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!