Theresa Visits!

Just about one week after McKenzie left, our good friend from Seattle, Theresa, arrived-- and we could not have been more excited!  Her trip got off to a good start with the Sherut (the shuttle bus that takes you to/from the airport) driver recognizing our apartment from the "other girl" (McKenzie) he had dropped off just a couple weeks earlier.  He had me detail which apartment was ours so that the next time he dropped off a visitor, he could tell them exactly where to go.  Welcome to Israel, where everyone remembers me because I am the American who cannot speak a word of Hebrew and isn't ashamed to admit it.  I try to make up for this by being extra nice, as I figure it's generally best to have the Sherut driver on your side :)

The day Theresa arrived was the first night of Purim (a holiday known for costumes and parties and drinking) in Jerusalem (where we celebrate one day later than the rest of the country), but we were all feeling a bit too exhausted to go out on the town.  Instead, we took her to our old standby restaurant for kebab and foccacia and hoped that the next day/night would be more Purim event-filled.  Theresa and I got right to it the next morning, walking up through the Old City and getting in line for the Dome of the Rock (we got in on the first try!).  The great thing about going to the Dome of the Rock at its 12:30 opening, is that you are normally starving after touring around and Abu Shukri is just around the corner.  Hummus and falafel here never disappoints.

Feeling revitalized after lunch, we walked through the New City (basically just the area outside of the Old City walls) to the Machane Yehuda market (aka the Shuk), where we planned to meet up with our friends Liora and Gabe.  Eric and I met this lovely couple when we stayed in their apartment through AirBnb when we first got here, and we have been friends ever since.  Although the Shuk is primarily a food market-- selling fresh produce, baked goods, kitchen supplies, dried nuts and fruits, and spices-- at night, after most of the vendors shut their doors, the place turns into a bustle of bars and restaurants.  Being that it was Purim, it seemed like the youth was out in full force, so after just a couple of beers, we found ourselves in the middle of an improptu dance party.  Theresa even experienced someone breaking a small dish in the middle of the dance circle, which I am not certain is a real tradition of dance parties here, but it was fun anyway.  Overall, even though we skipped out on costumes, I'd say Purim was a great success!

 A top-notch breakfast was in order the next morning, so we treated ourselves to an Israeli breakfast platter.  What you see above is only part of the feast, as we also enjoyed fresh squeezed juices and coffees.  Where American breakfasts focus on hash browns, toast, and other generally brown foods (not saying this is bad-- I love a good diner breakfast here and there!), the Israeli breakfast leans much more heavily towards fresh salads, yogurts and cheeses, varied breads, and eggs.  It is pretty spectacular, really, but you have to go into it with a strong appetite!

After eating as much of the platter as we could (they claim it is for 2 people, but I think it could easily serve three or even four), we headed up to the City of David.  We opted not to walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel, which meant that we got to take a different path through the Kidron Valley.  While we we at a lookout point, the hill across from us suddenly burst into sound as the call to afternoon prayer began.  This is something that is not often heard throughout Jerusalem as a whole, as it is a Muslim tradition, but it is always a treat to listen to and we were both mesmerized by the way the prayers seemed to echo throughout the entire valley to produce a sort of surround sound effect.  Truly magical.

After a fairly low-key day of only taking in one tourist site, the next day we were ready to venture out to the Dead Sea.  I am going to spare you a bunch of photos, as I have already posted so many in previous entries, but I will say that this trip was special because instead of taking the bus, I DROVE us to Masada and the Dead Sea!  This was my first time ever renting a car, so needless to say I was a bit nervous.  Despite the general aggressiveness of Israeli drivers, the constant horn honking, and having to drive through a security check point, everything went off without a hitch and we actually had a pretty pleasant drive.  Theresa graciously did not make me hike up Masada for the third time, so I got to try out the cable car for the first time.  Hiking up the mountain normally takes a grueling 45 minutes or so, whereas the cable car gets you right up to the top in a comfortable 3 minutes.  After a nice walk around the mountaintop, we hopped back into the car and headed for the Sea.  It was another gorgeous day for a soak and the drive home offered some ethereal views of the Sea disappearing into the fog.

