Jerusalem, Day 1 - Arrival

My first day was pretty low key. Good thing too, because I was both tired from the flight yet pumped with adrenaline because I was ridiculously excited to be in Israel, and don't think I could have processed anything academic. It also happened to be Eid al-Fitr, so I really wanted to check out the Dome of the Rock and do the religious thing for a bit. I registered at the hotel and met some of the conference organizers, and then went off to explore Jerusalem with a few other delegates who had already arrived. It was already almost mid-day, and we were all hungry, so we took the tram to the famous Mahane Yehuda Market (commonly referred to as the Shuk) to grab a bite to eat. 

First picture with a local!! An IDF solider who was kind enough to humor this crazed American tourist

The Shuk! Sundays are pretty low key. The market is busiest on Fridays

Dates, nuts, and an assortment of dried fruit

Delicious chocolate pastries! They were only 2 shekels each, the equivalent of 50 cents (US)

Yummy olives! The vendor even let us sample them. Delicious!

After we had lunch and explored the Shuk, we went to the Old City to find the Dome of the Rock. I actually had to leave my group behind, as only Muslims are allowed to go outside of scheduled tourist hours. I kept on asking different shop owners for directions, and all of them told me that it was closed to tourists. But after explaining to them that I am in fact, Muslim, they sent me on their way after inviting me to speak with them in Arabic. 

The laneways of the Old City, in the Arab quarters

 After navigating my way through the labyrinth laneways in the Old City, I finally ended up in the right place. However, I ran into some fellows who told me that my outfit (baggy harem pants, sports jacket, and scarf to cover my hair) was not suitable enough for me to enter. So, I had to purchase an abaya off of them. The younger one, Mohamed, accompanied me to the entrance gate, where I had to show the guards my passport. They flipped through it, and then asked me if I could speak Arabic. "A little bit," I replied. After conversing with them in broken Arabic (I really need to practice more), they asked me to recite from the Qur'an. I recited Al-Fatiha and Al-Ikhlas before they were satisfied and permitted me to enter.

Me and Mohamed, my very excited tour guide. I think he was really looking forward to showing me around

 The Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina. It commemorates the Prophet Muhammad's miraculous night journey into heaven, accompanied by the angel Gabriel.

Prayer rugs

The interior

Inside, Mohamed took me to a cave located underneath the Foundation Stone. This is called the Well of Souls. Some believe that this is where spirits of the dead wait for Judgement Day.

Reading Qur'an with Mohamed

The famous Al-Aqsa Mosque! Would have liked to go in, but women are not allowed

After leaving the Dome of the Rock, I rejoined my group and went back to our hotel and met other conference participants. In the evening, we bused over to the Jerusalem City Municipality, where we had a welcome toast.

Sunset over Jerusalem

Blurry, but you can see the Dome of the Rock from the Jerusalem City Municipality!

And that concludes a fabulous first day in Jerusalem!