We were in Jerusalem at the beginning and end of our trip.
We took a pre-arranged taxi from the airport upon arrival, and the same driver
later to Tel Aviv. Jerusalem can be overwhelming with so many amazing sights,
lots of sounds (people, honking horns), and new experiences from food to crowds
that we tried to pace ourselves.
The Citadel Museum was a great way to start our trip.
Tremendous views and interesting displays. Yummy pecan pie and light grapefruit
juice at the snack stand. We did not expect the Mamilla Mall to be so fancy and
modern, but it is! We got a local SIM card, Naot sandals, and enjoyed a salad
with grilled fish.
At the recommendation of a friend in the US, we had an
excellent experience with a local tour guide. I would rather listen to
historical explanations than read them in a book (although I did plenty of
research before the trip). We walked through the Armenian quarter to the
western wall, which felt holy immediately upon entering the square. The entire
trip was a study in gender inequality, and at the end of our trip when we
returned to the wall, I noticed that the much larger prayer area for men was
less occupied than the smaller prayer area for women.
We were amazed to see the excavations in the City of David!
The water tunnels were a feat of engineering! Beautiful view over the Kidron
Valley to the Mount of Olives.
At the end of the tour, we viewed a second potential
location of the Tomb of David, along with one potential location of the “Upper
Room” (Last Supper).
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