December.
Streets in the holy city, the church of all nations, the olive mountains and Hanna.
Dear Mezzy,
Every time me and Hanna decieds to do something it becomes an unforgettable aventure, this time we went to the holiest city of them all, Jerusalem!
We left Bar'am on friday and since we are quit unplannig people we looked up a hostel the same morning and just went there. At the Citadell youth hostel they had two room options left, either a double room inside for more money or we could sleep on the roof. Luckly we ended up sleeping inside becaus a little while later the Israeli winter came, which in Jerusalem meant storm.
On saturday (Sabbath) Hanna and I walked around in the old city. In every corner there was a church, mosque, synagogue or something else really old and holy.
We went to the Western Wall and prayed with the jews, I learned that when you leave the wall you do this by walking backwards. Then we went to the church of all nations and listened to a mass is Italian. There they had a stone that was said to be the one Jesus sat and cried on when he had been betrayed. After this we climed up the olive moutnains, by the city of David. There we went to a resturant and ate falafels and hommus (pita and mached chick peas). This is really israeli food and I think I have been eating it almost everyday since I came here. Thank god I love chick peas!
In the old city the streets are more like tunnels, and when you walk around people are all the time grabing you trying to sell something. I learned that I am actually really good at bargaining so I did some christmas shopping and got everything for fair prices. However sometimes I thought it was to much fun to arguee for a low prices so I did it on things I didnt even want...
On saturday night we went out with two german girls we met on the hostel. Along came also a Canidian guy and we met two Israeli jews. An interesting thing about it was that the german girls told everyone that they were from Schweiz, becuas otherwise the Israelis might not have accepted them. In Bar'am there is people from every other part of the world, but these girls where the first germans I met. I guess they are just not that welcome in this country. Maybe its time to stop punishing people for what there grandparents might have done?
On sunday we went to the holocaust museum. I have read sooooo much about WW2 and I even went to Auschwitz and therwfore I kinda tought it wouldn't be so much new information. Still it was increadably interesting! It ofcourse made me really sad and scared thinking about what people are capable of doing to each other. I read somewhere the quot "When books are burned in the end people will be burned too" (Heinrich Heine) In this case they were talking about the christal night. I thought about that crazy american pastor a little while ago who wanted to burn quarans. So incredably intolarant. I think he needs to go to an Islam country to learn that muslims are people just like everyone else. And read my blog so I can tell him that there are extremist of all kinds. I bet he doesn't support all deciciouns made "in the name of christianity" just like all islam leaders don't agree with everything that is claimed "in the name of Islam" .
Ok, so now I started analysing our socity as usual ... BUT, my point is basicly, extremists are dangerous no matter if they claim to be christians, muslims or whatever. This I wish people can understand and therefore not judge a whole group of people for something done by a very few. PLEASE GOD, no more holocausts!
Anyways, at the museum they also had art galleries with jewish art. Since I am me, I stayed there for a couple of hours looking at every single painting. Hanna had already walked to the exit, but when I didn't show up after three hours she thought I had gone back to the hostel. Therefore when I finaly went to the exit I couldn't find her and waited an other hour and then I also took the bus back to Citadell. Meanwhile Hanna was really worried, since she hadn't seen me for six hours. But as always I got home.
The next day however we were going back to Bar'am. After eating hommus and discussing the conflict betweet different groups of christians in Jerusalem with the resutant owner, we went to the bus staion and missed our bus on the minuit. There after the adventures followed each other, with missedd busses, wrong stations, scary hich-hiking etc, etc...but eventually we got back safe to the kibbutz.
And well, thats pretty much it for now (=
Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.
TAKE CARE / Maja
