Friday certainly had its ups and downs. We began the day with our tour guide David Landau meeting us at our apartment. We got things together and we cabbed to Ir David, or the City of David. David (our tour guide) really gave us a good introduction to Israel and Jerusalem, using Noam as a map of Israel.
David really knows Israel and his love for the country really shows through. We then went through the Ir David site and learned more of the area and the how the people lived (including an ancient toilet!). The culmination of Ir David is a walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel which brought water to the city during the siege by the Assyrians. However, Avi would have none of that, and then when Noam heard some running water, he also said no. So the three of us walked through a different tunnel that was used to bring water to crops by the Canaanites. It was a bit of a hike for us to get to the meeting point where Marsha, Shayna and David were, and it was hot, so Noam was not a happy camper. Finally we met up and then walked through a newly found tunnel that was a sewage tunnel from the 2nd temple times.
Avi got to help with some demonstrations as well
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| Another more recent find. This is a 2nd temple staircase that pilgrims would use to enter the city and go straight to the Temple Mount. | This is the ancient sewer tunnel |
After Ir David, we took cabs to Mahane Yehuda. Mahane Yehuda is the amazing open air market in Jerusalem, also known as the Shuk. You can purchase almost anything in the shuk, from housewares, to groceries to the most amazing fruits and vegetables. It is a great experience, however, on Fridays it is quite packed with people. We started with lunch and everything was fine. Marsha and I found this great fish and chips place and David took the boys in search of pizza. Apparently, the pizza place close and he got them “pizza” on malawah, which is a thick Yemenite bread. They seemed to like it which is great because they tried something new. After that, though things kinda spiraled down. With all the people and the heat, the kids were getting very cranky, so we just got staples for Shabbat and took a bus back to the apartment.
Given that it was late (3:30), I needed to do some quick shopping for Shabbat. I went to the Supersol and picked up a chicken and few other staples (aka ketchup) and went back and we made Shabbat.
This morning Marsha, Shayna, Noam and I went to shul at Yedidyah. After lunch and a short nap, we walked over to our friend Alexis’ house and spent the afternoon visiting with her and her boys. Avi had fun playing ping pong and then boys all played of Catan (thanks Nathan for getting that for them!)
Tomorrow we will be the old city with a fill-in tour guide Rachel. David is in law school and has an exam tomorrow. He will be back with us on Monday and through the rest of the trip.
Phil forgot to mention that we finally met someone from back home. While at Alexis’s there was a knock on the door and in walks Navah Kogen. Navah works at Golda Och as the director of experiential education. We also know Navah’s mother, Linda Ripps, through USY and recently hosted her younger brother when our shul hosted a Kadima Shabbaton. In talking with her we figured out that she had very recently seen our tour guide David who told her that he was in the midst of touring with a family from the States. Small world…
So glad that all is well that ends well. Did you see the Renders? Keep on blogging. Hope to read some updates from Noam as well. Saba and Savta