Yesterday marked the first day of my little trip down south, a four day excursion to see new things and do new things – at least while I am still a civilian. The day’s destination: Jerusalem! However, getting to Jerusalem is a journey in and of itself – the early waking, the peach cobbler breakfast, the train ride to Tel Aviv, the getting situated, the train (or bus, I usually take the bus) to Jerusalem, etc. I reached Tel Aviv in good time, as indicated by this dingy clock in the train station:

Dingy railroad clock

As soon as I boarded the Jerusalem-bound train in Tel Aviv, I leaned back and peered out the window, ready to see what I’ve been missing each time I chose the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus line instead. It was the tumultuous rise and fall of the mountains just outside of Bet Shemesh, and the Soreq River that runs beneath the train, crossing under a sturdy bridge. It was truly scenic. The only downside to the train ride was that I ended up in somewhere known as “Malcha Mall” (the official name to the mall is Jerusalem Mall) – in southwestern Jerusalem. The biggest mall in the Holy City, Malcha has tons of places to shop in and eat at but it is not near any of the places I initially wanted to visit. So I bought my falafel lunch, ate it and hit the road, heading for the Central Bus Station. The first thing I did was buy a ticket to the Jerusalem Light Rail, the electric train that runs through some areas of the Holy City. This was my first time riding it… and I rode it to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City.

The Jerusalem Light Rail passing by the Old City walls outside of Jaffa Gate

There, approaching the Old City I couldn’t help but lose myself in a photographic frenzy – I snapped and snapped, this is the best that came out (I’m not sure why the sky looks so grey):

The majestic walls and towers of the Old City

Once inside the Old City I headed for the Israel Ministry of Tourism information office and was directed to the correct location to purchase a ticket to walk the ramparts. Something I’ve always wanted to do, the Ramparts Walk turned out to be very rewarding but at the same time, very tiring. I climbed the stairs with excitement and began my walk – a totally different perspective on the Old City unfolding before my eyes.

Walking the narrow ramparts

As the city walls continued, the walk became harder and harder – the uneven surfaces and the intense stairways not helping much. The soldiers who historically roamed the walltops, throughtout the generations, must have been made of sterner stuff. Regardless, the views from the wall really does change how the Old City looks (click on: map). Here, just above the Damascus Gate, I sit and observe:

Sitting in a defence niche just above the Damascus Gate and the Arab peddlers below

All this was just the northern side – the Ramparts Walk is actually comprised of a longer northern walk and a shorter southern walk. At the end of the northern walk, where the Lion’s Gate on the eastern wall is, we (I had picked up some fellow wall-walkers along the way and impressed them with my “knowledge” in the tourism field) reached an observation point – the end of the line. To our surprise and enjoyment, the muezzins started up and pretty soon there were fasting Muslim men and women making their way to the mosque, urged on by the song of the muezzin. Here is a short video clip of the experience:

After watching for a few minutes we turned back and descended all the way back at the Herod’s Gate (be sure to consult map). With my water bottle long dried up in the hot Jerusalem sun, I advanced on a peddler/shopkeeper who sold large bottles of water. The Arab merchant informed me that since I do not speak Arabic… he cannot sell me anything. Fun!

One of the many Arab souks in and around the Old City

After finding an alternate water source and parting ways with my new companions, I headed for the second half of the Ramparts Walk, the southern side. Here, just at the beginning, the Tower of David:

The Tower of David

And here, just a little bit along the way, a pictorial show-piece, looking more like old time Bavaria than the Old City:

A peculiar section of the Old City

After descending at the Dung Gate, basically having done 80% of the total wall walk (all that was offered) and taking somewhere beyond the three-hour mark, I headed inside the City for an obligatory visit at the Kotel. Here, in all its splendour and glory, the Kotel:

The Kotel

After the Kotel is when things started getting hairy. With the sun setting rapidly, a few friends of mine wanted to meet up closer to the “centre of town” so I was determined to hop on one of the buses and meet them there. In spite of my iron resolution, no buses seemed to come – and even the taxis became elusive as the mainly-Muslim drivers wanted to head home to eat their Ramadan dinner. Finally, after some thirty minutes of waiting and meandering from bus stop to bus stop, a bus – no, THE bus – came. I was oh-so fortunate to be included on the bus, albeit the guy who has to watch out that when the doors open he doesn’t fall out. I felt like I was on those crowded Indian trains where the passengers hang from wherever they can.

