Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

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Well, I have arrived in Jerusalem and it was adventurous to say the least. The border crossing was not smooth sailing nor did I expect it to be. I had my bags scanned by an X-ray machine three times and after the third time it was whisked away to a mysterious room and this is where the pandemonium began. Prior to this, I was interrogated by the border police about where I was staying, where I was going, why I was there and what other plans did I have. The man next to me suffered a worse fate because he was going to work in one city and they were demanding addresses etc. No one argues when one sees so many soldiers, armed and ready to go...

Picture me and hundreds of Palestinians (clarified to me by another tourist who said they like to go shopping in Jordan) all jostling and pushing in a "pen" area waiting to hear that they our bag was "ready" (in essence, all bags were being opened and examined by security) and that we could leave the terminal. This went on for an hour with no end in sight (and not a word of English to be found!!!). I must have looked like a tall pine tree in a field of shrubs because suddenly a security officer grabbed me, brought me to the front of the "line" and sent me off to find my bag. Released from the madness, I then proceeded to be ripped off by a taxi driver (I have learned since that I paid too much for the ride into Jerusalem...but I couldn't face going on the herds of busses with everyone and all of their oversized parcels and bags) and before you knew it, I was in the most famous city in the Holy Land.

Yes...the ordeal was worth it. When I entered the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, I was mesmerized by all of the different people I can across. Ethiopian Jews in stunning robes, Hassidic Jews and soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, praying and swaying in front of the Wailing Wall, groups of Christian pilgrims stopping at each station of the cross on the Via Dolorosa and praying out loud and in one particular instance, chanting a sombre and mournful dirge, Muslims running down narrow cobblestone pathways with flatbreads and tiny glasses of tea...this mosaic of faith and identity all crammed into a very tiny walled section of the city. Outside of the walls, it is pristine and very modern...I am quite certain that a Starbucks lurks in the distance.

Tomorrow, I will visit this area more thoroughly and try to comprehend the madness and more importantly, the beauty of this ancient city that so many have fought over for thousands of years and continue to fight for today. And so my pilgrimage begins...

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Comments

[Jude]

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
I am at a loss for words !! Jerusalem Jerusalem I stand all amazed I am so touched Enjoy this sacred Pilgrimage :D