Israel: Wednesday in Jerusalem

We spent most of Wednesday with our cousin Miriam, who very graciously acted as our tour guide. Miriam is starting her second year of medical school in Tel Aviv. We took a bus to Jerusalem, and we walked around the very fancy Mamilla Mall, which is right outside the Old City. There are outposts of American chain stores, including Gap and North Face. Because it was still Sukkot (a Jewish holiday), nearly every one of the cafes and restaurants had built a sukkah (walled structure covered with plants) over its outdoor seating.

Even Aroma Cafe (Israel's answer to Starbucks) had one.
In the Old City, there were groups of Hasidic Jews in different types of headgear.
Inside the Old City, we had access to some beautiful (and iconic) views of Jerusalem.
Here's a shot of the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.
You can't really tell from the photo, but the women's section is much smaller than the men's section.
Miriam and I went up to the women's section, where there are hundreds of women sitting and standing in front of the wall praying. Some were murmuring prayers softly, but most were quiet. It is quite an intense and moving experience. Tradition has it that one should write a prayer on a piece of paper and slip it in between the stones, so the cracks between the stones are stuffed full of little notes.

At the Western Wall plaza, there was at least one extremely elaborate sukkah.
We posed for some family pictures.
We continued wandering, and eventually found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is a very holy site for Christians, and includes many places where Jesus is supposed to have been in his last moments of life.
Here are pilgrims touching the Stone of Anointing, the place where the body of Jesus is said to have been prepared for burial.



After our wonderful tour of the Old City, we had to say good-bye to Miriam. As you can see, Aviva was enthralled by her cousin.

As we walked around the perimeter of the Old City, we passed Damascus Gate, which apparently doubles as a retail superstore. There were people selling fruit, electronics, clothes, shoes...and possibly more.

We wandered around Jerusalem a bit more, stopping for a quick rest at the beautiful American Colony Hotel, and passing the YMCA on the way.
Before we got on the shared mini-bus back to Tel Aviv, we needed a snack. However, it was already after sundown on the eve of Shemini Atzeret (the holiday immediately following Sukkot.) Even though it was only 5:30 PM, everything was closed. The only place open?

Even though it's American, and even though it's a chain, we were glad to find it. After some quick fries, we headed back to Tel Aviv.

Grandma Frances' cousin Ilana had come over to the apartment to see Grandma Frances, and we all went out to dinner on Nachalat Binyamin.

It was a long, but very interesting day.