A sea of black hats separated me from the bus driver

As I made my way out of Jerusalem, after some quality time with my old friends, I snapped this shot of the Jerusalem Bridge of Strings where both people and the light rail make use of the arc over the traffic. (Sadly, night-time photography is usually ill-received by my camera):

The Jerusalem Bridge of Strings

Back in Tel Aviv, nearing midnight, I happened to have missed the last bus offered to the area I needed and was then forced to share a taxi with some other Tel Avivians to get back to my hosts. Always an adventure!

Continuing our story with the trip to Jerusalem…

We drove to the Mamila Mall/Jaffa Gate parking lot and got out to make our way to the Kotel (Western Wall).  We prayed and wandered about watching the multitudes of tourists from China,  Italy and Russia as well as the usual stock of Israelis. Inside the sheltered part of the Wall there has been excavations done over the past years. A glass observation deck has been set into the floor to show how deep the wall is. Over half of the Kotel remains submerged after millennia of abandonment.

Excavation to the bottom of the Kotel

At the Kotel Plaza we happened upon an IDF swearing-in ceremony. Young soldiers were receiving their weapons (M16 rifles) and their Tanachs (complete Bible of the First Testament). For all Israel’s supposed secularism, its Army is pretty religious with its additional law of serving only Kosher food to the soldiers.

An IDF 'swearing-in' ceremony at the Kotel

Tanach recieved by each and every soldier

Walking through the Christian quarter we saw a cassocked priest making his way through the streets. Often nuns can be seen throughout the Old City as well as Islamic religious leaders and the like.

Cassocked priest

In the Christian Quarter there is a shuk (marketplace) where all sorts of goods can be bought. Many stalls and stores cater to the tourists, providing them with souveniers such as authentic Arabic nargilas or hookahs as well as the traditional t-shirts, coffee mugs, postcards and jewellery. As the day gets late and the sun begins to go down the stalls slowly close up shop for the day, to be locked up until dawn the next morning. These Arabs (presumably Christian) were engaged in a game of backgammon as the dwindling crowd of passers-by filtered through the long and ancient stone street.

Arabs playing backgammon in the Christian shuk

The entrance to the Jewish Quarter from within the heart of the Old City is decorated with murals and artwork.

Welcome to the Jewish Quarter

For those hungry as they walk through the bustling streets of Jerusalem… This man stood dishing out free samples of falafel with hummus on wedges of pita, trying to lure customers to his restaurant. Now that’s street food!

Free falafel samples

When it’s all said and done and a long day has been enjoyed in the city renown for spirituality and tourism… Only this t-shirt can declare what really went on.

A t-shirt that decribed our day exactly

Until next time!

Today we took a trip to Jerusalem with the whole family. This is the first time doing so since I was a baby when it was just my parents and I. We arrived and parked near Ben Yehuda St. where we started our adventure. When we reached the intersection of Ben Yehuda and Jaffa St. we saw the new rail system that had recently been installed in one of the busiest areas of Jerusalem. Happy-looking passengers peered out of the spotless windows, their seats still covered in their protective plastic.

Jerusalem's new rail system

After some time we had rounded a few corners and ventured down a few streets. On one corner a building stood with the title “Home of the Israeli Knesset” from back in the early days of Israel as a fledging country (the exact dates being March 13, 1950 to August 10, 1966). A passing old man (Israeli I presume as he asked me if I was a tourist in Hebrew as he saw me snapping pictures) informed me that the building of topic was built by a family immigrated from Europe and after some years when the Knesset decided to move their meetings from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem the capital this building became open for use. Now the old Knesset building serves as a Bet Din (Rabbinic Court).

Old Knesset Building (1950-1966)

Continuing with the sight-seeing, we found The Jerusalem Great Synagogue, an impressive building situated oddly close to the Central Synagogue of Jerusalem, another huge synagogue.

The Jerusalem Great Synagogue

Some time after seeing both synagogues I had bumped into an old classmate from Detroit. We were walking back towards Ben Yehuda when we spotted an odd spa feature. A man sat in a chair with his feet dangling in an aquarium filled with tiny fish that nibbled at him. He seemed to be enjoying himself as the fish snacked away. Fun!

Interesting spa treatment

As we turned onto Ben Yehuda again an unusual looking soldier was spotted. He was from the UN with a small Norwegian flag stitched to his sleeve. He fit well with the few UN vehicles we’d seen throughout the day, prowling the streets of Jerusalem.

Norwegian UN soldier

Another interesting feature of Jerusalem (Tel Aviv too) are the street performers. A man playing accordion performed on Ben Yehuda and another we found was a saxophone player in the Old City approaching the Kotel (Western Wall).

Accordion player on Ben Yehuda

Saxophone player in the Old City

To be continued tomorrow!