MY WEEKEND IN JERUSALEM THURSDAY OCTOBER 26TH TO FRIDAY OCTOBER 27TH

Most of the soldiers in Israel can go home for the weekend unless there's an alert or crisis.  Consequently the public transportation system is jammed on Thursday afternoon with lots of soldiers.  In Israel, many soldiers are assigned to carry weapons, typically the American made M-16 rifle, at all times including when they go home or are in civillian clothes.  It is a practice that makes the public feel safe and protected almost everywhere you can go in Israel.

The bus ride to Jerusalem involved lots of weekend traffic but I was at the bus station by 330pm where I crossed the street to the light rail train and made it to my hotel by 4 o'clock.  The next photo is of an unusual bridge in the middle of the city known as the "Bridge of Strings".  It's really beautiful and very unusual.  

 I would have until early Sunday to see Jerusalem and do what I had hoped to do in the Old City.

After checking in and having a nice street view from my room,  

Here's a daytime view of the sign you see backwards.  It wasn't there last year and now it's a big thing for people to have their pictures taken in front of the "I love Jerusalem" sign.

I walked a bit in the neighborhood and went out for food.  You guessed it, my favorite Falafel stand. 

I was pretty tired from the work week and travel to Israel so I went to bed so I could get an early start on Friday.

Friday morning I enjoyed the free breakfast at the hotel.  It was bread, hummus, tea, tomatoes, yogurt, bananas, cucumbers and butter.  I brought my own decaf t-bags and had a good breakfast.  It was a beautiful day to walk for 15 minues to the famous Mechane Yehuda market, a large open air and covered market selling everthing but mostly food.  It is packed with people, some with dogs or baby strollers, on Friday all buying in anticipation of Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) which begins at sundown on Friday although the stores seem to be all closed by 3pm. 

While at the market, besides shopping for halvah from a place that has 100 flavors of halvah I began one of my missions to fulfill the Jewish tradition of bringing gifts (shaliach gelt in Hebrew) for the poor when you travel abroad.  I had $130 in singles and the first recipient was an accordionist who played Hava Nagela both loud and well. 

  I should mention that despite the crowd there are merchants with trays of samples to taste standing in your path.  Needless to say I at a few halvah and marzipan samples. 

The people whose pictures appear here are about half of the recipients of the money I brought.  The others didn't want to be photographed.

At the market I came upon a group of young deaf people and I got to use my basic knowledge of American Sign Language to say hello to them. 

I was flattered when a hearing interpreter with them asked me if I could hear.  We talked and signed a bit and I took their picture.  I walked back to the hotel and dropped off the five pounds of halvah I bought and headed out the door for lunch.  you already know where I went....  After lunch I walked to the Old City of Jerusalem

where I went straight to the Kotel (the Western Wall of the Second Temple).   There I read more than 50 prayers for family and friends, folding the written prayers until they were small and tucking each one into a crack in the Wall.  

As I walked around the Old City I worked on fulfilling another mission I made for myself.  I brought with me 35 pairs of work gloves made of polyester and stainless steel thread which cannot be cut with a knife.  I thought the soldiers and border guards that protect the Old City from terrorists would appreciate these gloves in light of the recent knife attacks that have injured and killed these young people who work to protect Israel.  Some of the guards I approached were not allowed to accept gifts and others were glad to have them.  For those soldiers and border guards and police I asked how many people were in their unit and I gave them more gloves. 
A few of the police officers I gave the gloves to wanted to pay me.

  I explained that they were gifts and because they protect Israel and the Israeli people that I wanted to do what I can to help with that job.  

It was late Friday afternoon and shops were closing.  I walked back to my hotel to relax a bit and then set out to find food when almost all of the restaurants are closed.  I roamed the neighborhood until I came across a sandwich shop which was open.  While waiting in line I met a young couple visiting from the Boston area.  She was a nurse and had been to Israel before and spoke fluent Hebrew.  They were kind enough to ask me to join them at an outside table.

We ate and talked until 1130pm and I needed sleep for another visit to the Old City on Saturday as well as my annual visit to the resting place of Prince Philip's Mother.