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Gateway To Heaven?
Sunlight flows into the Church Of the Holy Sepulchre and right into Jesus Christ's tomb. I'm back.
It has sure been awhile - five months to be precise, and the second-longest travel hiatus I've had since starting the blog - so before we get started, a brief life update is in order.
The last time I wrote, I was unemployed in the middle of winter. I managed to find a job one month later working for an events company where I work on loads of spreadsheets and not a lot else. I didn't have much idea of what my plan was at the time; where I was going to go, what I was going to do, and indeed how much longer I was going to be in London. On top of trying to settle into my new job, this made it difficult to plan any trips.
Three months went past during which I finally managed to acquire a British passport after seven years, which was the main goal of my stay in London. I am now officially a British citizen!
Easter and a May bank holiday were spent in London - seeing everyone else's holiday photos on social media got my feet itchy and made me realise it was about time to make my first
Dome Of The Rock
The most striking and visible sight in Jerusalem, inside the Temple Mount. trip out of the country this year.
Anna and I had talked about going to Israel while in
Russia last year; we're kindred spirits in the sense that we like going to places slightly off the beaten path.
It was something that we were both very keen to do so it was time to make it a reality.
Flights to Israel aren't particularly frequent and nor are they cheap. We would be flying with a stopover in Istanbul on the way there and via Kiev on the way back.
I had flown Pegasus before to
Turkey, but had obviously forgotten about the cheesy and slightly camp
passenger safety video. At least the whole thing appears tongue-in-cheek. I wasn't the only one on the plane forgetting things - a lady who asked me to kindly put her heavy, oversized suitcase in the overhead locker seemed to forget her manners by not even thanking me for the effort!
One thing seemingly infamous about any holiday to Israel is the over-the-top security at the airport, known to be the most thorough in the world - strip searches are common and the complete emptying of your carefully packed luggage is standard.
Bracing ourselves
Tile Detail
In my opinion, the most impressive part of the Dome Of The Rock's exterior. for an interrogation on arrival, imagine our shock and surprise when we walked straight through customs and immigration. It felt too good to be true. It wasn't.
Although Ben Gurion Airport is technically the airport of Tel Aviv, it is almost halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem so we jumped on a shuttle to Jerusalem, where we would be spending the next four nights.
The driver of our shuttle was not the first crazy driver I have had and he will not be the last. The other noticeable aspect of the shuttle ride was how high we climbed - Jerusalem is situated on a plateau approximately 800m above sea level.
I'll get the accommodation review out of the way now - Abraham Hostel will definitely go down as one of the best I have stayed at. Our room was clean and spacious and came with an ensuite, there is a rooftop terrace for people to hang out and party, and the common room is strewn with hammocks and cushions which along with a bar and chilled out music playing at all times, is a great place to relax. The breakfast is decent - along with toast, cereal and
Written Prayers
It is customary for Jews to place written prayers in the gaps of the Western Wall. coffee, I can definitely get used to having a tomato and cucumber salad with olive oil and white cheese every morning.
Lastly, any hostel worth it's salt these days doubles up as a tour office and indeed Abraham has it's own tour desk from where we booked a tour to Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea.
Jerusalem of course, has a long and tumultuous history. In religious terms, it is arguably the most famous and the most important city in the history of mankind.
In an area just under a square kilometre in the old city of Jerusalem, lies the site where Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and was subsequently resurrected; the site of where the 'divine presence' rests (The Temple Mount); and where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven (also on the Temple Mount). It is quite astonishing that three of the holiest sites of the world, of arguably the three most-followed religions in the world - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - are all in the same place. It is the only place in the world where you have a mosque literally right next to a church - and not just <em style="line-height:
Streets Of Jersusalem #1
A market street in the old city of Jerusalem which very much resembles a market street in an old imperial Moroccan city such as Fes or Marrakech. 1.42857143;">any church, but the church built on the site that Christ died - with an orthodox Jew in full kit walking right past the two of them.
In a place so important to so many people, the place is understandably charged and you can feel the tension in the air. Apparently a Jew was recently allowed to enter the Temple Mount for some reason and he needed an armed escort.
The old city is enclosed by the old city walls which were built by the Ottomans in the 16th century - inside is a maze of pedestrian-only streets which feel almost exactly as if you're inside the medina of a Moroccan city such as
Fes or
Marrakech, right down to the shops selling trinkets and leather goods.
