Thursday, July 17, 2008

Wednesday - Jerusalem

We had an early start on Wednesday and even though the sandwiches were prepared to take them with us, we missed the departure which according to Dave should have been at 7 am. The other mistake was to trust the GPS which did not direct us to the toll road 6, but instead used road 1 which meant that we had to face the traffic jams in Haifa and in Tel Aviv. So we were late from our meeting with the guide in Latrun, outside Jerusalem, almost by an hour! I am a person who hates to be late :(

However it turned out that it was better for us that way. Because we were so late, the original plan to follow the guide’s car would not have succeeded because of the traffic in Jerusalem. So the guide, Boaz Malachy, took us in his SUV. Boaz was an excellent guide and even though I had visited Jerusalem before, I learned so much and heard many new stories.

The locals say that seeing everything in Jerusalem (meaning the old city) would take at least four days and I am convinced that they are right. Describing the feeling or the places is something I am really unable to do. It is something all have to experience themselves. That is why I am only including some pictures.

Behind us is the desert outside the hills of Jerusalem (on the left)


The Dome of the Rock seen from Mount Olive



The Wailing Wall


Mount of Olives

I am not really sure how much time we spent in the Old City, but if I say it was 8 hours, I am not very far from the truth.

To me the biggest amazement was that the same place plays an important role in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Boaz talked us about the Jerusalem syndrome. I think I am starting to develop mild symptoms... :)

After getting us back to our car Boaz helped us filling the tank of the car and made sure that this time we found the right road.
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