FEBRUARY 22 - CROSSING INTO ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM

The plan for the day was to meet Zak and Mohammad in the lobby of the hotel at 8 a.m. in order to arrive at the Allenby Bridge Checkpoint to Israel at 8:50 am.   Depending who you're talking to (either an Israeli or a Jordanian), the bridge can also be called the King Hussein Bridge.

 

We arrived at the Jordanian side and relaxed in a comfortable waiting room while Zak arranged for our transit into Israel.  Jordan requires a "departure tax" of 10 Jordanian dinars (approx $15) per person in order to leave Jordan.  This was all taken care of by Zak. 

 

When all the paperwork was secured, we and our luggage were transferred to a VIP car that would take us over the Bridge into Israel. 

 

We said good-bye to Zak and Mohammad and Jordan, excited about arriving in Israel, the last country we will visit on this trip.  

Upon arrival into Israel is where we encountered the only little glitch on our entire trip.  The packet of information we received from A&K said that an "entry form" had to be completed but the exact internet site hadn't been included.  When we were in Egypt headed for Jordan, our Tour Coordinator, Hossam, reminded me a couple of times that I needed to fill out a form online before we left Egypt.  However, when I asked Zak the day before, he said there was nothing to complete other than having the recent CCP virus test results.  

So, we proceeded to go through the scanner in Israel only to find out that we did, in fact, have to fill out an entry form.  We were escorted into the VIP lounge and given the necessary website.  Well, by now, everyone should know how much I hate cell phones other than for calling and texting and seldom use it to access the internet.  Michael pulled out his little computer and I attempted to complete the form.  Some of you may or may not relate to this but sometimes what seems to be an easy-peasy task doesn't always work out that way.  With the help of one of the VIP representatives in the lounge, I was finally able to complete the form on the third try.  

Unfortunately, the document wasn't uploaded into the Israel Border database so we had to wait in the lounge for that to happen. 

It wasn't until 11:20 a.m. when the VIP representative brought us to one of the counters, our document had been uploaded and reviewed, and we were given the okay to proceed into Israel.  We were given Border Control Clearances that we would have to show to all hotels at check-in.  

 

 

Israeli takes security VERY seriously!  

We had to take yet another CCP virus test which cost of 212 ILS (Israeli Shekels) or $64 once we entered Israel.  

Finally, we met our guide, Moody, and our driver, George, who would be with us for our entire stay in Israel.  We connected right away with Moody and George;  we loved Moody's name and learned that his real name is "Mordechai" but his mother loved the Moody Blues so much that she nicknamed him "Moody."  Moody was 37 years old and it was very nice to have a younger guide here in Israel to give us yet another perspective of things.  If I remember correctly, we were Moody's first tour since the virus hit and he and George were extremely happy to be back in business.  

We arrived a couple of hours later than expected so the plan for the day had to be re-arranged.  

The Allenby Bridge actually connects the east bank and west bank of the Jordan River and when we "entered" Israel, we actually entered the "West Bank" an area where Israelis are not permitted to go.  This is a very complicated situation, and I'd like to say right now that if I spent the next five years, 24/7, learning about Israel, I will never be able to figure it out.  However, over the years, I've read news reports about the "West Bank" and never quite understood what it meant.  The best way I can describe it is that it is an area within Israel that really isn't Israel - within the West Bank, for example, lies Bethlehem that we will visit in the following days.  Moody, who is a Jew, would not be able to enter the West Bank except for the fact that he is a tour guide.  

The West Bank is an area that was annexed by Jordan in 1950 and remained Jordanian territory until 1967 when it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.  Briefly, the Oslo Accords, signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, created administrative districts with varying levels of Palestinian autonomy in specific areas: Area A, which is administered exclusively by the Palestinian National Authority; Area B, which is administered by both the PNA and Israel; and Area C, which is administered exclusively by Israel. Area C accounts for over 60% of the West Bank's territory.  This area, along with the Gaza Strip in the south, are claimed by the Palestinians and remain a flashpoint for the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  All extremely interesting yet extremely complicated.  

Some facts about Israel later on but we were on our way to Jerusalem.  As I said, we were late in crossing, so Moody changed up the itinerary for today.  Our first stop, the Mount of Olives for a view over the Temple Mount (Al Haram el-Sharif) and the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery.

 

Traffic in Jerusalem is very busy but not as chaotic as in Cairo.  Either way, we were happy to have George do all the driving.  Next stop:  Mahna Yahuda, Jerusalem's largest food market, which takes up an entire neighborhood between Yafo and Agripas.  There's another very good website about the market here for anyone who is interested.

(Before I post our photos and impressions, I received a video from one of my daily subscriptions, Jewish Humor Channel, of this adorable little toddler running through the streets of Jerusalem including the Mahna Yahuda.  You can check it out here.)

When I'm traveling, I love to go to any type of market - indoor or outdoor - because I love to see the variety of food that is available around the world.  Here's just a sampling of the Mahna Yahuda market's offerings:  

 

 

 

This was an amazing contraption that rotated;  although there's a coffee pot on it in these photos, unfortunately, neither Michael nor I can remember what we saw cooking on this thing.  We think it was far more than just something to heat your coffee.  Michael thinks it may have been for cooking bread.  I wasn't taking very good notes that day.  

