Blogs from Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel, Middle East

After shuffling home from the Jerusalem Marathon I stood in the shower for longer than Israel’s water shortage could ever justify and let the hot water massage away the heavy stiffness in all my muscles. After previous marathons, my body and brain instantly forgot how hard the run was the moment I crossed the Kav HaSee’um (the Finish Line). This was different. It took one very long shower and at least four hours before my internal auto-delete program began wiping away the painful memories, leaving only the highs of running the byways of my new hometown together with 1500 other meshuga’im(crazy people). By evening – thankfully Shabbat - my mind started reviewing the detailed schedule of gentle workouts provided by my running guru, Jerry Ziak of Vancouver Forerunners, in preparation for the fourth annual Tel Aviv ... read more

20 March 2012 15:47 local The airport in Eilat was a nightmare. After I typed and wrote for a while, the security person came to me and started asking questions. Then he would ask the follow up question: "why?" What the hell do you mean "why". Apparently my annoyance/anger toward his line of questioning flagged me as a terrorist. I was further interrogated and searched. I was then, after an extra half hour or so of additional screening, escorted to the gate. This is for a domestic flight. The airport in Tel Aviv had wifi and I was able to publish my last few entries. But they were closing, so I wasn't able to do more. I got to Jerusalem late, but found my hostel easily. I slept lightly with lots of dreams. I woke with ... read more

21 March 7:45 local After the last entry, I wandered around the old city for about two hours, had dinner, and went to bed. I spent most of my time in the Armenian quarter with a little in the Christian and Jewish. It was sunset and dusk which added to the atmosphere. There is stone everywhere- walls, streets, houses. Stone stairs can be quite slippery. There is a bazaar next to my hostel which has very nice things- but all my shopping is complete this trip. I made it to the western wall after they turned the lights on. It was very pretty -a little smaller than I imagined, butI was still pretty far away. I followed the city wall around the southern part of the city until I ended up back at Jaffa gate. Then ... read more

21 March 2012 17:24 local So, this is how today unfolded. I waited an hour for my guide at the cafe he mentioned. He never showed. I was crushed, and then doubly so when it turned out it was a landmark for something else, not the meeting place. I somehow found the strength not to spend the day in a ball hating myself and went out. I visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was fine. I think I may have seen to many things if the sight of the crucifixion and reserection ofChrist Jesus is "fine". My favorite parts were an exposed section of bedrock you could touch and an adjoining intact tomb I went I and explored. From there I went to Yad Vashem on the light rail. It was very well done. ... read more

Counting the days for my next journey... Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg Israel - Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem Lebanon - Beirut Jordan - Aman Poland - Warsow All this will be made (at least I'll try...) in 11 days... Flights and hostels already booked and russian visa also... Any tip? Follow the countdown here and more details in facebook - http://www.facebook.com/BackpackYourself Cheers... read more

In the story of Purim everything is turned upside down. So it was fitting that our Purim story began on the Friday before Purim (February the 2nd) - the one day of the year in which “snow” fell on Jerusalem. In Israel, the prospect of snow, not to mention snow itself, causes a frenzy. Even though the weather forecasts all indicated rain, the talk of the town and all the media in the days leading up to Friday was of the possibility of snow. We even received an email from the school advising us to listen to the news media to see if schools would be closed. A similar occurrence took place two weeks earlier when there was a forecast for rain, yet everyone was abuzz over the possibility of snow. The radio was filled with ... read more

on my way...... read more