Hebron

This past Thursday I went to Hebron with a group from my program. The tour we went on was a religious tour rather than a political one. The first stop was the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

The structure itself is attributed to king Herod in the first century B.C.E and it was added onto by crusaders in the 12th century.

It is the second most holy spot in Judaism because the cave of Machpelah is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are said to be buried.

Although we were not given a political tour, it was difficult not to sense the tension in the area. Here are some more pictures I took during the trip:

62 and counting

In Israel, they celebrate yom hazikaron (remembrance day) 8 days after yom hashoah. Yom hazikaron remembers the soldiers who have fallen since the conception of the nation. It is a very somber day because in Israel, everyone knows someone who has been killed in battle.

The hag began the erev before with a ceremony at the kotel

The ceremony was very touching (even though I could hardly understand the Hebrew). What I found fascinating about the ceremony was the fact that although it was a secular ceremony, it still took place at holy site and there were still prayers incorporated. It was a very interesting and powerful blend of religion and state. As an American, it is hard to believe that religion holds a place in a national holiday but I believe that it is important in Israel to keep Judaism in political ceremonies.

The observance continued into the next day. I went on a Spring in Jerusalem trip to some important historical locations for the war of independence. We also went to a military cemetery and sat through a ceremony there as well. At 11pm, all across Israel, a siren sounds for two minutes. Although things usually run on "Israeli time" (i.e 5-10 mins late) this siren sounded at exactly 11pm all over the nation. At the sound of the siren, people get out of their cars, stop walking on the streets, stand up and are silent.

The group presenting did an excellent job sharing the significance of the day and teaching the rest of us military history of Israel.

While the mood of yom hazikaron is very somber, as soon as the sun sets, the atmosphe changes to a mood of celebration. As soon as the evening comes it is yom haatzmaut or Independence day. All of Jerusalem became one big block party.

I went to a party at the shuk (yes, the same place I go food shopping)

The celebration continues the next day. Everyone is out having a BBQ, enjoying the day. In Jerusalem, there were BBQs everywhere and everyone is expected to eat meat. I don't know why but you are supposed to eat as much meat as you can on yom haatzmaut. If you don't have a BBQ to go to, people will go out of their way to feed you.

Unfortunately, when these days were over I had to resume my usual school schedule.

We're not in Kansas anymore: Auntie Em's visit to the Holy Land

Auntie Em came and visited me in Jerusalem and we went on many adventures:

Day 1, Monday April 12:

Today is Yom Hashoah (Holocaust remembrance day). This date on the Jewish Calendar is the 27th of Nisan. This day was chosen to remember the Holocaust because it is the day of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising; the observance of this day is not only the destruction of 6 million Jews but it also commemorates the resistance movements during the Holocaust.

Auntie Em and I went to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Jerusalem. What I found most touching about the museum was the message of hope. The museum runs chronologically and when you are in the last quarter of the museum you see some of the horrible images from concentration camps. But then all of a sudden you hear the sound of children singing Hatikvah (the national anthem) and you end the museum with view overlooking Jerusalem and the message that the Jewish people lived on and built a nation. It is important that people around the world say "never again" when they learn about the Holocaust but it is more important that the Jewish people have built a country so that they don't have to rely on that promise of "never again." The land of Israel has guaranteed that promise.

That night Auntie Em and I went to this restaurant called Eucalyptus which is a small resturant in the Artists Colony that specializes in biblical foods. Some foods they served us are specifically mentioned in the bible (like the red lentil soup) but other foods are just adapted local cuisine. Everything was absolutely amazing.

Day 2, Tuesday April 13: I had class all day but Emily went to Tel Aviv and Jaffo.

Day 3, Wednesday April 14th:

After class, Emily met me at Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus to being our afternoon of touring.

I showed her the lovely views from campus and the botanical garden and the beautiful Hebrew University campus.

This is the view from the Amphitheater

Next we walked from the top of Mt. Scopus to the Augusta Victoria Hospital and from there to the adjacent mountain of Mt of Olives. Mt. of Olives has a lot of significance in both Judaism and Christianity. Supposedly, when the Messiah comes there will be a bridge with seven arches that spans from Har habiet (the temple mount) to the Mt. of Olives.