Outside of the walls, it was difficult to compare Jerusalem to other places I have been - I guess it felt like most cities, but with a Middle Eastern feel to it and all the signage being in Hebrew rather than Arabic. It also obviously felt very conservative.
Our first day in Jerusalem was an immensely frustrating one - it coincided with the visit of the Pope! It basically meant
Church Of The Holy Sepulchre
Dome inside the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Jesus was crucified. that everything we wanted to see was closed and loads of routes were blocked off. Security was high and we wasted hours walking around in the hot sun from one sight to the next, only to find they were all closed.
We did manage to see two of the mains sights though, so the day wasn't a complete waste.
The Western Wall is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple that once stood on the Temple Mount and is considered the most sacred site in Judaism. Those of Jewish faith come here to pray and leave written prayers in the wall.
We also saw the impressive Church Of The Holy Sepulchre which is built over the site of where Jesus was nailed to the cross. Both places are full of pilgrims as well as tourists, and both definitely feel like places of great importance and have a highly spiritual feel to them.
For dinner that night, we check out the Mahane Yehuda market, which is a huge food market during the day, with a number of eateries open in the evening. We settle on Morris, a grill recommended by the hostel although we had trouble identifying
Masada
The ruins of the cliff-top fortress. it due to our lack of Hebrew-reading ability. Much like Arabic, I simply don't have a clue when trying to read Hebrew and it's non-Roman alphabet. The fare is simply barbecued meats which were nice enough though nothing special.
We got out of the city the next day as we hit the road to see the Israeli country- desert-side.
First stop was the mountain-top fortress of Masada where less than 1,000 Jewish rebels held out an army of 10,000 Romans for six months. When it became clear that they would not be able to hold out the Romans, the rebels then committed mass suicide leaving the Romans to find nothing but bodies when they eventually got inside the fortress. To the rebels, it was preferable to die than to be slaves to the Romans.
We had the option of either climbing up to the fortress or paying a little extra for a ride on the cable car - given it was over 30 degrees and with the hot desert sun beating down on us, we correctly chose to take the cable car. I say "correctly" because we only had two hours here and when we got to the top,
Cliffside Fortress
In some places, the fortress at Masada was built into the cliff face. we discovered that the fortress covered a huge area that took a while to get around.
Most of the fortress is now in ruins, so although the setting is spectacular the fortress itself isn't. It probably would have been back in the day though - the fortress used to contain a couple of palaces that King Herod occasionally resided in including one that was built into the side of a cliff. With the palace columns and façade partially restored, this was probably the most impressive part of the fortification. We didn't spend long in best bits of the place though unfortunately - we went around the wrong way and only discovered at the end that there even
was a 'best bit'.
Next stop was Ein Gedi, an oasis in the middle of the desert. Here a large stream fuelled by springs creates several waterfalls and allows plants and some wildlife to flourish. It was great to have short dip here in the rock pools to cool down but apart from the fact that it is amazing to see an oasis like this in the middle of the desert, it wasn't really anything special.
There were loads of American teenagers
Ein Gedi
Tourists bathe in the river that makes up this oasis in the desert. here as well - there is a large Jewish population Stateside so it is common for kids from Jewish families to come over to Israel on "birthright" tours.
The last stop on our tour allowed me to do something I have always wanted to do; to float on the Dead Sea. When I visited
Jordan three-and-a-half years ago, I was close to paying the Dead Sea visit but didn't have the time. I finally got my second chance and I was excited.
We visited a Dead Sea 'resort' - I say 'resort' because it was a work-in-progress as attested to by the builders working in their undies. The 'beach' itself was the trashiest beach I have ever seen - I mean
literally trashy. There was no sand, simply mud and rocks. It simply was a few deck chairs and umbrellas stuck into the middle of a seaside rubbish dump with pipes sticking out the side, depositing water into the sea.
After burning my feet on the coal-like rocks, I have to say that swimming on the Dead Sea is a very cool experience and there is nothing I have ever experienced like it. You couldn't go under the water
The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea "resort" that we visited. if you tried. Such was the famous buoyancy of the Dead Sea that it took me ten minutes to realise the water I was floating on was only waist-deep.
As well as the absurdly high salt content of the water the Dead Sea also contains lots of minerals that help keeps the solid-to-water density high enough for anything to float and for nothing to live (hence the name "Dead Sea"). The minerals are said to be healthy so it is traditional for all visitors to cover themselves with the gross-looking and gross-feeling dark grey mud from the sea bottom. Having a look around at my surroundings I thought twice before smearing the sandy sludge across my face and torso.
