Israel Trek Day 2!!

Woke up with a food hangover from the incredible Shabbat dinner we had at Zaki’s last night—probably 25 dishes were presented, and I way overdid it on the halva (my new favorite dessert)! I wasn’t even hungry until I saw the spread laid out for breakfast: I have no idea what half the stuff I ate was, but it was AWESOME. Then we had the great opportunity to talk with Jodi Rudoren, the Jerusalem bureau chief for the NY Times. It was extremely interesting to hear her perspective on Israel as an American journalist. We headed out into the Old City today, starting off at the Mount of Olives, where an amazing view of Jerusalem awaited us. Jeremy, our guide, pointed out the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the newest synagogue in the city—all within a few blocks of each other. It was really eye-opening to see this very physical representation of the coexistence (and sometimes clash) between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in this ancient city.

We continued our trip with the Via Dolorosa, a winding cobblestone road up a hill that leads from the Muslim Quarter into the Christian Quarter, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was supposedly crucified, buried, and resurrected. It is along this road that the traditional Stations of the Cross lie. To see the places I’ve heard about since childhood in Catholic school was truly inspiring. It was easy to picture Jesus carrying the cross on the narrow, winding cobbled streets in the Old City—block out the tacky tourist traps (selling Red Sox t-shirts in Hebrew, what’s uppp Boston!!) and herds of American tour groups, and you could be transported back to 33 CE. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was magnificent: we happened to come in right in the middle of a Christian Orthodox ritual, complete with incense and chanting. We saw the hole where the crucifix stood, the rock Jesus’ body was prepared on, and the tomb he was laid. The dividing line between Catholic and Orthodox jurisdiction down the middle of the church that Jeremy pointed out to us was really intriguing, as it exemplified the uneasy relationships between various religions in Jerusalem.

After a delicious Armenian meal in the Armenian Quarter, finished off with shots of intense espresso, we piled back onto the bus and went to the Israel Museum. Seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient artifacts from Israel’s 1.5 million-year history was amazing—so many different cultures have left their mark on Israel over the millennia. After the tour, we went back to the hotel for some much-needed R & R (I was falling asleep standing up in the museum—jet lag + a cold is not a good combination). A few of us went for an exploratory run through the city, then returned in time to shower and meet our next speaker: Yossi Klein, an Israeli author and journalist who talked to us about his new book, Like Dreamers, and the political situation in Israel and Palestine. After the discussion, we went out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Chakra with some Israeli social entrepreneurs. My table was with Elisheva Mazya, CEO of an NGO called “New Spirit” that sought to promote youth leadership and activism in Jerusalem. She was so down-to-earth and fun, as well as being well-educated and really informative—it was great to get her perspective on youth culture here. Because it’s Purim (so many people dressed in cool costumes!), we invited her to go out with us after dinner, but she politely declined. Unfortunately we started the party a little too early and ran up a massive drinks tab, but at least we made friends with the waiter along the way!

By the way, dinner was again unbelievable. Every meal I’ve had here has been SO GOOD. After the 5th appetizer I started to think that was all we were eating, until the entrees started to come out. Serious working out will need to happen before we hit the beaches in Tel Aviv.

Obviously because I’m boring/sick I ended up back in the hotel instead of going out, where I am now writing this post. A bunch of trekkers went out after dinner, but we have an early day tomorrow and I’m not about to get even more sleep-deprived. Sorry for the excessively long post, I’m so impressed if anyone actually got this far! But WHAT A DAY.

(Also won the Trek selfie contest today—Nuseir owes me a shawarma sandwich wooooh!)