After being in Israel for nearly three months, we finally left Haifa and took a day-trip to Jerusalem. David's nephew -- heretofore called Zach since he didn't give me permission to use his real name -- is studying at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem for six months. It is always a delight to spend time with Zach and he gave us a walking tour of Jerusalem.
First of all, there are two Jerusalem's, sort of. Modern Jerusalem is equivalent to cities in the United States, complete with malls of grandeur and a tribute to marketing and capitalism. The Jerusalem mall where we met Zach could have been Any Mall USA and was not like the functional, drably-lit indoor shopping centers found in Haifa. Many of the houses, apartments and other buildings are built on and along the hills and the city is quite beautiful. In fact, Jerusalem is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. Zach asked me just how many major cities I've visited. That's hard to say exactly, most are in the US, and I would gage the number to be around 30.
En route, the train was delayed for about 30 minutes. We had to back up and wait at the station in the town where the Haredi were spitting on Jewish girls for not dressing modestly enough. Although my arms and legs were covered, I was a bit nervous. Fortunately, no one spit on me.
When we arrived in J. it was well past lunch time. We met Zach at the mall, and instead of partaking in some of Jerusalem's better food offerings, we ate in the food court in the mall. Zach opted for MacDonald's since it was one of the 30% that are kosher. While we were eating, a nice old woman came by with a plastic cup. I didn't understand what she wanted, but Zach gave her a few shekels and she went away.
Zach said he was helping the needy, i.e. tzadakah, David called the old woman a schnorer, although he admitted she was nice about it. Then, or as they say in Hebrew, ah-har-chok (I'm not going to tell you how I remember that word) another schnorer came by wanting money. She even had a little brochure. When we didn't give her any money, she took her brochure back with a huff.
The night before going to Jerusalem I was kind of worried about riding the city bus -- with the potential for bombings, etc. Nevertheless, once there, I got onto buses and trains without a second thought. Two days later, David read me a news story about how a female Israeli soldier was stabbed by a Palestinian on the same train-line we rode.
In Haifa, we have a bus pass that is good for buses within the city. In other words, we wouldn't be able to use the pass to take a bus from Haifa to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, we can only ride around in Haifa. Well, the same bus system is used throughout Israel, and so we tried our pass on the Jerusalem city bus and it worked. We were given a transfer, and on the city-train a transit official was checking for passes.
Well, maybe he saw something on the transfer that indicated Haifa instead of Jerusalem, and he demanded to see David's ID. He took the ID and kept it for almost the entire ride. While he had the ID, it was kind of scary because we had no idea what was going on or even why he wanted it in the first place. Were we going to be kicked off the train? Arrested? Forced to pay 6.60 shekels (around $1.75) for the fare? The trip took maybe 15 minutes, and the security official held onto the ID almost the entire time. After making several phone calls, presumably to verify David's veracity, the ID was returned and we proceeded toward Old Jerusalem.
Old Jerusalem is a walled city, a citadel. The outer wall was destroyed and later rebuilt by the Ottomans so is only 500 years old, young compared to many of the inner walls of which might be 2000 years or older. There are parts of Old J. that are drivable, as in one-way only and be prepared to go about 5mph. Most of Old J. must be walked as the streets are too narrow and since Jerusalem is built on hills, steps to go up and down. All the roads in Old J. are paved with rectangular tiles, the same off-white/light-tan materials of which the buildings are constructed. The tiled streets are smooth and well-worn: a lot of traffic goes through Old J. Throughout Old J. are plenty of shops, street venders, and small food markets.
There are four quarters to Old J: Armenian, Jewish, Arab and Christian, although Armenians are Christians too (Eastern Orthodox).
As we entered the archway of Old J., there were a couple of people begging or schnoring. We found ourselves in the Armenian sector, and I was amazed at how much of a tourist trap Old J. really is. I mean it is tourist trap to the max. We wandered through the Armenian sector down alleyways and side streets into the Jewish Quarter and went to the Western Wall. Where else?
Going down the steps to the Wall we came upon even more schnorers. One guy came up to David and started praying in his ear, all in Hebrew of course. I watched the guy as he was whispering his prayer to David, and it seemed to me it was all a big joke to rip-off tourists. For all we know instead of prayers, the guy was hurling insults and saying vulgarities. Finished with the prayer, he expected payment. David gave him a few shekels and the guy was not pleased, but didn't kick him or anything like that.
Having seen pictures of the Wall, it looked pretty much like the photographs. We had to go through a security check and found ourselves in a huge courtyard. I went to the female side and David and Zach went to the male side. The female side was really crowded and there were hundreds of orthodox women praying and reading at the Wall.
I'm sorry to say, the Wall didn't feel like a Holy Place to me, it felt like a tourist spot. When I was at the wall, I looked up hoping to see G-d, and saw a beautiful blue sky. I didn't feel closer to G-d at the wall, of course, feeling close or connected to G-d is something I never feel and have never felt. I'm so jealous of those people who have that connection, but having never felt it am a bit skeptical about whatever it is they claim to be feeling.
Never mind.
So after leaving the wall, we walked around Old J. This ancient city is so cool. There's tunnels and interesting paths...it's hard to describe, but it is really neat. Individual quarters are not marked, so you don't know when you're leaving the Armenian Quarter and entered the Jewish. Nevertheless, we hit all the Quarters, even the Arab.
When we were in the Arab Quarter a little boy saw Zach and ran up to him and went, "R-rr-ow!" I thought he was being a cute, a rambunctious kid. Neither Zach nor the boy's father thought it was cute. Then I realized the reason the boy did that is because he is Palestinian and being taught Jews are bad, evil, and need to be killed. David told me that same kid threw a rock at us but missed. I was so entranced with Old J., I didn't notice any tensions at all in the Arab section. But David said he did and was uncomfortable there.
Here's what David didn't like about Jerusalem: the schnoring.
Here's what I didn't like about Jerusalem: nothing. Okay, it does snow and get really cold in Jerusalem, and I don't like that, but the weather was fine the day we came. I liked everything about the city. The city has it all! If Israel is the center of religious/political controversy and global unrest, Jerusalem is the hub.
Zach, if you're reading this, here are some of the cities I've been in: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, London, Edinburgh, New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Denver, Phoenix, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Tijuana, Belize City, Matamoros, Dallas, Houston, Amarillo, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Portland, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Mazatlan, Nashville, Cleveland, Vancouver, Baltimore, and your home town of Louisville to name a few.
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