After a while, the salt started to really sting my face and my sunburnt skin. I got a little water on my tongue and even that stung like salt on a papercut. I have to say though, that my skin felt lovely and soft afterwards.
Although the resort was still being put together, the large swimming pool is complete and brand-new so I cooled off in it before getting back in the van - I was however, annoyed that I could
Floating In The Dead Sea
An experience like no other. no longer float!
Our guide for the tour was Alon, who had the very interesting back story of having been a former Orthodox Jew until three years ago, when he decided to leave the religion. At the end of our tour, he told everyone that he was conducting a tour of Jerusalem's most conservative Orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods that night and invited us to come along. I was pretty tired from the day, so I wasn't overly enthused by the idea of walking around some more but Anna was dead-keen and she managed to twist my arm once I realised that it would probably be a good idea to learn a little about the people who lived in this fascinating city.
Judaism, is a religion that I know very little about. It isn't in the headlines much - apart from when Mel Gibson and other celebs decide to slag off the Jews - and for me personally, little is known about it's history, customs and devotion. You don't get Jewish missionaries spreading the word like you do with Christianity and Islam. All I really know is that historically, the Jews have had a rough time of it; constantly persecuted,
Orthodox Jews
Praying at the Western Wall. blamed for everything, and trusted by no-one.
What followed that evening is was the most informative, insightful and engaging tour I have
ever been on.
I learnt everything I ever wanted to know about Judaism and how it is practiced while seeing it all unfold in front of my eyes. I got to understand the general Jewish mindset and psyche, and learnt about the attitudes, perspectives and general approach to life of a typical Orthodox Jew.
Eye-opening was an understatement. It will be impossible to convey everything I learnt that night but the most interesting things I learnt were;
• The seemingly infinite number of rules that an Orthodox Jew has to follow. Having studied the religion for almost his whole life, one of the key gripes Alon had about Orthodox Judaism was in his view, the seemingly endless interpretations and re-interpretations of statements from the Torah which has resulted in rules that now bear no resemblance to the original statements, but which the Orthodox Jewish population blindly and pointlessly follow.
• How technology and 'Western' attitudes are impacting the Orthodox Jewish way of life. There is nothing in the Torah for example that tells one how to deal
Mobile Bar Mitzvah
There were several of these celebrations going around Western Wall when we were waiting to go into the Temple Mount. It celebrates a Jewish child's coming of age and the fact that they are now officially responsible for their actions under Judaism. with the internet and how it impacts what you're allowed and not allowed to do in line with the web of Jewish rules formulated over hundreds of years. Rabbis are then sought for advice on how to stay within the rules and their judgements are then often taken as gospel. As well as food being approved as
kosher, mobile phones are these days as well, which to someone non-Jewish just sounds absurd. It could be argued that as the world moves on and becomes more modern, the old rules and statements become more and more outdated - although this is something that arguably could be applied to all religions and all laws.
• The black and white nature of Judaism. For example, if your mother was Jewish then you are Jewish - no ifs, no buts. If you're not Jewish, you're not. I mentioned above how you don't have Jewish missionaries - people generally aren't invited to become Jewish and if you want to become Jewish, they make it very difficult - whereas anyone can become a Christian or a Muslim. It results in a society that is very recluse, living in its own bubble. This however, breeds a sense of
Jewish Bakery
We tried an assortment of Jewish delicacies in here including kugel which you can see top-right, which is a pudding made from noodles and flavoured with caramelised sugar and black pepper, which went strangely but deliciously with gherkin for a savoury/sweet fusion. Cholent was also eaten, a delicious Jewish stew of beans, meat, barley and paprika. community that is becoming less common in modern society. I mean, I have lived in the same apartment block in London for six years but don't know any of my neighbours. It is something that Alon missed about his old life and is something generally lamentable about the modern world.
• How life for an Orthodox Jew is simply a means to an end, with the end being heaven. It was interesting to hear Alon say that he simply didn't understand why people would socialise for socialising's sake or play sports; that these were activities that served no purpose. As an Orthodox Jew, you just do what you have to do and there is no point in doing anything else, which Alon explained was why the Orthodox Jews always seem to be in a rush to do something or go somewhere - there is always a sense of purpose.
