Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. I got home from Jerusalem yesterday, and it was another amazing trip to the Old City. My roomie and I left Wednesday morning, early (we got up at 7 AM to catch a bus... but not before we had coffee and breakfast, of course) and got in to Jerusalem for the Bezalel Art Festival. The Festival was situated on several small side streets and parks, which made for a very cute backdrop to the many stations filled with handmade goods. After much exploration, we hit Ben Yehudah for lunch at Moshiko for some of the BEST shwarma in Israel, and ate it in a sukkah! What's really cool about Sukkot in Israel is that not only do families build their sukkahs, but restaurants and even some shops build them as well, and invite their customers in for a meal, shopping, etc. Walking on Ben Yehudah, which, for those of you who have experienced it, is already craziness, only becomes more difficult when you are not only dodging people, but sukkahs! Luckily, there was no falling schach (the branches on top of the sukkah, which are pretty heavy) and I think all sukkah-related injuries were avoided. Phew.
Once we exhausted King George, Ben Yehudah, and the art festival, we decided to head back into the Old City to check into our hostel. The Citadel Youth Hostel is built into the walls of the Old City, behind the Jaffa Gate. The rooms and hallways were once all part of an elaborate tunnel system; now they house travelers like us. The room had one large bed (we shared it), a closet full of blankets (none of which are necessary in September in Jerusalem... it's not that cold yet) a sink, and a broken bedside fan. Bathrooms and showers are all community property. I stuck to washing my face and wore my flip flops everywhere (you taught me well, Mom). At all hours of the night, we heard church bells from the Christian quarter, screaming from the Arab shouk below, and of course, tourists trying to find their way in a variety of languages along the alleyway over which our lone window looked. To say it was an interrupted night of sleep would be inaccurate. More like a series of naps, each with a stranger wakeup call. And then around 5 AM, the imam started at the Dome of the Rock. While it certainly wasn't the most restful night, it wins in most multi-cultural and definitely most adventure-filled.
After finally surrendering to the children playing in the street (quite loudly) and the church bell/imam symphony, we wandered into the shouk for breakfast of bagelach (oval-shaped bread with sesame seeds - absolutely delicious) and freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. The biggest question was if we wanted sweet juice or tart; we learned that overripe pomegranates yield sweeter juice, while fresh ones are more sour. We opted for sweet. Total? 15 shekels for two juices and the bread. Deal of the century.
Once breakfast was over, we walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where it is believed that Jesus was resurrected. We walked around, climbing the impossibly narrow and steep stairs to get an overhead view of the people surrounding the Stone of Unction (where Jesus was, it is believed, prepared for burial), placing their valuables on the marble stone and blessing them. When we realized that every tour group in Israel was coming into the Church, we decided it would be an opportune time to leave, so we walked to a local park, outside of the Old City, for a Sukkot nap. Eventually, we went out for a late lunch (at the Focaccia Bar, highly recommended. It's non-kosher, so they serve shrimp and are open on all holidays and Shabbat. Score) and then walked back into the shouk (with our bargaining hats on) for some shopping. We visited my favorite bead store, and of course, found some incredible necklaces made from Bedouin beads, and stopped at the spice market for some dried fruit and almonds. If you're in the market for frankincense and myrrh, go visit this guy in the shouk - he has it. He didn't want us taking any pictures in his shop, and I'm pretty sure it's because frankincense and myrrh shouldn't be available for purchase (I mean, that stuff shows up in Shakespeare's plays, and look what happens to Romeo and Juliet after visiting the apothecary. Not a good scene). But, after making our way (quite successfully) through the market, tasting new juices (all of which we watched them squeeze for us, to order) and dodging the flailing lulavs (one of the four species, a frond of a date plant, which represents the human spine, along with the etrog, which looks like a lemon, and represents the heart), we picked up our bags from the hostel and began the journey back to Bat Yam.
Now, I need to explain something. Time in Israel works very differently from time in the United States. If you are told something will take ten minutes, expect it to take twenty. If someone tells you they will be at your house by 5 PM, they'll be there by 5:30 if you're lucky. We got to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, and it was closed. It was supposed to reopen at 6:00 because buses began running around then. 6:05. 6:10. Around 6:15, they finally opened the doors and we made it through the elaborate metal detectors and security. We were trying to catch a 6:20 bus back to Tel Aviv. How we made it, I will never know, but we did. We changed buses in Tel Aviv and were en route to Bat Yam when we both realized we were starving. Our late treif lunch had been several hours ago, it was nearing 9 PM, and we needed food. Pizza. We needed pizza. Luckily, after some serious Google Blackberry searches, we came across Casa Del Papa Pizza, on Ben Gurion Street in Bat Yam. They delivered half an hour later (give or take ten minutes). I highly doubt dough with cheese and vegetables had ever tasted so delicious.
Today was Friday, so the markets off of Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv were open. We got a late start, visited Super Katzenelson for a few essentials (I hadn't been there in over three days. The woman who owns the place was probably getting nervous) and then made our way to Sheinkin. We explored downtown Tel Aviv (the Sheinkin area is like the SoHo of Israel) and I came across pre-peeled garlic for the first time since moving here, (I was very excited, and of course, had to buy some). Later, we were lucky enough to be invited to our madricha's home for Shabbat dinner (our madricha, Ariel, is like our counselor/ supervisor while we're in Israel). We ate way too much, played a few too many rounds of cards, and here I am, updating you on the latest and greatest. It's been an eventful few days. Tomorrow is my first day as a Studio B dance student (I joined the studio as a visiting dancer, so every month I need to renew my membership) and I'm going to take a few classes. Wahoo!! I have missed dance SO much.
Class is early, and I don't want my new Israeli dance teachers thinking I have two left feet, so that's all for now. Pictures soon, I promise (they're off my camera, they just need to be put online!)
Lots of love,
Elana xox
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