Jerusalem

Went to Jerusalem today. Reuvi was sick so Dayna and i took a small van thing that sits about 12 people. Its only about a 50 minute ride from Tel Aviv.

It's certainly a lot different in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv. Its extremely religious, very crowded, and very old looking. It was cool to get to see all the structures that were many thousand years old, and they have a distinct look because they are all built with a white stone. Some of the stone actually still has bullet holes and other remnants of past battles still on display.

We went to the old city today where its divided into 4 quarters. Arab, Jewish, Armenian, and Christian. Women have to cover up there, and you can't wear something like shorts and a tank top. Unless of course you're a guy, you can wear whatever you like, and u spit on the women who violate the rules. What a bunch of fucking idiots....no wonder all the groups who don't have any respect for women live in such awful conditions with little advancement opportunities. They god they are out-breeding all of the "other" people in the world at such an alarming rate.

We first went through the Damascus Gate into the Arab quarter. There were a bunch of stores, basically a giant market. The passageways are narrow, and everyone is trying to sell you a rug, souvenir, candy, or maybe even a small child if you are a skilled negotiator. Then we went to the Joffa gate which is the entrance to the Jewish quarter. Being with an Israeli Jew, i certainly felt a little more comfortable there. We went to the Western Wall, which is a very special place for the Jews. Its a giant wall where you can write something in a piece of paper and stuff it in between the cracks so god can read it. It was kind of cool to see everyone kissing the wall and crying while they prayed.

While we were at the wall they just happened to have a graduation ceremony for the Israeli army. It was really interesting to see so many soldiers gathered in one place, most being between the ages of 18-20. Many of them were playing little games with each other before the ceremony, laughing, cracking jokes, and looked to be having a good time. Its a bit strange to know that these are the kind of innocent kids sent to war because of decisions generally made by out of touch older folks. Sometimes i think we (definitely I) forget how much just like us those people are out there fighting and they would much rather be at home goofing off with their buddies just like the rest of us.

As their graduation ceremony was going on the famous Dome of the Rock mosque (big golden dome) started one of its daily call to prayer times over the loudspeaker. It was like a scene from a movie with the Army chanting its loyalties to Israel right in front of us with the Mosque echoing its prayers in the background.

Jerusalem was definitely an interesting place to visit. Its cool to say i've been to the birthplace of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism....for the history part of it anyway :)