Day 7: October 18, Jerusalem

We started the day with a metro trip to the extensive holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. It is an incredible complex and very haunting. We spent as much time as we could manage and left the rest for another time  - it is very overwhelming.

Jerusalem is a bustling city with an fascinating blend of people and religions. We see Orthodox Jews in many different types of traditional dress next to Muslim women with hijabs and heavy dress/coats and  young Arab men in jeans and, every so often, police or soldiers with M16s.

Western Wall

 In the old city there are constant tours of Christians from all parts of the world, each group with their distinctive badge or cap, or if you can imagine, a leader holding a pink butterfly on a stick.

We have been up and down the streets between Damascus Gate, the Western Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We spent some time at the Western Wall just before sundown, people watching, particularly Ultra Orthodox Jewish families.



We intended to stay to see the start of Shabbat at the wall, but uncertainty about when and what would happen or not happen, and, if you can imagine, cooler temperatures and some rain, sent us off to the convent for warmer clothes.

Tonight at dinner we met a female teacher from Ireland who has come to Israel as a volunteer to pick olives in Bethlehem with about 110 others from around the world. This is a movement to support Palestinian farmers to complete their harvest.

Tomorrow we intend to head to Bethlehem for the morning and finish the day back in the Old City.