• The division of Jews into two main ethnic groups; the
Ashkenaz (those with ethnic roots in Central Europe) and the
Sefarad (those with ethnic roots in Spain and Portugal). The two groups follow different practices of Judaism and even wear different types of clothes.
Litas - a branch of the
Ashkenaz from
Tourists Not Welcome
Sign outside Me'a She'arim, one of the most conservative Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem. Alon took us through anyway and it was definitely tense walking through there. The neighbourhood seemed a bit poorer than the other parts of Jerusalem. Lithuania - wear a specific type of hat and often wear thick, long coats, even in the blistering summer heat of Jerusalem.
Other highlights of the tour include learning about the frankly comical Orthodox Jewish approach to dating, sex and marriage; a stop at a local bakery to try some Jewish delicacies; seeing posters being put up on the main road telling everyone the community news - there is no internet or TV in an Orthodox Jewish household; learning about the exiles and the Jewish diaspora - explaining why there are Russian, Armenian, American and German quarters in Jerusalem; and nervously hot-footing it through Me'a She'arim, the most conservative Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in Jerusalem where the local inhabitants are known to be openly hostile to any non-Jews passing through.
The biggest highlight of the tour though, was Alon himself. I have never had a tour guide who was so open and willing to share so much of his personal life with complete strangers. He truly spoke from his heart about everything and his experiences were fascinating - experiences that are rarely heard about but so common in the Orthodox Jewish world. In his openness was also
The Temple Mount
Looking at Western Wall in the foreground and the Dome Of The Rock which can be seen from most vantage points in the city. a sweet naivety in the way he wanted to share his life, his heart and his experiences with anyone he felt a connection with, like a young teenage boy falling in love with every girl he met. Seeing this was bizarre considering that this was coming from a man who has already been married and has kids - but then you remember that that was his old life and that this is only his third year discovering the ways of the modern and liberal world.
At the same time however, you don't study Jewish religion and philosophy your whole life without picking up a bit of wisdom along the way - and this wisdom, eloquence and intelligence shone through in his analyses of religion and the world in general.
Now I don't normally plug things on my blog but I feel compelled to do so for Alon given how blown away we all were by his insights. If you're ever in Jerusalem, a tour or two with Alon is a must and you can see his website
here. He is currently writing a book on his views and experiences which I suspect will do well and will be a fascinating
Yad Vashem
Building housing the Holocaust Museum at Vad Yashem. read.
In contrast to magnificent tour that we had done the night before, the tour we did of Old Jerusalem and its main sights the next day was a disappointment. The tour group was too big, every sight was jammed with other annoying tourists, and we couldn't hear anything our guide was telling us - and anything we did hear wasn't particularly interesting or enlightening either. The only cool things that we saw that we perhaps otherwise wouldn't have was the tomb of King David (he who killed Goliath) and Via Dolorosa - "The Painful Way" or "Path of Grief" in Latin - the route Jesus followed from his sentencing to death at the Monastery of Flagellation to where he was finally buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Fourteen posts are marked on this route with each post marking a specific event on Christ's journey to death.
Everywhere else the tour took us to we had been to before and rather annoyingly, the Temple Mount - arguably the biggest sight in Jerusalem - was closed because it was Jerusalem Day, the day commemorating the reunification of the city after the Six Day War in 1967. All-in-all though,
View From Holocaust Museum
A view from the end of the Holocaust Museum at Yad Vashem looking over Jersualem Forest. the tour was too hot and too tiring to put up with at times and the fact that we had lunch at the same place we ate at on the first day (Abu Shukri - great falafel & hummus in the old town) only added to the sense that we were wasting time seeing and doing things we had already seen and done.
Not wanting to waste the rest of the day, we took the tram out to Vad Yashem, the only tourist attraction we hadn't done that wasn't closed for Jerusalem Day.
Vad Yashem is Jerusalem's holocaust museum and was impressive both in content and architecture. Very similar in concept and presentation to the Jewish Museum in
Berlin, Vad Yashem documents the stories and atrocities of the Holocaust in World War II. Having been to the Jewish Museum in Berlin as well as
Auschwitz, I am already well versed with the subject though there were a couple of new things that I learnt including Britain's rather shameful role in the sinking of the
Struma. The highlight was probably the Hall of Names which is an commemorative installation featuring the 2.2 million pages of Holocaust testimonies collected so far
Holocaust Memorial
A memorial inside the Yad Vashem campus paying tribute to the children killed during the Holocaust. by the museum. Anna also had a look in the archives behind the hall, where she was able to find records of her Jewish relatives.
