That Time We Had a Free Day and Walked FOREVER

Our schedule is generally action-packed, but today we got a repreive from both endlessly chattering students and planned group activities. Instead, we had a day of freedom in our "hometown", Jerusalem.

After our tour yesterday, we were curious about this alternative burial site for Jesus called the Garden Tomb, which is really close to our house. Humberto, MikeR, Kim, Froy, Bo, and I left around 11am to see it.

While the (free!) tour was somewhat informative, to me, it more or less had the feeling of a tourist trap. When you visit sacred places, you get this feeling in your gut that tells you it's special, but the Garden Tomb seemed to be nothing special. Up until 1883, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was unanimously accepted as the crucifixion site and burial site for Jesus. In that year, a man named Charles George Gordon decided the Holy Sepulchre didn't fit with the biblical descriptions. His main disagreement was that the Holy Sepulchre is within the walls of the Old City, and therefore Jesus could not have been crucified and buried there. However, the current city walls differ from the city walls of that era, and in fact, the Holy Sepulchre WAS outside the city walls in the days of Jesus. But Gordon didn't know that, because he never studied history or archeology. Instead, he found another site that fit his expectations, and that developed into the "Garden Tomb" site of today.

From the Garden Tomb, we headed down Derekh Shekhem Rd. and entered the Old City through Damascus Gate. Humberto wanted to return to the Holy Sepulchre, Mike wanted to get this sweet stuff sold on the market road, Bo wanted postcards, . Lots of differing opinions! We wandered down Suq Khan Ez-zeit (Bet Habad) through the markets in the Muslim quarter. The crazy market, which is called a souk, sells everything imagineable (from live chickens, to sides of meat, clothing, spices, antiques...) and is at times packed with people. I want to go back alone sometime so I can take lots of quality photos... but I took some snapshots today.

Our group first split when Humberto, MikeR, and Kim headed off in the direction of the Holy Sepulchre, and Mike, Froy, and I began the searched for the mythical "Luna Cafe". The Luna Cafe was recommended by Froy's friend as the best place to get falafel in Jerusalem. We tried our best to find it, making a circle by a going down Suq El Bazar, Christian Quarter Road, then St. Fransisco which turned into Via Dolorosa. While on the Christian Quarter Road, I had my first experience with haggling. I'm not very good, but I did get some money off, and I got the kind of bag that I've always wanted, for much less than it would cost in the US.

The mysterious Luna Cafe was supposed to be on Via Dolorosa, but it was nowhere to be found. Froy even approached the a pair of IDF soldiers to ask them, but no luck. However, we were redirected to the Austrian Hospice, which provided some interesting views of the city from its rooftop.

Back to Luna Cafe searching we went. Earlier we had passed a "Lina Cafe", and figured that might suffice. En route to this non-Luna Cafe, we encountered another Russian-speaking Mike, of Mike Store.

At Lina Cafe, we split Hummus, Labane, and whatever Froy got, which started with an M. The hummus was some of the best I've had here, and the pitas were also super-tasty. More than enough fuel for the trek to Jaffa gate.

We all wanted to walk along the walls of the Old City, and at Jaffa gate, we were able to do so. We headed toward the Southern Wall, and got some great views of the west and south of the city. And, additionally, our student status got us a 50% discount on the Ramparts Walk.

The walkable part of the wall ended at Dung Gate, near the Western Wall. We sat together, talking about religion. And then I lay back on the warm stones, and fell asleep.

Eventually, we walked back toward Jaffa Gate, this time without using a map and without trying to hard. Froy and I split a DELICIOUS corn on the cob, which he haggled from 10 shekels to 5 (nothing has a set price in the city), and then Froy split off from Mike and I to head back home.

We headed southwest of the gate, through a park that sits between Hativat Yerushala'im and David Hamelekh streets...

And then up Emile Bota, past the "winking" cat...

And into the King David hotel, the most famous hotel in Jerusalem. You only need to visit one room to judge a building, so we did.

Inside the entrance, there were names and signatures placed into the tile in a long line, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the hotel, which was celebrated in 2006. I took pictures of all the ones I recognized, but here's a varied selection:

We wandered out back to the pool. Jerusalem is full of security. You have to walk through a metal detector to get into the mall, the guards make us pop our trunk every morning at Hebrew University, and I've had to open my purse to even go to the grocery store. Yet, at King David hotel, where Barrack Obama stayed just this week, there was no security at all. We were able to wander around, stick our feet in the pool, and sketchily take pictures without ever being approached.

(Note the rockin sandal tan!!)


(Hobbies: Taking pictures of old men in/near bodies of water)

Around the pool, we discovered some interesting vegetation...

A Plant, of unknown name.


Aloe Vera

Including this plant that my Mom used to plant in our backyard.

Dusty Miller

I even taught Mike how to eat Honeysuckle, though that plant is so common in NC, I didn't think to photograph it. One "eats" a honeysuckle flower by removing the flower from the stem, breaking off the end, then pulling the piston through the flower, revealing a single sweet drop of nectar. Yum.

The First Pizza Crusade began, but shabbat had other plans for us. West Jerusalem was silent, including Ben Yahuda, so we had to rely on our own East Jerusalem neighborhood to provide sustenance. Pizza House in the house.

Next Post: That Time MEET Played SPORTS Out In the HotHotSun, and Everyone Got Dehydrated.