Israel: Tradition and Fun!

Over the next week we continued to tour Joe around two of the main tourist attractions in Israel: Old city Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

We drove into Jerusalem early Thursday morning to meet with my uncle Asher for a tour of the old city as well as the building where he works as a teacher and rabbi. I always love coming to the old city, the most religious and important place in the Jewish faith. The narrow alleys, sandstone buildings and cobblestone walkways ooze history mixed with modern living. The old city has eleven gates to enter by, seven of  which are currently open. The Golden Gate which is above ground and below the Temple Mount is only visible from outside the city and was sealed during the Muslim rule of Suleiman. According to the bible, when the Messiah comes for the Jews, he will enter through this gate. I don’t think a sealed gate will really stop him!

On the temple mount, also known as Mount Moriah, currently sits the Muslim Dome of the Rock. This is the holiest site in Judaism and the direction in which Jews turn towards during prayer. It is the site of two previous temples and where the third temple will be built again one day. The Sunni Muslim’s consider it to be their third holiest site and it is the biggest bone of contention between the two religions. The temple mount has been under the control of Israel since 1967, although Israel has since turned over its management to an Islamic council that forbids non-Muslim visitors to pray there. It is rumored that the Muslim’s are afraid of the mighty Jewish prayer and you can be arrested for openly praying there.

Along our tour, my Uncle Asher was able to pull some strings and we got a private viewing of the newly rebuilt Hurva synagogue (pictured above) in the old city. It was the main Ashkenazi (European Jews) synagogue from the 16th to the 20th century and it was demolished by the Jordanians during the 1948 war.

Another big highlight of our visit to Jerusalem was the tunnel tour under the western wall. A journey back in time gives the history of how the wall was built, the changes over time periods and where we stand today regarding our patient waiting to rebuild our temple. Although the tour was a little claustrophobic and smelly, it was very interesting as we went down the long staircases followed the underground world around bends and down a long hallway. We really enjoyed our first tunnel tour! Joe inserted our prayers into the Western wall (a tradition for locals and visitors alike) as it is the closest place to God.

We finished off our day in Jerusalem with dinner with two of my cousins at one of Israel’s many fabulous restaurants. Really delicious and a great way to end the day!

The Saturday following our trip to the old city, Zeev, Ariana and I took a much anticipated trip to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is best known as the body of water containing so much salt that nothing can live in it. It has 8.6 times the salt content of the ocean and a density of 1.24 kg/L making it very difficult to swim, but enjoyable for a float. Many people bring a newspaper and hang out as the salt and healing properties work on the skin. The salt is amazing and a dip in the Dead Sea helps heal psoriasis and other skin problems. I always enjoy a visit and best of all covering my body head to toe in mud and waiting for it to dry before washing it off. My skin always feels soft and refreshed after to trip there. 

After Joe's  two weeks in Israel, he caught a plane and headed home leaving me unsupervised for two weeks!!