On the way back to the hostel, our tram decided to stop halfway home due to Jerusalem Day - meaning we had to walk the rest of the way. First the Pope and now this - Jerusalem was really trying its best to annoy and frustrate us as much as possible! Loads of mainly teenagers were on their way to the old town by foot, almost all of them waving Israeli flags.
No partying on this trip as we were too exhausted at the end of each day - after eating the biggest piece of bread ever (incorrectly called a focaccia at a restaurant called "Focaccia") washed down by one of the biggest bottles of Israeli beer ever (not a bad drop) it was back to the hostel where we were out like lights.
We needed the early night as we had to get up super early the next morning to make sure we got into Temple Mount while it was open.
The Temple Mount is the most sacred site in Judaism and the
Inside Temple Mount
As you can see there is quite a bit of space inside the Temple Mount. This is looking at the inside of the West Wall of the Temple Mount and some of the old gates into the compound. third-most sacred site in Islam - meaning that it is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. As it has been since 1187 - and in agreement with the Israeli government, which declared a law ensuring the protection of
all religious sites - the Temple Mount is managed by the Muslims. After a 30-minute queue and passing through airport-like security, we were finally admitted into the compound where I was immediately pulled up for wearing shorts - poor/lazy research on my part, I must admit. I was then marched away (along with another Asian tourist) to a man who handed me a vacuum-packed purple shawl with which I was asked to cover my legs. For 25ISL (Israeli Shekels - so about £5). Slightly annoying but at least I wasn't ripped off too much. And I must say I looked rather dashing in my purple sarong - an embarrassed Anna certainly seemed to think so judging by her I-told-you-so face.
Completely enclosed by walls - including the Western Wall - built in 19 BC, the area inside the Temple Mount is a sanctuary amid the hustle-and-bustle of old Jerusalem, with it's open spaces and greenery. Within the walls
Dome Of The Chain
Next to the Dome Of The Rock is the Dome Of The Chain, a small gazebo with pretty and intricate tiles decorating its interior. is the Al-Aqsa Mosque which although is the third-most important site in Islam, is not the most overly impressive sight from the outside.
The centrepiece of the Temple Mount however is the majestic Dome Of The Rock. Named because of the foundation stone it sits upon - a stone of great significance to Christians, Muslims and Jews alike - the shrine was built in the 7th century by the Muslim rulers at the time. While the gold dome is the structure's most striking feature, the tiles on the outside are intricately painted and were for me, the most impressive part of the building.
Muslims inside the Temple Mount have been known to be hostile to non-Muslim visitors with spitting and shouting having been reported, but we didn't experience any of that - until we were on our way out and some Muslim kids hurled stones at us from afar. A Muslim man told them off but it was a little unsavoury, not to mention dangerous!
The last activity that we did before leaving for Tel-Aviv was a walk along the top of the walls of Old Jerusalem. Having done a few rampart walks before, I think that my expectations
Judaen Desert
Breathtaking views across the Judaen Desert fro Masada. of them will forever be set unfairly high given the spectacular wall walk of
Dubrovnik was the first one I ever did. Naturally, I found Jerusalem's one so-so.
And with that our stay in Jerusalem came to an end and to be honest, I was a little relieved to be leaving. We had put up with a lot of hassle and inconvenience which resulted in a lot more rushing around than I would've liked.
And given the obvious tension that exists in such a place, I was a little irritated that no-one seemed to tell us of any potential flashpoints or places to avoid at specific times. For example, there was trouble during the evening on Jerusalem Day in the old town which involved the use of stun grenades by police to break it up. Lucky we weren't in town that night but it wasn't as if there were any warnings or signs up anywhere alerting tourists - or anyone for that matter - to any potential trouble. In general, it seemed that if you asked the same question to five different people, you seemed to get five different answers which leads one to suspect that no-one really knows
Memorial Obelisk
Located in the Yad Vashem memorial campus. what is going on. Perhaps this is just a result of the unique situation that exists in Jerusalem.
In saying all that, Jerusalem is one of the most interesting places I have ever been and we discovered that there was so much more to see there than we thought and that four days was not enough time to see it all. Perhaps I'll be back one day - but for now it was time was for some R&R on the beaches of Tel-Aviv.
L’hitra’ot,
Derek
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