We woke up well-rested (finally) and took an early trip to Mount Hertzl which is the national cemetary of Israel. Among the graves we saw were Yitzhak Rabin, Theodore Hertzl, and Golda Meyir as our tour guide explained Israel's political history to us. After viewing more graves and memorials of the cemetary, we took a political tour of Jerusalem by bus, stopping at different viewpoints such as Gilo, Har Homa, and more. Perhaps the most moving part of the day was the sight of the security fence blocking Jerusalem and the West Bank; between our guide's discussions of Israeli political history, the call to prayer echoing over Jerusalem in the morning, and our tour we got a unique understanding of contemporary Israel.
After the political tour we visited the Machaneh Yehuda Market, a crazy, crowded, bustling market filled with traditional olive stands, falafel, shwarma, candy, spices, bakeries...pretty much anything you'd want to eat! We shopped for Oneg Shabbat tonight and just arrived back at the hotel to prepare for Shabbat.
Shabbat shalom!
Amber Smith (2012)
Becky Gimbel (GMU 2009)
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