Made it to Israel

Jerusalem as seen from the Mount of Olives

Nick and I left Amman early in the morning by renting a car that drove us to the King Hussein Bridge border crossing with Israel (about an hour drive).  The border crossing is time consuming, but not very complicated.  You have to go through a lot of security checks on both sides of the border, but the Jordanian side is markedly simpler to navigate.

Once you get to the Israeli side, handlers quickly take your luggage and place it into conveyor belts for security screening, you then proceed through what seems like an endless number of checks and lineups.  Israelis are very particular with their screening, they even check ask you what is your background based on your last name.

After a 3 or 4 hour process to get through the border, we finally made it out and promptly took a shared taxi to Jerusalem.  Needless to say, the difference from one country to the other was remarkable as it seemed like I was in a western country and no longer in the East.

The Dome of the Rock

Once we got to Jerusalem, Nick and I spent the rest of the day just wondering the streets of the new part of the city.  I loved how cosmopolitan and classy the city seems.  Full of fancy sidewalk cafes, wonderful stores and restaurants everywhere.

Our second day in Jerusalem we decided to go visit the Holocaust Museum.  Nick was taking off for Tel Avid in the afternoon before taking off to Cyprus so we just had enough time to make a visit to the museum.

At the Holocaust Museum

Words can not describe how heart-wrenching the experience is.  Every little detail has been taking into account to make the observer come out with a great understanding of the suffering the People of Israel went through.  It is hard to hold back the tears as you see personal mementos of people who never made it out alive.  Even the architecture of the museum was wonderfully throughout, as the whole exhibit is housed within a tunnel-like building that at the end takes you into the light and an incredible view of Jerusalem and the valleys beyond it...  a reminder to people that even after great darkness, there is light and beauty at the end.

Nick caught the bus to Tel Avid soon after we were done at the museum, and once again I was left alone to wonder and explore with just my thoughts for company.   I decided to make my way to the Mount of Olives that afternoon and watch the sunset over Jerusalem.  The walk was long and hard as I made my way up the mount, but it was more than worth it at the end.  I was literally standing where Jesus had walked.  I thought that I would have time to myself and my thoughts as I watched the sun set over the beautiful city before me..  but alas, that was not to be.  I was soon approached by an American traveler who took an interest in my camera and was soon chewing my ear off about his trips, his interest in photography, religious awakening, etc etc.  I watched the sun set behind Jerusalem as the peace and quiet I was looking for eluded me once again.  It was interesting chatting with Tim though, he pointed out to me a lot of the points of interest that were on the Mount of Olives and at the walls of Old Jerusalem.

Jewish cemetery at the Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives as seen from the Lions Gate

Looking down from the Mount of Olives