Israel/Jordan Day 7: Transfer to Jerusalem

Thursday was a transfer day, but a pretty short, well-planned one that ended with a food tour feast in the markets of Jerusalem.

We drove south along the Jordan rift, at first crossing the Jordan "River twice (it's the "Sixteen Mile Creek" of Israel.. lol).  Our main stop of the day was to visit the Jordan River near Kasr Al Yahud, where John the Baptist supposedly baptized Jesus.  I could picture this place overrun with Christian tourists, through we only saw two small groups.  One group, led be a pastor then an energetic song leader, prayed and sang before getting baptized (actually just flicked with water instead of dunking themselves in the muddy water just steps away from Jordan on the other side).

Eric chatted up a pair of military girls, and that was more interesting to me.  After high school, all Israelis are required to perform closet to two years of military service.  It actually feels like "camp for two years" when you talk to enough of them:  comradery, laughs, loves, lifelong friendships.  After they finish the military, if they turn to a "service work" program (ie working in restaurants, municipal jobs etc) for six months, they get a financial bonus which they use to go travelling (typically South America these days lets the Shekel spread far). 

We climbed out of the valley that was well below sea level, up and over desert hilltops and before we knew it, we were entering Jerusalem from the East side at Mount of Olives.  The view from the hill overlooking the old city and the iconic temple mount, accompanied by Eric's description and story telling was pretty momentous.  It felt like we were at the center of modern history, and you could see the layers of the history laid out in front of you.   

We found the our cool little boutique hotel a couple kilometers west of the Jaffa gate of the old city and at the foot of the Mahane Yehuda market - a fantastic location.  The 8 or 10 room hotel had nice, modern rooms with an open air stairway inside the secure front door.  Not something you'd see with Canadian weather.  

I asked Eric where he as staying, and he said "at home!".  Duh... I then realized Tel Aviv is a short, 45 minute drive to the West of Jerusalem - crazy.  Eric changed into food tour director - he took us through the lower restaurants below the market - "these are from Georgia (not Atlanta - hah!", "this one is from Yemen - amazing"... and on and on it went until we were stuffed and had a very good sense for the lay of the land.  Eric departed and we continued!

We basked in the sites, sounds and smells of the market, and the people watching!  The people were fascinating to watch.  In contrast to Tel Aviv, where it felt like we were amongst a Queen street crowd, the people here were diverse - culturally, physically and in their religiosity.  I could have literally stayed in this area for days just people watching.

We walked down Jaffa street - a no cars grand boulevard that had a sparkling new tram zoom by each way every ten minutes.  We stopped to watch a hilarious busker on a corner who played this song below, then broke out in perfect English telling us about all his conspiracy theories.... I wondered if he was related to the Olive Oil dude, or if maybe they just went to the same school.

At the end of Jaffa street is the Jaffa Gate - one of eight entrances to the Old City.  Alex poked his head in, but I wanted to save it for the morning with Eric. 

We worked up a... thirst... by the time we walked back up Jaffa to the market, so we stopped for some drinks.  The market was quickly transforming to a night club - vegetable and spice sellers were shutting down, and one stall eateries brought out tables and chairs to expand in front of the closed day businesses.  I thought of the rigidity of how we think in North America... would we let another business set up for the night in front of a closed business - permits, permissions etc.  I asked Eric later about that and he said they all make deals with each other - the government stays out of it and the businesses can work it out together. The government just provides oversite on safety etc.  As Eric would say... "wonderful".

We stopped by the same place we got the "Georgian Pizza" (Hachapuria) and recognized the young girl who had served us before, and we joked that we would be back for another pizza later, she laughed "it's not a pizza!".

Dinner was at nearby Machneyuda, a well reviewed and recommended by Eric, busy, loud place that had a great vibe.  The waitress was all business, which wasn't what we were used to so far in Israel, but it was a busy place trying to turn people over.  One funny thing we saw was the extent of the smoking - whole tables of 4, 6 or 8 people who suddenly vanish (one family, from late teen to sixty something) to go outside and smoke...... mid-meal.  At one point, Kim said to me "there are so many empty tables" - and I pointed outside - they weren't done, they were just all smoking.  I hadn't noticed smoking too much so far in Israel, but with the rate of smoking in Canada combined with the near-shame of it now, you just don't see it too much at home.

After dinner, it was back to market for a treat... I totally forget the name, but basically it's a light, sweet cheese that's baked over an open flame, turned over and topped with wholesome goodness (sugar!)... so good. 

Five minutes down the road on Nisim Bachar Street we were back to the Damson Boutique Hotel.  We were all pretty pumped that we were staying here for four nights.