Jerusalem, A day of contrasts

Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Jerusalem, Israel
Left at 9 AM today to visit the Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial) Museum. We spent 2 hours going through the various rooms including the Children's Memorial and the halls depicting the years of the Holocaust. It was a very moving experience. Also visited the synagogue and art gallery on the grounds. Then we visited the Hadassah Hebrew University Hospital to view the 9 Chagall stained glass windows in the synagogue. There was a recorded explanation for each of the 9 windows. Took a 40 minute break in the mall area of the hospital for R & R. We try to take some fruit, rolls, and cheese, etc. for lunch/snacks whenever possible. Visited the Mt. Herzel Park which is the National Military Cemetery. Saw the grave of Theodor Herzel, the father of Zionism. Next stop Mr. Zion. Here we saw the tomb of King David and location of the Last Supper. We have an hour to rest before dinner. We ate at a genuine Moroccan restaurant which was excellent. Oct 28 is the first Susan G. Komen walk in Jerusalem. The city wall tonight was illuminated in pink.

Observations to date . As mentioned our tour guide plays a song either on his flute or baglama at a lot of our stops. Each one is significant for the location we are visiting. It is something I am sure is unique to our tour group. Our group ranges in age from the mid 50's to 86. The 86 year old makes some of the younger ones look sluggish. All the buildings we see have solar hot water heaters on the roofs - from 1 to 50+ depending on the size of the structure. There are also big wire cages along the sidewalks in the cities that are there for plastic recycling. Our bus driver is amazing. He takes the bus places we wouldn't drive a car. When you enter a building in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem you and anything you are carrying, are checked/scanned. There are soldiers walking around with their automatic weapons. The weapons are with them at all times. Takes some getting used to. You feel safe but are reminded how tenuous the situation is.  


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