Jerusalem By Night

Special Israel Edition

Today was a little more laid back and allowed for the ability to catch up on some sleep. We started the day with a nice breakfast on the beach, followed by Ahna and I escaping everything for about 15 minutes and strolling down the seaside for a ways. After a couple of Ezra-sized naps, we hit the road for a very unique experience: to see Jerusalem lit up at night. This was the first time ever, and it has lasted for a week, with tomorrow night being the last night. We stopped at an Arab village just outside of Jerusalem for dinner – which was great – and enjoyed some dishes from Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel.

When we approached Jerusalem, there was a very quick realization that there were going to be a few more people than expected joining us in the Old City….it took us 40 minutes to go through a stretch of space that should take about 5. The flocks of people were unbelievable, and my amateur estimation put the number of people in the 75,000+ range. Of course that makes for difficult passage in streets and alleyways that were never designed to hold that number of people. There was even one point where so many people were trying to get through such a small space that it took nearly 15 minutes of pushing, being pushed, and loads of patients to walk through something that soccer crowds in England would boast about. Overall it was neat to be able to see the Old City at nighttime, and to be part of something that has never happened before in a place where everything has happened before.