Eight Canadians, Gene and myself (Carl) left the Kibbutz at around 6am in a small bus. We put our luggage in storage at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, and caught a shuttle bus which took us out to a bus stop to catch the bus to Jerusalem. Over the last two weeks we have learned not to be passive or sensitive to other's personal space. Pushy might be a little harsh for this culture's standard, but I don't think so. You guessed it, all ten of us made it on this crowded bus. We stood (with others) for about 30 minutes. As the Canadians put it " We surfed to Jerusalem".
At the bus terminal we decided to take taxis to the top of the Mount of Olives. I have not experienced such agressive behavior. After Dr. Chambers arranged for three taxis, other drivers were trying to take our business. I mean literaly physically take us out of the car to move to their's. I'm still not sure we ended up in the original cars but we all made it to the top. I understand there was a fight between drivers, but I didn't see it.
At the top, we went into the Chaple of the Ascension complete with a footprint supposedly made by Jesus's ascending into Heaven. From there we went to the church that celebrates the teaching of the Lords prayer. The prayer is displayed in 62 languages.
Then it was a walk down a steep hill to the Garden of Gethsemene. Just barely made it into the church compound as all of these sites close from 11:45 to about 2. Next was a long walk to the entrance to the West Wall and the old city. On the way we passed many graveyards. Apparently, many religions/denominations belive this is where Jesus is to return, and they want to be burried close by.
At the West Wall ther was a traffic jam, to many cars and buses for such a small street. And tours happening al around. Glad we were walking. To get in we had to pass through a security check point. One for the men and one for the women. Same thing at the wall, one side for the men one for the women. It was a great experience to say a prayer at the Wall, only slightly deminished by the 'Rabi' that grabbed my hand and prayed in Hebrew then asked for money. Only paper, no coins,"I can make change". I felt like I was preyed on alright.
We then went to the old city were we had a lunch break. I can say that I had a burger in old Jerusalem now. After lunch we walked through the shops to the road tradionally thought to be the "Via Delorosa" and on to Saint Anne's Church and the Pool of Bethsadia. After checking out the traditional birth place of Mary and the pools and cisterns, we went to The Church of the Holy Sepulchure.
On the way we passed the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. It was closed so we couldn't go in and climb the tower. The tower is supposed to have an awesome view of the city. In side the Church of the Holy Sepulchure is another smaller Church which is covering a spot thought be where the Cross stood. Then, again, there is another spot in the bigger Church that says the same thing. I'm confused. We also saw typical tombs in the lower level.
After a bit of shopping, it was off to the bus station then the airport. I should have said off to the races. If we weren't running, we were at least walking very fast. Those of us with short legs were having trouble keeping up. A couple were having trouble even though their legs were longer. At the bus station we used our numbers to make sure we all got on board early. Means we got to sit this time.
At the airport, we cleaned up a little. Nothing like getting on an eleven hour flight after running a foot race. Gene and I said our good-byes to the Canadians. Then on to customs and security. They didn't have a problem with the souvenier knife in the checked bag. BUT, they couldn't xray through a book in the same bag, which meant opening the bag for a look. Otherwise, no problems.
On the plane back to the states, my stomach started bothering me. By the time we landed in Newark it was "montezuma's revenge." Try going through Passport Control and Customs with something else on your mind! Made it through ok, though. The rest of the trip was problematic. Short lay over in Newark, buy pepto bismul. Long lay over in Houston, buy Imodium, no sleep. All the great smells from the restaurants on the concourse, and I didn't feel like eating. Darn! Made all the way home by 9pm Tuesday night.
By the way, my body clock is still on Israeli time.
Leave a comment