Things we learned:

Currency: Pounds (3.7 Israeli Shekels=$1 USD)

Cities Visited: Jerusalem

Check border crossings on how to get into Israel without a stamp because other Middle Eastern countries will not accept you into their country if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport.

Many people speak English in Jerusalem.

Saturday is the sabbath or “Shabbat”.  Take time to go to the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood on the Friday before Shabbat to observe people shopping and preparing.

There are many rules being observed in Jewish culture, especially during holidays.  The following is a list of what we learned about the different holiday requirements…

For Passover, the rule is not to eat bread or bread products

For Sabbath, varying degrees of rest are observed.  For the most religious Jews, this includes not driving, cooking or even turning electricity (the modern equivalent of candles) on or off.

Due to kosher food restrictions, dairy and meat are kept completely away from each other to not “contaminate” the dairy.  There are even separate ovens for meat.  In most cases restaurants only serve one or the other because even dishwater, pots and pans are not allowed to touch both meat and dairy.

It is cheaper to get a bus ticket that allows for ten rides.

Israeli women and men are obligated to join the army around the age of 18.  Men join for 2 years and women join for 1 year.

Security is top notch here.  Expect to be screened before going into any holy site, bus terminal, mall, etc.  Sighting soldiers with big guns and army vehicles will be a norm.

When going to the Wailing Wall, men and women will be segregated and men will need to wear a kippah.  Cardboard kippahs are provided for foreigners at the site.

Israeli’s are not allowed to go into Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Palestinians are not allowed to go into Israel unless they have special permission.

Deenaree´s list…

• Food: Gotta agree with Ben on those cookies from the market, we ate so many!
• Experience: Walking around the Dome of the Rock, Wailing Wall, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Something to remember: Continue to read up about the history of this region.

Ben´s list…

• Food: Cookies from the market!
• Experience: Following the route of condemned Jesus as he dragged his cross to his own execution site.
• Something(s) to remember: The Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, with everyone donning black clothes, black hats long sideburns and frantic shopping for the Sabbath.

Right away, it was impossible to ignore the religious significance of the city.  On our first day in Jerusalem, we visited the Wailing Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism and on the last day the Dome of the Rock, one of the most holy sites for Muslims.  These two monuments are a part of the same piece of land, but represent religions at odds in current times.  Because of this, we went through additional security at each holy site.  In the middle of this time, only a short walk from the Wailing Wall is the spot of Jesus’ death.  A church has been built over the site and a huge number of Christian pilgrims are there at all times.  It was fascinating to walk between all three of these important sites and imagine the history of the city throughout the ages.

Another thing we noticed was the segregation of the entire city.  The walled Old City is no bigger an area than the Chicago Loop.  The neighborhood is split into different quarters: Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian.  All seem to be populated with those representing the name of the quarter (the Armenian area being the exception, which seems to be mostly Jewish).  While there are no walls between quarters, no mixing seems to occur.  We saw Muslim boys play a makeshift form of soccer on the narrow, twisted streets without a care in the world.  Only blocks away, the same children were never seen.  Near the famous Cardo, what little of the true Old Jerusalem street that still exists, Orthodox Jews would hurry past in large numbers.  Again, they would disappear only a few blocks away.  It was an odd thought to us that these little boys and pious men may never cross paths.

Apart from religious or ethnic separation in the city, it seemed like a very calm place.  Our Couchsurfing hosts took us to Mahane Yehuda Market, the main market in Jerusalem and site of a number of bombings in the past 15 years.  Today, it is a buzzing hub of activity, with fruit stands, cafes and posh boutique shops sharing the space.  Our hosts told us about the Israeli security we passed at the front of the market that remained undetected to our untrained eyes.  It was a place we enjoyed thoroughly and visited a number of times during our short stay to buy everything from peppers to the best little cookies we had on our whole trip.

While security was very subdued at the market, in many places it was in-your-face.  The central bus station in Jerusalem doubles as an enormous shopping mall.  A bit of confusion finding our CS hosts  the day we arrived left us trying to make our way into the terminal.  The problem is, the front doors on the street are clogged with heavy airport style security.  The only differences were that we kept our shoes on and laptops stayed in bags.  Even on city buses, it was impossible to ignore the security concerns.  It was common to see the baby faced, 19 year old Israeli soldiers, in full gear, board buses with their automatic rifles strapped over their shoulder.  It was a sight that brought the reality of the security situation quickly to the forefront.

As a whole, we cherished our time in Jerusalem.  It is a modern city in many ways and we loved the always apparent cafe culture for mainstream Israelis.  The history was fascinating and we will remember following in the footsteps of Jesus, finding the grave of Oskar Schindler and being immersed in history at every turn.  Wandering around the Orthodox neighborhood was an experience in its own right.  Seeing the Friday afternoon shopping rush for the Sabbath, with all ages scrambling to buy the goods they could before time ran out is not something we will soon forget.  All cities have their problems, but Jerusalem’s just happen to be the top story on international news on a regular basis.  This city has definitely won a significant place in our hearts.