Jerusalem Day 1

We made it Jerusalem in one piece and very tired. None of us slept much....surprise, surprise. The Tel Aviv airport was the first of many changes Jerusalem has seen since I was there as a student back in '96. The first thing I noticed was how nice the airport was and that we actually entered the airport directly from the plane. When we arrived in '96 we got off the plane onto the tarmac and then took shuttle buses to the actual airport. The second thing that I noticed was the wall that is being constructed around the West Bank. In some areas it is mainly fence and wire whereas other it is actually a wall.

Our first day in Jerusalem we basically bummed around the center, napped to get over our jet lag and waited to make sure we had permission to go out, as only a group of 2. The Jerusalem Center rule for the students is that they have to go out in groups of 3 or more. We were flattered when mom and I tried to leave and they reminded us of this rule. We also went with dad and got fresh pita from the bakery today. I don't know how anyone ever found this bakery because it's back in some houses and very well hidden.

Our actual day one out of the center, actually full day 2 of being there and ironically June 2, we went down to Alladin's and had our money changed over. Another change--when I was a student there was a cork board on the back wall where you could leave notes for your friends, and the JC students used it a lot, but it wasn't there. The rate was almost 4-1 for shekels. :)
After exchanging our money we went over to Damascus gate and worked our way through the Old City to the Citadel. I wasn't very good at figuring out where I was in the old city when I was a student and I wasn't any better yesterday either. We ended up finding our way and went through the Citadel museum and excavations. When we finished we worked our way back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It wasn't as dark and gloomy as it had been before, although it still is. They have renovated a lot. Christ's Tomb has all of its scaffolding missing, although it is still very smoke damaged from all the candles and incense. While were were there they started ringing the bells, apparently to announce the priests arrival to the sepulchre, but he was already there because a Romanian royalty member or head of state had come to visit. They were ushering him everywhere with bodyguards in tow. It was fun to hear the bells and just as they finished the minaret came alive with a call. I videoed the bells but can't get them to download so I'll have to add them later. After we finished there we went back to Damascus gate and caught a taxi home. The driving in Israel is always interesting. They are very aggressive drivers, but very good drivers.

Oh, and those who know me well, in case you are wondering, yes, I did get heat rash on my legs. Yipee!

I tried adding some photos but they wouldn't work so I'll try again tomorrow.