Tonight may need to be a short post as I have homework. I have arrived, after a comfortable hour long bus ride, in Jerusalem. And settled into my new hotel which is in the Arab Quarter I have decided to stay close to home and eat at the hotel restaurant. The Jerusalem Hotel is a tiny old place just steps from the Damascus Gate to the Old City. It is a bit of a culture shock to my nights on the roof deck on the Brown but it is authentic.
I need to try to plan my days and take into consideration the Shabbat. So immediately after arrival I headed to Yad Vashem which is the Israeli holocaust memorial and museum. It is stunning site outside the city in the hillside. The actual museum is a long hall the criss crosses back on itself. It starts with rise of fascism and Hitler and runs through the declaration of Israeli statehood. The final room is the hall of names which is a tall cylinder around which is documented the murdered (a word used with more frequency than I am accustomed) Around the outside walls are video cartridges in which they are attempting to document every person lost in the holocaust.
Finally you exit to a windswept deck overlooking the valley below. Around the corner is a flame of remembrance and finally the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations. Where trees are planted to commemorate those that helped the Jews. (Oskar Schindler has a tree as do the people of Denmark (last years trip) as they took great risk to evacuate all Jewish residents to Sweden. Although they also agreed to be occupied without firing a shot)
If you wanted to read every placard you would be there 5 hours. But all in all an interesting afternoon.
(Sorry pictures in the museum are prohibited but I will do my best)
So tomorrow is my tour of the Old City as well as East Jerusalem from the Palestine perspective. So have a multi page booklet to read up on before tour begins.
Dinner was simple but good. A mixed grilled of chicken, lamb and minced beef kabobs with French fries and sautéed veg. Oh they offer a shesha pipe on the menu.
It's been a long day. Time for bed.
I need to try to plan my days and take into consideration the Shabbat. So immediately after arrival I headed to Yad Vashem which is the Israeli holocaust memorial and museum. It is stunning site outside the city in the hillside. The actual museum is a long hall the criss crosses back on itself. It starts with rise of fascism and Hitler and runs through the declaration of Israeli statehood. The final room is the hall of names which is a tall cylinder around which is documented the murdered (a word used with more frequency than I am accustomed) Around the outside walls are video cartridges in which they are attempting to document every person lost in the holocaust.
Finally you exit to a windswept deck overlooking the valley below. Around the corner is a flame of remembrance and finally the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations. Where trees are planted to commemorate those that helped the Jews. (Oskar Schindler has a tree as do the people of Denmark (last years trip) as they took great risk to evacuate all Jewish residents to Sweden. Although they also agreed to be occupied without firing a shot)
If you wanted to read every placard you would be there 5 hours. But all in all an interesting afternoon.
(Sorry pictures in the museum are prohibited but I will do my best)
So tomorrow is my tour of the Old City as well as East Jerusalem from the Palestine perspective. So have a multi page booklet to read up on before tour begins.
Dinner was simple but good. A mixed grilled of chicken, lamb and minced beef kabobs with French fries and sautéed veg. Oh they offer a shesha pipe on the menu.
It's been a long day. Time for bed.
A country is not just what it does... it is what it tolerates.
Kurt Tucholsky
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