Tuesday August 14 -- Jerusalem on my own

Tuesday I needed some time to recuperate so let Yehuda, Bob, Merilyn and the boys go on to Hebron without me. Turk & BJ went to museums early, and not feeling well, I had a slower start. About 11 AM I took a taxi to the Jaffa Gate; my plan was to wander the old city -- shop and take in the sights of the Armenian, Muslim and Jewish Quarters my own leisurely pace.

It was lovely just to wander, with no agenda and take in all the sights, sounds and smells of this city so unchanged by time. The profusion of colors -- merchandise of all descriptions hanging everywhere, the sounds of shoppers and shopkeepers, the smells of restaurants and spice shops -- it's overwhelming and somewhat disorienting. While I didn't take this picture of the old city - August morning - it perfectly captures the ambiance of that day.

I stopped at one shop in particular near this Mosaic Doorway which sold everything from jewelry, to inlaid boxes, to oriental rugs. The young shopkeeper plied me with bottled orange juice and Bedouin mint tea, while we talked about politics, places we'd been, our families. Of course I bought a few things from him, and from his "cousin" while I sat on a hassock and relaxed. This was the experience that I'd come for: just to soak up the sense of old Jerusalem while shopping and chatting. Of course I do know that this is part of his sales pitch, I really didn't care.

By the time I returned to our hotel about 4 PM my fellow travellers were returning from their own adventures. I enjoyed a swim in the hotel's roof-top pool, and then we regrouped and all went out to dinner together at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. Flatbread grilled in herbs was served in a lovely garden, where, for a nominal fee, you could also smoke a hookah. Another splendid day!