn't speak English but he took our bag and put it in the store room. I was a little uneasy, but we had put a lock on the bag, so we left it and headed out.  As we walked through the neighborhood toward the walls of the Old City I realized we forgot to bring our map.  We walked past stray cats in dumpsters, teenage boys hanging out in the street, drivers careening around corners, cars parked on the sidewalk so we had to take our chances in the street.  It was crazy and dirty and stressful.  We were without a map and low on money so our plan was to get into the Old City walls and find an ATM.

The first gate we came to was Herod's Gate, so we went in and began to try and find our way to the market street, assuming that we would find an ATM there.  We were wrong and we were lost.  The streets in Old Town Jerusalem and a maze and although we found the market street there were no ATM's anywhere.  We asked a vendor where we could find an ATM, he told us to go to the end of the street and we would find one at the wall entering the Jewish Quarter.  We walked until we found the ATM - relief!  Except, the ATM was only in Hebrew, and we don't speak Hebrew.  So, we went back the way we came to find the other ATM they mentioned which was just outside Damascus Gate.  We were getting worried, because we were without a map, without money and it was getting dark and we didn't feel very safe walking back to our hotel after dark.  We exited the Old City and saw a sign for a bank across the street.  We thought we would find an ATM there so we crossed the busy street and walked on the sidewalk lined with men selling used phone chargers and electronic cables, shoes, clothes, and purses, and any other random thing you could think of.  As we were walking Charles heard a quick zip, he didn't feel anything, but he sensed that it was his bag.  He noticed a man following closely behind him and he intentionally quickened his pace and the man followed.  Then Charles stopped to look at one of the tables of junk, which forced the pickpocket to keep walking, or be caught.  As we turned around we saw the pickpocket approach another man on the street, they were talking and looking at us.  We walked a few steps further and Charles quickly took off his back pack and saw that his zipper was unzipped, but luckily nothing was taken.  The whole thing took only seconds, Charles was furious and I was nervous.  We kept walking down the street, but never found an ATM and had to turn around and walk past the pick pocket again, as we passed Charles acknowledged he knew the guys scam.  We still had no cash, no map, and we were clearly not in a good part of town. 

We did eventually find an ATM, and we re-entered the Old City at Jaffa Gate and found a restaurant for dinner.  Our first day in Jerusalem was pretty crappy.  We were wondering if coming here was a mistake, we regretted our hotel choice and the number of days we planned to stay here. 

I'm happy to say that our opinion of Jerusalem has changed.  This is a beautiful, historical, spiritual city.  It is a place where many religions overlap in space and time and there is history and faith everywhere you look.  There is religious tension, but there is also religious harmony.  The city is a place that is full of traffic and chaos and people everywhere, but it is a place that people love so much that they feel privileged to call this holy place their home.  We have met Jews, Christians, and Muslims while we have been here, who have all equally shown pride and love for this city.  They have all welcomed us as visitors to enjoy the history of this place and experience our own spirituality.  Tomorrow morning we leave Jerusalem to go to the Red Sea.  I am leaving feeling blessed to have seen and experienced this holy city.