 We were back on the bus the next day to get in some beach time in Tel Aviv.  Jaffa was quaint, as always, and we walked through the flea market on our way to lunch at my favorite cafe.

 After a slightly harrowing walk through the industrial side of town, we found the Levinsky spice market I had heard about and spent a while helping ourselves to samples of all the dried fruits, nuts, and even noodles (although that taste was an accident-- it looked like a chip!).  We also stumbled upon a sweet little pop-up coffee stand, where the man not only made espresso, but had beautiful jars of pickles and preserves all around his tiny shop.

 Once the clouds rolled in and beach was no longer warm enough to enjoy, we headed back into town and ended up at a non-Kosher pizza restaurant.  Now, this was by no means the best pizza, but it did have meat and cheese mixing together harmoniously on one pie, which is more than I can say for any pizza in Jerusalem.  And, perhaps even more shocking than the non-Kosher bit, were the pork products sitting atop the pizza in the form of pepperoni.  All I can say is that I am anxiously awaiting the return of bacon to my dietary life.  And a Delancey white pie, add sausage, add spicy peppers.  Have I mentioned that I dream of pizza sometimes?  Some might say it's a problem :)

 On Friday we hosted a Shabbat dinner to give Theresa a real Israeli experience, and I must say it was a good one.  I have been pretty taken with Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's cookbook, Jerusalem, which I finally got my hands on a few weeks ago, so we cooked almost exclusively from this book. 

 Some of our guests brought their instruments for a bit of live entertainment, which was quite a nice surprise!

But, after the guests had all left, we cranked up the tunes and danced well into the morning-- as is to be expected when Theresa, myself, and wine all get together :)  Eric even joined in on the madness in between doing dishes (what a guy!).

 Saturday was spent walking through the areas of town that are not completely shut down for Shabbat: East Jerusalem and the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.  As you can see above, strawberries are abundant right now, as well as these fuzzy beans that we still have not been able to identify.  Note the man smoking right over the produce-- the health code is much more relaxed here, to say the least :)

 Although the photo does not do it justice, what you see above is the most spectacular, melt-in-your-mouth treat from a tiny shop called Zalatimo's.  Eric and I searched endlessly for this place for the first couple months we were here, and finally found it hidden beneath a flight of stairs near the Holy Sepulchre.  Zalatimo's is a true family operation, with the business having been passed down father to son for a few generations now.  The pastry is made from a sort of phyllo dough that is stretched impossibly thin, then folded around a filling of either sheep cheese or sugared nuts, baked, then covered in sugar syrup and powdered sugar.  It is a Nutritional Therapist's dream (ha!), but is certainly a treat that is not to be missed.

 On Theresa's last day, we ventured to the Shuk for lunch at Azura, a restaurant recommended by Ottolenghi in his BBC documentary about Jerusalem.  With my aforementioned obsession with this man's food, I had been dying to try this place and indeed we had a fabulous spread of hummus, stuffed vegetables, and kubbeh (a traditional soup with meat dumplings).

Looking into the kitchen at Azura.

Theresa, thank you so much for venturing out here! It is so great to have friends to share this adventure with :)

McKenzie Visits!

Every since we announced to my family that Eric and I would be spending this year in Jerusalem, my sister Mckenzie had been talking about how she planned to come visit.  Unfortunately, our visa situation made it so that we never knew exactly how long we would be able to stay, but when we returned from France at the end of June and got another 3 months, I knew that McKenzie would be on her way as soon as possible.  Sure enough, almost exactly one month later, McKenzie arrived and we spent the next ten days seeing as much of the city and country as possible.  Although some of our adventures were repeats for me, we saw plenty of sights that I had not made it to yet. 

 We hiked up to the Mount of Olives one day, which was not at all what I expected.  This area is known mainly for its Jewish cemetery and the Garden of Gethsemane, but I expected the top of the hill to be more packed with historical sights.  Instead, we found ourselves in the middle of a small town and we were obviously the only tourists around, so we didn't stick around too long.  The views over the Old City were spectacular, though!

