journey to jerusalem
i am in the holy city. what a magical place. 3 religions share this city, but that does not mean it's a peaceful place. just read the news. zarqawi is dead, hamas supporters are protesting in the streets. so i have decided not to attempt to go to nazareth and ramallah, which are both in the palestinian territories.
anyway, jerusalem alone has more than enough sites and experiences to offer. i spent the last two days in the old city. the moslem quarter is one big, smelly, fascinating souq, that drags you deeper and deeper into its belly. via dolorosa is a souvenir shopping mall.
the jewish quarter is dominated by the western wall, ha-kotel. it was a party place yesterday. all bar-mitzvot took place in one day, yom torah, as rabbi mordechai kindly explained to me before he dashed off to the next event. families migrated with sweets, trays of food, babies, drums and shofars to ha-kotel where the ceremonies were performed in open air. proud fathers carried their 13-year-old sons on their shoulders. ever the opportunist, a cheap *mazeltov* on my part got me food and toffees from the various parties. i enjoyed myself!
what a contrast to the temple mount. serene and quiet stood the dome of the rock when i visisted in the morning. the golden cupola and the blue a green mosaics make the dome look very feminine, like a beautiful women who has dressed up to please everyone who lays eyes on her. however, the guards in the dome are anything but inviting. they shush me away quite rudely when i try and enter the building. but i have a mission!
on the jordanian border crossing to israel, king hussein bridge, i took tea with the jordanian tourist police. these guys are there to protect tourists, not to supervise them, and each one of them is a proper tour guide. they know everything about past and present of their country. so i had a pleasant chat with nedal and nasser, both lieutenants, over a few glasses of tea. nedal told me about the time when he was sent with colleagues to a mission in kosovo. the plane flew over jerusalem, and the captain pointed out the dome on the rock to the jordanians, on the left side of the plane. so they all rushed to the windows to get a glimpse of islam's third-holiest site. as policemen from jordan they can only dream of going there, of course. the plane tumbled a little, but passengers only saw the dome. nedal said that some of the men had wet eyes.
nasser and i exchanged emails, and i promised to take pictures of the dome for the guys.
so here i was being denied entry because i was not a moslem. my rescue came in the shape of a foreign delegation with entourage, from a country of some kind. i never asked. as the bulk of them entered the dome, journalists in their tow, i took off my shoes and slipped in, waving my little camera phone and looking determined but ignorant. just like journos. i managed to get a few pics, but unfortunately not of the rock itself (the delegation blocked the view).
i'm sure the jordanian tourist police will be happy. they promised mint tea when i return next tuesday.
anyway, jerusalem alone has more than enough sites and experiences to offer. i spent the last two days in the old city. the moslem quarter is one big, smelly, fascinating souq, that drags you deeper and deeper into its belly. via dolorosa is a souvenir shopping mall.
the jewish quarter is dominated by the western wall, ha-kotel. it was a party place yesterday. all bar-mitzvot took place in one day, yom torah, as rabbi mordechai kindly explained to me before he dashed off to the next event. families migrated with sweets, trays of food, babies, drums and shofars to ha-kotel where the ceremonies were performed in open air. proud fathers carried their 13-year-old sons on their shoulders. ever the opportunist, a cheap *mazeltov* on my part got me food and toffees from the various parties. i enjoyed myself!
what a contrast to the temple mount. serene and quiet stood the dome of the rock when i visisted in the morning. the golden cupola and the blue a green mosaics make the dome look very feminine, like a beautiful women who has dressed up to please everyone who lays eyes on her. however, the guards in the dome are anything but inviting. they shush me away quite rudely when i try and enter the building. but i have a mission!
on the jordanian border crossing to israel, king hussein bridge, i took tea with the jordanian tourist police. these guys are there to protect tourists, not to supervise them, and each one of them is a proper tour guide. they know everything about past and present of their country. so i had a pleasant chat with nedal and nasser, both lieutenants, over a few glasses of tea. nedal told me about the time when he was sent with colleagues to a mission in kosovo. the plane flew over jerusalem, and the captain pointed out the dome on the rock to the jordanians, on the left side of the plane. so they all rushed to the windows to get a glimpse of islam's third-holiest site. as policemen from jordan they can only dream of going there, of course. the plane tumbled a little, but passengers only saw the dome. nedal said that some of the men had wet eyes.
nasser and i exchanged emails, and i promised to take pictures of the dome for the guys.
so here i was being denied entry because i was not a moslem. my rescue came in the shape of a foreign delegation with entourage, from a country of some kind. i never asked. as the bulk of them entered the dome, journalists in their tow, i took off my shoes and slipped in, waving my little camera phone and looking determined but ignorant. just like journos. i managed to get a few pics, but unfortunately not of the rock itself (the delegation blocked the view).
i'm sure the jordanian tourist police will be happy. they promised mint tea when i return next tuesday.
posted by SCHNUCKELCHEN at 9:12 am
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