Shana tova, everyone! That means "happy new year" in Hebrew. It was one of the first phrases we learned in my Hebrew class because today is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Yesterday I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City with a group, and we got invited to a Rosh Hashana dinner at a Rabbi's house. Of course, we went. It took us a while to be able to find his house, but we got there in time for the symbolic foods. It was super fun. And it was my first date. Ha ha. Seriously, though, I had never had a date before. I could see what the Rabbi was talking about when he said that some people interpret the "honey" in "land flowing with milk and honey" to mean date honey. One drunk man kept shouting "Welcome to Chicago." We had to leave early, but it was still worth it.
Ramadan ends tonight, so that means big Muslim celebrations tonight and big feasts for the next three days. Should be very exciting.
My new favorite way into the Old City is Lion's Gate.
I like it because there aren't that many people around there. It is where the Via Dolorosa begins. The Via Dolorosa is supposed to be the path that Christ took while carrying His cross to Calvary. Right within the gate is the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. The Bethesda Pool is right next to that.
Today we got to go to the Temple Mount to the Dome of the Rock for a few minutes
I took this screenshot of Google Earth so that you could see where I was when I took those two pictures that you see floating there. The one on top is actually on the other side of the arches. We were only allowed up there for about 5 minutes because we got to the security checkpoint at ten minutes before 11, when it closes for the public.
We've got all sorts of cool stuff lined up, like Jericho on Monday and Egypt the next week.
You need to look for a cafe inside Lion's gate. It was called "Uncle Moustaches'". It had amazing chicken and rice for dirt cheap. We would eat there on Saturdays because the place was Muslim and it didn't break their sabbath to serve us.
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