Wednesday 8/15 -- Our Last Full Day in Israel

We met in the dining room for another hearty Israeli breakfast & discussed our plans for the day. BJ & Turk had left very early for Tel Aviv to visit friends, so I was part of the Israel family for the day. Later I became "cousin Leni" at a point when it was important that we be a family unit. We wanted to see Ben Yehuda Street which is famous for it's shopping. This is outside the old city and we decided to walk the 40 minutes; we were told that we would see how an average Israeli lived in these streets and neighborhoods.

The walk was largely uphill - I came to believe that all Israel is uphill. We passed through some interesting neighborhoods with apartments and shops; we saw schoolgirls in their uniforms and people on their way to work. I loved this sign advising modest dress -- long sleeves and skirts. I don't know how the Hasidim -- both men and women tolerate the heat in their black coats, and long dresses. Click on the image to see all the restrictions.

W e passed some beautiful architecture. Like many European cities, people walk more than drive and city life is very livable, full of friends and conveniences. Ben Yehuda Street area is pedestrian, with many little alleyways with more shops. I felt pretty shopped out and I had done enough packing to realize I wasn't going to get much more stuff in the suitcase, so I mostly people-watched. I did buy a Book of Psalms, which was covered in wood and medieval-styled paper and lacquered. It's more an art object than a book.


This is part of Ben Yehuda Street, where I sat on a bench in the shade.






------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bethlehem Adventure

At the dig we were strongly advised not to go to Bethlehem, which is in Palestinian territory. Apparently restrictions in recent months have increased and it's costly and difficult to go. Still, people in Jerusalem thought it was quite safe and possible to go, so Bob arranged through the hotel for a taxi/guide to take us. It cost $60, which I thought was quite a lot for the couple of hours we stayed and the short distance involved.

A Jewish cabdriver with Israeli license plates picked us up at the hotel promptly and drove us the 20 minutes or so to the border.
He warned us not to say that we are Jews. Then a young woman met us and walked us through this DMZ border where we had to show passports; she took us to another taxi on the Palestinian side. It really seemed to matter to them that we were a family, so I became a cousin. After crossing, another man drove us to the Church of the Nativity (the birthplace of Jesus) where another guide, with the Biblical name Esau, took us all through the church. It was really interesting -- the church is shared by Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenians.
I'd really hoped to be free to walk around Bethlehem, walk around freely, maybe have a falafel in the town square. Apparently this is no longer possible.

Returning to Jerusalem was done the same convoluted way. We got caught in a roadblock before crossing back and they took our passports for about 15 minutes. I really wasn't worried because I'd had the same thing happen at the Bosnian/Serbian border once and we arrived back safe & sound. We had dinner in the lovely garden of the American Colony Hotel. This is the place where western journalists hang out, especially in times of trouble in Israel.