Walking on Holy Land...

---

Walking on Holy Land...Jerusalem, Israel...

While I was living in my Kibbutz I was given a few days off after each month, it was part of the deal so that all volunteers could get a chance to travel a bit and explore the country and all its magical historical places...

So, at the first chance I had I took a bus to the historical city of Jerusalem...one of the oldest cities in the world (3500 BC). It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

There is something highly captivating and mysterious about this place that is hard to describe...

I'm obviously talking about the 'Old city'...which is by now completely surrounded by a modern city...

As soon as I arrived there I was in awe...
It is truly breathtaking...and as you approach the gate you get a sense that you are about to step into the past, nearly like in a 'time tunnel' episode...and, all of a sudden, you are transported into thousands of years back!...

I walked in slowly through the 'Damascus Gate' (Shechem Gate) at the north side of the city...taking my time, breathing it all in...letting all my senses realise I was walking on 'Holy Land'...
​
The streets in the old city are quite narrow and in the market area, the walls are cluttered, left and right, from wall to wall, with goods, merchants and shops of all kinds of stuff...

Many of them, inevitably, are meant for the tourists with all kinds of souvenirs, but once you get past that you see all the local merchants with goods, produce and foods that the locals buy...and right within that area I found a small 'guest house' where I could spend the night, not exactly a youth hostel, but it was similar in price …probably about $5 for the night...

The fact that it was right in the 'old city', it was much more than a place to crash in, I was in fact, about to spend a night in the 'holiest of holiest cities' for many Jews, Christians and Muslims alike...

The sounds and noises from within the city were not of cars or any other motorised vehicle, it was only from the chatter of the vendors and the shoppers and of people carting things in and out of the old city...

After I got there I got myself settled and started wandering around the streets, looking at all the things they sell and started interacting with some of the local vendors who have a very loud and voiceful way of marketing their goods.

"Shalom Shalom" they said..."Come in, have a look inside" in a commanding voice, loudly and quite shamelessly, some looked at me and said things like..."You!.. where are you from? " What you want? Want to get a nice souvenir?"...I'd keep walking ignoring them...
You may even interpret that as being rude or impolite or something like that at first, but after a while, you realise that...that's the way they are...
Then another one asked again loudly  "Where are you from?!"… Mexico, I gave in...
"Oh...Mexico!" He said, "I have a friend who lives there, come in, I'll give you good price my friend!"

I was looking at a beautiful "Passport holder bag", one that you could hang around your neck and wear it inside your t-shirt when you wanted to keep it out of sight... and he said...

"Look, this one is beautiful, give you a good price...10 shekel!" What?!..I said, thinking it was too much...I said no, thank you...then he said, "ok, ok, give me 8 shekel and we got a deal" …no, thank you I said again... then he said, "What are you doing to me? I have a family to feed, you know? ok, ok, only because you are my friend, I'll let you have it for 5 shekel, deal?"...Deal! I said, and promptly he took my 5 shekel note and smiled, we shook hands, and he said..."thank you my friend" putting the item in a plastic bag for me...and I left feeling pleased with my first purchase...
I had just bought myself my first piece of merchandise in one of the oldest cities in the world!...

I was quite excited about the whole experience...it was more than just about buying the bag, it was about having haggled with one of the merchants and having connected with someone within those walls, just like you would have thousands of years back...

Soon after that, I found a small place to grab something to eat, an Arab/Palestinian looking fellow had a little stand that sold 'falafel' and I went to get myself one of those...they looked so delicious...

I watched him patiently and curiously while he prepared it...
He opened up the fresh pita bread, the nicest pita bread I've ever had, and he put some hummus in it and 3 large falafel balls, then he added a bit of salad, some tahini sauce and he asked..."You like spicy?"...Yup a bit , not too much, I said...He nodded and added some kind of spicy salsa... and he said, "2 shekel", no haggling there...
I paid and grabbed a bite of that falafel....wow...it was out of this world!

The following day I had a wander around the 'old city' and went to the holiest spots for each religion...

I went to the 'Dome of the Rock' (Islam) and onto the 'Western wall/Wailing wall' (Judaism) and went to the '*Holy Sepulchre' church, walked through the 'Via Dolorosa' (Christianity), and then just outside the gates I went up to the 'Mount of Olives', where you can also have a magnificent view of the 'Old City of Jerusalem'.
*The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is identified as the place of both, the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.

That day I gathered a lot of information about all the sites, and quite frankly, I'd never looked into any of those religions too deeply and...I ended up with more questions than answers...

Nonetheless, it was without a doubt, an unforgettable and unique experience that you could never have anywhere else in the world... All 3 main religious sites sitting within the walls of this old magnificent city, a small and divided city, that sits in just under 1 square kilometre... 

Jerusalem has been one of the most controversial and fought over places on earth for thousands of years...
What will its future be? Who knows...

Whatever it may be...
It'll never lose its strong religious roots and unmatched mystical charm and magic...
Shalom, and long live Jerusalem!

---

Spanish version

About us

Current projects