 Here is just a small portion of the Jewish cemetery.  The land here is very coveted because, according to Jewish tradition, this is the sight where the Messiah is expected to return and everyone wants their grave to be as close as possible to this location when that day arrives.  McKenzie and I noticed that there were no flowers on the graves, but they all had a number of carefully placed stones resting on them.  I am not sure what their significance is, but I wondered if the rocks serve the same purpose as flowers might in other cemeteries.

 This is the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus is said to have prayed with his disciples the night before he was crucified.  Rows of olive trees make up the garden area, and some of these trees are dated back thousands of years.

We spent a day in Old Jaffa and Tel Aviv-- exploring the flea markets, eating a wonderful non-hummus/falafel lunch, and riding bikes along the Mediterranean.  Jaffa is the oldest port city in the world, although it no longer serves as the port for Israel.  There is so much history in this tiny nook of a town and we really enjoyed the European feel of it all.  We learned that the old city hall building is now a nesting ground for fruit bats (see photo just above), and when you get close enough you can hear them all squeaking and flitting around.  Pretty creepy, but they eat insects and in turn keep the bug population down so everyone just lets them be.

 Bethlehem (part of the West Bank) is a mere 6km from Jerusalem, so it only takes about 20 minutes to get there by public bus.  The Israeli bus system, Egged, does not travel to the Palestinian territories, so we took an Arab bus (this is a completely separate system) that dropped us off right in the middle of town.  Both of us really loved Bethlehem and we felt very safe.  Being in Jerusalem, it is easy to be mistaken for a local since the city is such a melting pot of immigrants, but Bethlehem was very different.  The minute we got on the bus it was clear that we were the "other," and this can be very disconcerting at first.  However, everyone we interacted with was so friendly and welcoming, always asking where we were from, how we were enjoying our stay, and offering help whenever needed.  We even had tea with a shop owner while we decided which souvenirs to buy!  There is no checkpoint to enter the West Bank, but on the way back to Jerusalem the bus stops at a military checkpoint and all of the non-Israeli citizens (excluding tourists) have to get off the bus and have their passports checked.  This system definitely emphasizes the clear segregation that exists between the Israelis and Palestinians, and I almost felt guilty that McKenzie and I got to stay on the bus when we don't even live in the country.  This is home for so many of these people, yet they are treated as foreigners.  I hope this doesn't sound too political, as that is not the aim of this blog, but I am just trying to convey the reality of life in this very disputed land.

We visited the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square (see top photo), which is where Jesus is said to have been born.  The photo just above is the place where the crib is said to have been.  Bethlehem also boasts home to the one and only Starbucks in all of Israel!  Although, this is actually called "Star and Bucks," they still offer standard American coffee drinks.  The fresh pressed juice sets them apart from your stateside Starbucks :)

You cannot come to Israel with visiting Masada and floating in the Dead Sea, so of course we made a day out of these activities.  The hike up Masada was fairly brutal, but the views are always worth it.  The salt formations at the Dead Sea were in full form  that day, as you can see in the photo on the right.

Some adorable kids in the Old City who asked me to take their picture.

We spent lots of time winding through the Old City, which is packed with important places.  The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the disputed site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial.  I had not fully explored this church before McKenzie's visit, so it was fun to do so with her.  We lit candles for our grandparents, some of whom have actually been to this site themselves!

Etchings in the wall of the Church.

Finally, on McKenzie's last day, after two failed attempts and four hours total of waiting in line, we made it in to see the Dome of the Rock.  This site is only open to non-Muslims for short and very specific hours during the day, so the line can get very very long.  The worst part is, even if you are close to the front have been waiting for hours, once the cut-off time arrives, a guard closes the gate and you are turned away.  Luckily the best hummus (in my humble opinion) in the city is just around the corner, so you can always reward yourself for trying.

McKenzie, thank you so much for coming to visit and for sharing part of this experience with us!