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Published: June 21st 2010
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21 June 2010
1853 (GMT +3)
Jerusalem, Israel
Have I lost anyone yet? No, you’re not misreading anything. I am now writing to you from mere minutes away from the Old City of Jerusalem.
I know this might come as a bit of a surprise, and indeed this is a recent turn of events. In short, I was presented with an opportunity to study Modern Standard Arabic at a major university here in Jerusalem. This course will give me about three times the class hours I would have got studying another month at my school in Cairo, and I will have access to university resources, so perhaps I can spend some of my extra time reading for my thesis. I had hoped to visit Israel later in my trip, and this gives me a good excuse.
While it is certainly preferable to learn a language in a country in which it is spoken, I will say that Israel does have a very significant Arab minority population, and many Israelis speak some Arabic as well. Plus, in Cairo I was finding that, even when I would speak to someone in Arabic, they would insist on speaking English to me.
Dome of the Rock
Peeking out from behind some other buildings. The conversations must have sounded kind of silly, with one person saying something in one language and the other responding in a different language.
Unfortunately, because I cut my stay in Cairo short, I didn’t get to see all the things I would have liked to see, such as el-Alamein, the Sherlock Holmes pub…oh, and the pyramids. Don’t give up on me just yet, though, as I won’t be back to the States for some time yet. Anything can happen…
So, when traveling from Cairo to Jerusalem, there are basically two options; you either go by bus or by plane. The bus leaves from downtown Cairo and travels eight or nine hours across the Sinai Peninsula to the Taba/Eilat, border crossing. From there you catch another bus north to Jerusalem - another four to five hours. I opted to fly. Thank God for Orbitz. They flew me from Cairo to Istanbul to Tel Aviv. This would be something akin to flying from Washington DC to New York, via Chicago. But, it was the cheapest ticket.
The security measures for getting into Israel can be quite extensive, and I think I must have tripped all the triggers. The
From the Jaffa Gate
Looking west, I think. first screening happened in Istanbul before I could even past passport control. They ask a lot of questions about where you’re going and why, as well as where you’re coming from. This happened again after I exited the plane in Tel Aviv, right at the top of the walkway, and again at passport control. The final security screening was before I got out to the baggage claim. There were a lot of the same questions, and then I was invited into a back room to have my baggage searched. The security officers were definitely professional about their business, but were very pleasant as well. I tried to keep a positive demeanor, as I understand that this is just the way of life here, and it happens this way for a reason.
After the baggage screening you are free to go. If you have anything to declare, you’ll do so at customs on your way out the door. For transport to Jerusalem you have three options: private taxi, bus, or a shared mini-van taxi. The latter has the greatest compromise of being inexpensive but efficient. For 50 NIS (New Israeli Shekel, currently about 3.85 NIS/Dollar) the driver will take you from the airport directly to your hotel or wherever it is that you’re staying. Of course, it is shared, so there may be many stops along the way. But, the ride from Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem is only 45 minutes to an hour, so it works out well. From the ground level of the main hall, exit out the front, and take a right. You’ll see several of these vans in one area, and the name of the company is Nesher.
I arrived at my hotel at a little after noon. My flight from Cairo left (or was scheduled to leave, anyway) at 0330, so I’ve pretty much been up since yesterday morning, with a few naps here and there. But, I could not know that I was within walking distance of the Old City and not go see it. Once I settled in I changed my shoes and went out to get lost in it for a while, and get lost I did.
At the moment, still without sleep, I can feel myself losing steam, so I’ll save a full description of the Old City for later. I’m thinking about going back tomorrow for a few hours. I will say that it is definitely a maze of streets, and it is easy to get lost. Thankfully it is walled off so there is only so far you can go. I was surprised to find that people still live within the walls of the Old City, and was somewhat disappointed to find that much of the area has turned into the Khan al-Khalili, essentially a market place of tourist souvenirs including rosaries, religious artifacts, luggage, leather jackets, candy, sheesha pipes, DVDs, Jesus shot glasses, and t-shirts that read Guns n’ Moses. I’m not even kidding about those last two. Look at me. Does it look like I’m joking?
In any event, the full write up and more will be forthcoming.
-MG
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