Israel: Jerusalem

We spent a few days in Jerusalem. Because we arrived on Friday, the Sabbath, we didn't get to see the city right away. We had a Shabbat ceremony and meal at the hotel our first night there under a full moon:

Saturday, the day of rest, was pretty easygoing. We went on a nature walk, and hung out in the sun at the hotel. The next day we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Before we saw the museum itself we listened to a lecture by a Holocaust survivor from Poland, who now lives in Israel and has spent the last 30 years or so going to different places and talking about his experiences in three concentration camps in five years. It was very moving and emotional to listen to him speak. After that, we went through the museum, which was also a very sad and intense experience. 

After Yad Vashem, we went to the military cemetery nearby and saw graves of some famous Israeli political figures, including Golda Meir, as well as thousands of soldiers. The Israeli soldiers who were traveling with our group did a short ceremony while we were there. (Everyone but the guy holding the piece of paper in the picture below is Israeli.)

That night, we celebrated Purim! It felt very discordant to spend a day at solemn memorial sites and then go out and celebrate a holiday where you dress up in costumes, much like Halloween, but we eventually transitioned into a celebratory mood and went out in Jerusalem.

The next day we finally got to see the old city. We went to a lookout to see a panoramic view of Jerusalem, and then walked through the city (we were only allowed in the Jewish Quarter, of course, but I also would have loved to see the Christian and Muslim Quarters, particularly the Dome of the Rock - that large gilded dome you can see in the picture below, which in the Muslim Quarter.)

We visited the Western Wall and had lunch, and walked around and shopped for a bit. The city felt old. It was amazing walking through the streets and knowing that for thousands of years people have been living here, worshiping here, and making pilgrimages here.

Israeli munchkins dressed up for Purim.

We also visited the Knesset Menorah (above), which is a national monument to the people who built Israel. Then after a long day exploring the city, we drove south and off into the desert.