I had a wonderful experience in Israel! I was fortunate enough to make friends with a very cute Israeli couple while we were traveling in South Africa. This lovely couple gave me a lift from Blyde River Canyon back to Johannesburg and we've been friends ever since. So when they asked me to come and visit them in Israel I took them up on their offer! I was greeted at the airport by Katty (no longer pregnant), Shay (husband), Linoy (first daughter) and the new addition, April! A cute family of four to greet me with open arms!
Katty and her family took me to the boardwalk area where we saw Capoeira dancing, children running and laughing about, people enjoying the sunset over the sea while munching on food and sipping on drinks. We even strolled by a little local market! It was a great first night in Israel.
While there I ventured off to Jerusalem on my own and was astounded by the Wailing or Western Wall! The sight was humbling. The wall is sectioned off for men and women, but like a neighbors curiosity one can climb up on a chair and easily peek over the fence to see what's going on. On the men's side barmitzvahs were abundant! Young boys carrying the Torah while their male counterparts singing and rejoicing in the tradition of celebrating a boy's coming of age. Such joyous celebrations in the back grounds contrasted so starkly in the foregrounds near the wall with those individuals crying and sobbing while pressed against the wailing wall. That was another humbling moment for me. Every crack/crevice of the wall was jammed with small slips of paper with people's prayers on them. I joined the masses and began to write my prayer, folded it, gave it a kiss and with all my might shoved it into an open crevice. Feeling overwhelmed, I stepped back, admired my little slip of paper, gazed around at so many women coming together for one purpose and just sighed. So wonderful!
I walked around Jerusalem along the via Dolorosa where its believed that Jesus took his last steps. On this path there are plaques that indicate what happened to Jesus at certain points along the path. Unfortunately now most of these alley ways are covered in souvenir stalls. I did enjoy what was unobstructed. One of the best pieces of architecture there was the Dome of the Rock mosque. It took me ages to find the only entrance that permits non-Muslims to enter through. For a religion that highly promotes tolerance I didn't really appreciate this "discrimination". All the entrances/exits lead to the mosque and if you are non-Muslim then you are only granted access via one entrance, but you are permitted to leave out of any entrance/exit. The air of religious tension is obvious...unfortunate and obvious.
After seeing all I could in the heart of Jerusalem I scurried off to the Israel Museum where I laid my eyes upon 2000 year old documents...The Dead Sea Scrolls. I just couldn't believe that on my trip how much I've been amazed by and I continue to be in awe at everything I am fortunate enough to see! Most of the documents there were written in Hebrew and look amazingly good for surviving 2000 years. Incredible!!
The best part of this adventure was having the opportunity to see it from a locals perspective and enjoying a local lifestyle. Thank you Katty, Shay, Linoy and April for a wonderful time and I hope to one day return for another visit!