Us walking down from Mt. of Olives next to the huge Jewish cemetery. If you are religious and you have enough money, you want to be buried here so that when the Messiah comes your soul can be first in line to cross the bridge to heaven.

Next we walked down the Mt. of Olives to the City of David which was the original location of Jerusalem from the time it was capture by King David until the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonian king Nebucanezzar in 586 BCE.

here are some interesting tombs from the second temple time period that we saw on the way:

From the City of David we walked to the Old City and went to the Cardo and the Jewish quarter. The Cardo is an area that shows the level of the streets during the Roman rule during the Second Temple time period. From there we walked out of the Old City and down Jaffa Street to the Mahane Yehuda (the Shuk). We walked around there for a while, I took her to Marzipan and then we walked around the neighborhood Nachlaot for a while. We then headed back to the hotel, changed for dinner and walked to emek refaim in the German Colony for dinner.

Day 4, Thursday April 15:

We woke up early and I met Auntie Em at her hotel from some free Israeli breakfast. We then headed to Takana Merkzit (the Central Bus station) and boarded a bus to Tzfat. We spent the day in Tzfat mostly walking around the Old City and the Artist Colony. We saw some beautiful art and a lot of beautiful Jewelry. We also went to some old synagogues and the Tzfat Candle factory.

Day 5, Friday April 16:

Today we did an organized tour that took us to Massada and the Dead Sea. It was really nice not having to organize the travel on our own because it would have been really difficult to find an Egged bus from Massada to the Dead Sea and back to Jerusalem before Shabbat. It was also really great to have a tour guide teach us about Massada and the area. The first part of the tour brought us to the Ahavah factory where they taught us about their products and everyone bought a lot of things (not complaining). Where we learned about the Zelots and the Revolt of 70CE and the self-inflicted death on top of the mountain.

We learned about the palace that King Herod constructed and how the zelots who went their after Jerusalem was destroyed changed the structure.

We then went to the Dead Sea. We put mud on and floated in the warm (well, not so warm) water. It was quite relaxing and rejuvenating.

We then returned to Jerusalem to go to Shabbat services. After services we went to a small restaurant in East Jerusalem and ate traditional Palestinian food and smoked a shisha with dinner (like everyone else was doing in the restaurant). Out of the strip of restaurants to choose from, we chose the one that it looked like all the locals were eating at; it was a good choice.

Day 6, Saturday April 17:

Today we walked the Via Dolorosa, visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, walked around the Arab Shuk in the Old City and did some shopping. After a day in the Old City and with hours left until Shabbat ended, we decided to go to Abu Gosh. Abu Gosh is a small Arab village outside of Jerusalem that boasts the best Hummus in the world. Abu Gosh is one of the few Arab communities that sided with Israel during the war of independence of 1948. Because of that there are excellent relations with Israel. Saturdays are packed with Jerusalemites starved by restaurants closed on Shabbat enjoying the hummus restaurants of Abu Gosh.

Auntie Em and I also went to this crusader's church that is now a monastery. The original stones were laid down during the second temple time period but it was added on to in the 11th century.

Day 7, Sunday April 18:

We began the day early with a trip to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. Although we were unable to go inside, just walking around the Temple Mount area was incredible.

We then said our sad goodbyes and Auntie Em headed back to the States.

WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME!!! I walked her to death but I hope she had fun too.

the return from Egypt

Day Two Cairo:

We set out early to get to the Metro which cost about .5 Egyptian Pound per person (less than 20 cents). The Cairo metro might have been the cleanest, most organized place in the city. It was very fast and efficient. We started our day in Coptic Cairo. Coptic Cairo is the home of the Christian community in Egypt; about 10% of the population identify themselves as Coptic Christians.

This area is also where a small Jewish population took refuge after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The oldest synagogue in Egypt (the Ben Ezra Synagogue) is located here. While the synagogue is no longer still active, it was really interesting seeing the location where supposedly Pharaoh's daughter found Moses. It is also the location where in 1890, over 250,000 papers known as the Geniza documents were found in the synagogue. These papers allowed researchers to put together details of the lives of North African Jews from the 11th to 13th century.