(I did write to our wonderful guide, Moody, and asked him the purpose of this and he wrote back, "It's a cooking stove running on gas (this one has a pot of Arabic tea cooking).")

There are little streets to meander through around the market and Moody didn't pass up the chance to introduce us to this wonderful area of Jerusalem.  Again, I'm a little upset that I hadn't taken the kind of notes that I usually do but I tend to write when I'm in the car and not when I'm walking.  Fortunately, the internet is always available to help me fill in the blanks.  

 

Here we had several photos with no notes;  Michael remembers that someone very important was buried here and I was able to find out on the internet what this was all about!  

 

Here is the description from the website I found:   "We stepped inside and saw two tombs, the first, on the left, of the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter (HaRe’em, author of Imrei Emet) who died in 1948 and could not be buried on the Mount of Olives because it was in the middle of the War of Independence ​and the Mount of Olives was under Jordanian rule.  ​As you see, these tombs serve as a place of prayer, as well as the Beit Midrash, in the inner room. The Rebbe's son, Rebbe Pinchas Menachem Alter (the Pnei Menachem), who died in 1996,​requested burial next to his father.  We stayed some minutes at the tombs and the Beit Midrash so that any of us who wished to pray ​by the graves of these Zaddikim could do so."  

Across the street, was a very small synagogue, if I remember, and on the wall beside the entrance was a little slot for donations for a particular cause.

Continuing on these little streets where you could easily get lost, there are many houses that display colorful and whimsical works of art, many made out of everyday household items.

Reviewing the photos from today's visits and my lack of memory of all that we saw had to have been the result of the morning's "glitch" at the border crossing.  That's really the only thing I can think of that may have caused this lapse of memory.  

We did have a late lunch and, although there are no photos, I remember very well that in addition to the wonderful starters which included hummus, Michael had a dish that Moody said his Mom makes for him all the time:  Chicken Shnitzel - a website that describes this incredibly delicious meal is here.

The streets of Jerusalem are very colorful and Moody took us to a textile store for possible souvenir shopping.

 

The King David Hotel was our home for four nights.  It was built in 1931 and it is definitely what I would call "old money" and extremely elegant.  It is the only hotel on our entire trip where I wished I had a bit dressier clothing (which, of course, wasn't possible anyway).  Moody, of course, made sure we were checked in and we were then explained all of the amenities available at the hotel by one of the clerks.  

In front of the reception area was a long row of tiles on the floor, the entire length of the lobby area, each with the signature of a dignitary, actor, singer, politician, etc.  I was very pleased and proud to see that the tile featuring our President, Donald J. Trump's signature was right in the center of the lobby as you enter.  

The view of Jerusalem from our room was beautiful!

We were on the fifth floor in one of the deluxe rooms that offered old city views where ambassadors and other dignitaries stay.  The Presidential Suite, in which President Trump stayed a couple of years ago, was also on the fifth floor.  This greeting card was on the coffee table in the room, signed by the General Manager of the hotel, addressed to an ambassador.  Unfortunately, the General Manager's handwriting was so incredibly bad that I couldn't even read the salutation to figure out what ambassador stayed in the room just before we arrived.  (I don't think I've ever seen a worse handwriting.) 

 

Dinner at a nearby restaurant was on A&K's schedule for us that night, however, we didn't feel like changing clothes and neither one of us was very hungry.  We decided, instead, to get ourselves organized in the room and went out for a walk.  It was a beautiful night.  

We walked left from the hotel but didn't find anything too interesting in the neighborhood.  On Michael's GPS on his phone, he saw something called "Tommy's" which, for some reason, he thought might be connected to the Los Angeles chili hot dog stand "Tommy's" and decided we should head that way.  The GPS wasn't all that great and after a few blocks we didn't know where we were.  We managed to look up and over the buildings and just backtracked to the King David Hotel and decided to go in the direction right of the hotel this time.  Lots more shops and people and we found an area, similar to the promenade in Santa Monica, that we decided to follow.  

One of the ugliest pieces of sculpture we'd ever seen - I'm sure the city paid a lot of money to commission this piece but we didn't get it.  

 

A public toilet on the street;  another couple walking were curious how this thing worked and actually pressed some of the buttons and when the door opened, we looked inside and it was remarkably clean - a lot cleaner than most bathrooms I've come across even in United States airports!   (Seattle spent a small fortune on these types of toilets and they were all eventually sold when it was discovered that they were only being used for drug and sex deals.)

We continued to walk on the "promenade" and, lo and behold, we found "Luis's Tacos" and what a find it was.  Luis came from Mexico (there are approximately 90,000-100,000 Jews living in Mexico, primarily in Mexico City), having emigrated to Israel.  The little place was a gold mine especially among the young people.  There were dozens of people sitting outside, inside and waiting on line for take-out.  What an incredibly lucky find considering what lousy food karma Michael and I have!  Michael still wasn't hungry but I had a taco de pollo and we both had margaritas that were fantastic!  (The salt on the rim, which must have included chili powder, was a bit spicy for me but, nonetheless, very good!) 

When we told Moody about this place the next day he was pleasantly surprised that we actually found it on our own.  It really is a very well-known place among the locals.  

Walking along the promenade, we looked at all the shops and enjoyed the murals that were painted on the walls. 

Back at the hotel, we checked our itinerary for the following day and it promised to be another full day's exploration of this incredible city.