Israeli Adventure: Part 5

Monday, January 9, 2012 -Jerusalem & Tel Aviv

Jo and I stayed up late on Sunday night, trying to plan out the rest of our week. After hours of talking, reading guidebooks and searching online, we ultimately decided to stay right in Jerusalem and explore the Old City together on Monday.

Because we'd about run ourselves ragged touring all over the country all weekend, we used Monday morning to sleep in and relax a bit. By the time we finally rolled out the door and caught a bus to the Old City, it was about 11 a.m.

From where the bus dropped us off, we had to walk through a newly-constructed chic [totally Americanized] outdoor mall. Then suddenly, the mall ended and in front of us stood the walls of the Old City which are between 1600 and 2000 years old, depending on the section.

Since I had scheduled an official tour of the Old City for later in the week, we skipped most of the touristy landmarks and instead headed straight into the shuk to do some shopping.

Entering the shuk in the Old City. This is either the Jewish Quarter or the Muslim Quarter... I don't remember :-/

 The shuk consists of tons of connecting alleyways that are all lined with shop after shop, each employing eager (if slightly creepy) businessmen who announce, "I am here!" as if we were shopping for them. It took us a while to get our haggling skills down, but we definitely progressed throughout the day.
 

Jo and I were primarily in search of scarves, as we are both obsessed with these timeless accessories. Let me tell you - there were a lot of scarves in that shuk, but I think we found some of the most beautiful ones :) 

Jo trying on scarves at our favorite shop :)

 I bought several scarves from several different shops, where we worked with a range of salesmen: from the very mean (one who called us dirty names when we tried to haggle too low - yikes!) to the very sweet salesman (whose daughter liked all things pink), and several who just wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were clearly stupid Americans (120 shekels for that scarf buddy? No thanks, I'll go down a ways and pay 35.)

How much if I buy two THEM ALL?

We had several shop owners tell us they were trying to learn English, which I'm 100% sure was just their way of luring us into their shop to try to make a sale. (They wanted to know how to spell "Grand Opening Sale"... in the middle of a shuk in the Old City... umm, pretty sure you guys have been here for a while.) Some would creepily follow you down the street and ask questions, until you finally ignored them long enough and ducked into a different shop. But many were very nice, and when Jo and I had to stop and ask directions for the 18th time, we encountered some kind souls who graciously helped us along the way.

Oh hey, baby Jesus! In the Christian Quarter of the Old City.

As we wandered our way through the shuk, we eventually found ourselves in a courtyard in the Christian Quarter. Hungry for lunch, we ducked into a restaurant which boasted a rooftop patio, but after checking the menu, decided the prices and time commitment were both out of our range.. but not before we took advantage of the gorgeous view for some photo ops!

Gorgeous day in Jerusalem :)

I realize the sky looks like a painted backdrop in these pictures, but that's just how gorgeous it really is in Jerusalem.

Haha - Jo is going to kill me for posting this.... The sun was a tad bright for her sensitive eyes!!

 Instead of eating on the rooftop patio, we found a little falafel shop not far away, and had a delish lunch. 

I had the falafel pita and Jo had the shawarma pita. We both also got fresh-squeezed pom juice.. I think I got my antioxidants for the week!

Probably the best falafel I had all week.. mmm craving this right now!

 Educational Moment:  Falafel is a deep-fried ball of ground chickpeas.. so it's a lot of the same ingredients as hummus.. but fried. Om nom nom.  Shawarma is an Arab meat preparation where lamb, goat, turkey, chicken, beef or mixed meats are placed on a spit and grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, while the rest remains heated on the rotating spit.

Jo enjoying her shawarma pita! Yum!!

Next on our agenda was the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum. After finishing our late lunch, we realized what a time crunch we were on, so we rushed to the brand new light rail station, where of course we missed the first train because we were standing on the side going the wrong direction.

I did not take this picture (original found here), but the light rail took us over this SWEET bridge!

We had been told that the last admittance to the museum was 4:00, so when our train (which can potentially get stuck in traffic and has to stop at red lights -- doesn't that defeat the purpose of a light rail?!) finally made its way to the entire opposite side of the city and to our stop at 4:05, I was convinced they wouldn't let us in. We ran from the station to the museum, where the kind souls took pity on the huffing-puffing Americans. 

Jo had just been the museum the week prior, so she waited in the bookstore while I ventured through by myself. The free museum is incredibly well-done, and the less-than-one-hour I had in there was certainly not enough. I'm not sure an entire day would have been enough. If I ever get the chance to go back to Israel, I will definitely go back. 

The museum is shaped like a long triangle (I'm sure there's a name for that which I have forgotten. My 7th-grade geometry teacher would be ashamed..), and the exhibits weave through in a zig-zag. There are artifacts (yellow stars of David, contraband books, family heirlooms, actual bunkbeds from concentration camps), written and videotaped survivor accounts, gruesome pictures, and so much more - and it all just rips your heart out.  

One of the last exhibits before you exit is the Hall of Names. Beneath its vaulted ceilings, the tall walls are lined with books that hold the names and accounts of people who were killed during the Holocaust, as well as photographs of the some of the deceased. There was something so powerful about that room that it brought me to tears.

Also a borrowed picture - original found here

Upon exiting the museum, you find yourself on a balcony of sorts, overlooking the Jerusalem National Forest. It offers a beautiful view - a view to serve as a reminder of how far the Jewish people and the state of Israel have come, and a view to inspire hope - but because it was dusk, the lighting was too poor for the pictures to fully do it justice.

As we hiked back to the train stop, I turned and snapped this picture, which I think is gorgeous. The triangular building on the right is the Holocaust Museum. Its architecture and symbolism is so interesting - I encourage you to learn more on their website.
 

I think I'll stop here for now.. but.. Up Next: Tel Aviv!