After Coptic Cairo we walked around the city for the rest of the day. It is difficult to describe Cairo. This part of town was built in the style of 19th Century Paris. Buildings similar too the flat Iron Building in NYC cover the downtown area of Cairo. But because the city is so crowded and dirty the buildings have a very distinctive feel. There are thousands of stands outside and a dozen of souks that have clothing and jewelry that adorn the outsides of these French-style buildings.

We walked around for hours. Walking down the street as a tourist draws a lot of attention to yourself. The Egyptians LOVED tourists. It was kind of annoying being hassled but people don't just want you to buy their stuff so they turn a profit but because they genuinely want tourists to have a good time and enjoy Egypt. People were very proud of their country and their city and they wanted us to appreciate it as well.

Today was mostly dedicated to exploring neighborhoods by foot. I think it was a really amazing way to see the city. We walked down streets and went to markets not designed for tourists. By getting lost we were really able to see Cairo.

From the downtown area, we walked to Islamic Cairo. The area is not actually more religious than other neighborhoods in Cairo but it is called Islamic Cairo because for centuries, it was one of the centers of power for the Islamic empire and the mosques and monuments that remain are some examples of architecture inspired by the glory of the Islamic empire.

We finally escaped Egypt only to return again

This Passover I was finally able to say "This year in Jerusalem." However, I took the message of the wise son to heart (that we were all slaves in the land of Egypt) and decided to set out and escape from bondage; to travel from Egypt to Jerusalem. Well, that was not the thought process exactly. I wanted to go to Egypt and Passover vacation happened to be a convenient time; it was no big deal that we had to eat Matzo for snack while we were by the pyramids.

Here is the story:

First we set out on a bus to Eilat (along with everyone else in Israel because it was Spring Break for everyone). Once in Eilat, we crossed the border to Taba Egypt. From there, we traveled to St. Katherine and the area with Mt. Sinai.

We arrived in the protectorate of St. Katherine. It is a small town in the middle of the Sinai that has a few stores and a few hotels for the tourists coming to hike Mt. Sinai. We woke up at 1:30 in the morning to do the sunrise hike to the top of Mt. Sinai.

There were hundreds of people from all over the world sitting on the top of the mountain for sunrise. People were singing, praying, or just sitting there freezing waiting for the sun to come up. We then climbed down the mountain via the 3,750 "steps of penitence." Always following behind our trusty Bedouin guide.

Unfortunately, random Thursday in March is a holiday and therefore the Monastery of St. Catherine was closed. But we got to walk around it and look at some of the gardens.

Next stop, Cairo. We then took a 5 hour car ride through the Sinai to get to our next destination. It was a beautiful drive in between the expansive desert to our right and the sea to our left. After a mostly uneventful car ride, we ended up at our hostel. The next day, bright and early we headed to the Pyramids of Giza. Here is a picture of me looking like the cliche tourist I felt like:

No matter how much you mentally prepare yourself to see the Pyramids, they will still take your breath away.

Although we ate our "bread of affliction" by the Pyramids to spite the ancient Egyptians, the Giza Pyramids were not build by the slave labor of the Israelites. Apparently, it was a huge bureaucratic tactic aimed at giving farmers work during the rainy season.

The Sphinx is actually a lot smaller in person

After Giza we went to the Egypt Museum. It was absolutely incredible. It is not heavily funded so the exhibits are not very organized, but the amount of amazing artifacts they had in the museum put both the MET and the British Museum to shame. Unfortunately, they are very strict about taking pictures and I had to check my camera outside and therefore I have no pictures of the exhibits.

Day One of Cairo ended when we went out to a "fancy" dinner at a hip restaurant on the "nice" side of the Nile. Rough Guides marked this restaurant in the "expensive" category. Meals ended up costing about $8 a person. Not too shabby. We then went to get dessert in the Marriot Hotel. But this was not some ordinary hotel, it was actually built as a palace to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal.