Experiences In Jerusalem

On Wednesday, I went up to Jerusalem to spend the day with Aunt Deedee and Uncle Dan. We spent the day in the old city visiting some interesting sights and experiencing some "interesting" people (more about that later!). The day was grey and cold, threatening rain that never came. We started our day walking around the city along the top of the wall, getting various views of houses, monasteries, souks, mosques, and churches.

When we reached the Damascus gate, we decided to leave our wall walk and cut through the Muslim quarter to reach the Dome of the Rock which was open to visitors a little after noon. Uncle Dan expertly navigated us through the narrow streets crowded with shops and shopkeepers encouraging us to "please, come into my shop."

By the time we left the Dome of the Rock, we were hungry and looking for a place to eat. At last, we found a felafel shop where we ordered three drinks and the usual spread of vegetables, humus, and meat for our build your own pitas. The food was wonderful, and we enjoyed it until we were full. Unfortunately, when we went to pay for the meal, the man tried to charge us 600 shekels (which is equivalent to $150!). For a basic middle eastern meal for three people, served on paper plates, I don't think so! I'm so glad Uncle Dan was there because I would have just paid for it in shock, but he kept us from being cheated. When the owner pretended to be offended, they told him to get a policeman if he wouldn't change the price, and we would take it up with him. Whew-ee! We finally got out of there, still having paid him too much for the food but at least it was a third of the original price.

After that, our desire to barter or buy had pretty much left us so we went to the Church of the Holy Sepluchre, did a little more walking, and headed elsewhere. I won't put either of the pictures from the meat market up because they were pretty gross, and I didn't even take pictures of the brains, heads, or jaws/tongues that were for sale. To see any extra pictures that I haven't posted on the blog itself, just click on the "More Pictures" link on the left of this page under "Links". These pictures are in the album labeled "In Jerusalem with Aunt and Uncle".

The stories that experiences like our rip-off lunch enable us to tell are well worth how irritated and angry they make us feel when they happen. Even though I ended that story, we really did have a wonderful day! I'm so thankful for the family that God has given me. There are few better ways to spend my time than enjoying life with them.