Old City Jerusalem

When I was in Israel last December I had mixed feelings about Jerusalem. We were there during Shabbat, which also happened to be Christmas. We explored the Old City a lot, but it was always at night and it was always relatively empty of people, especially tourists. This time, it was especially full of people and tourists. We went in the daytime (hot) and during the week of Sukkot, which means that everyone was on vacation. It was a very different experience as we tried to maneuver our way through the very narrow ‘streets’ that all seem like a maze and every turn looks similar. We were drawn towards the less crowded areas where we saw a lot more locals and could really look at our surroundings better. Anat, who was a soldier on Ben’s Birthright Trip, was with us and showed us a few good places to eat, an especially good hummus place….yumm. We stayed at her house with her parents and siblings for two nights. This time Jerusalem didn’t feel quite as uncomfortable for me as it did last time when I felt it was filled with the tensions of the middle east, however I still feel it is somewhere I would like to visit only a few days at a time. I don’t think this is a commonly shared sentiment, but we are all different.