Days 17, 18, & 19 - These 3 days were spent resting and exploring the city of Ramallah and all its glories. Included were restaurants, coffee shops, wine from Jordan, gift shops, produce market shopping (no haggling required), manakeesh at its finest, Ramallah tahtah (old city), steep hills, and beautiful sunsets.

Day 20 -Mom and I decided to stay the night in Jerusalem so that she could see everything she could before heading back to the states. We took the bus into E. Jerusalem and headed directly to the Western Wall Plaza so that we could ensure we arrived to the Dome of the Rock during the correct "tourist times" as the area is typically reserved only for Muslims. We had to pass through a security entrance before entering the courtyard that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. All I can say is man are the Muslims lucky to have this place all the themselves because it is so beautiful and peaceful -- so much so that an old Palestinian man had even fallen asleep while sitting in the sun. We must have arrived at the tail end of opening time because within a half an hour the guards started rounding people up and telling them to leave. We were glad that we arrived when we did and were happy to see the Dome of the Rock up close and personal rather than from behind a wall, from the roofs of the Old City, or from the nearby cemetary.

We took our time going through the Old City since it would be the last time my mom would see it (unless of course she decides to come back!). We then went to the Garden Tomb, which is where some believe that Jesus was crucified and buried; as opposed to the traditional place at the nearby site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was easy to picture everything as their pamphlet had a clear explanation for the reasons behind why the location fits the biblical story very well. There is the hill that looks like a skull - Golgotha, the tomb, the garden, its location outside the walls of the Old City, etc.


After we checked into the hotel, located in W. Jerusalem, we decided to look for the House of Prayer, which had been a must stop for my mom during her time here. We found it actually quite easily and the walk there was very nice. I admit that when I am in W. Jerusalem I feel a little uncomfortable as I am used to being around Palestinians and Muslims not Israelis and Jews. Being there is completely different - the streets are clean, there are parks with fountains, modern restaurants, etc. Despite these niceties I still feel safer and calmer when I am amongst Palestinians... I don't know what it is. We spent an hour or so at the House of Prayer, which had a fabulous view of Mt. Zion and the Old City, before walking back up to the Old City's Jaffa Gate where we were supposed to meet Makazi for dinner.


Unfortunately things didn't work out with Makazi so mom and I were left to our own devices. After a very tiring day and a ton of walking, we ended up going to one of the many restaurants in the Memella Mall and had ourselves a fabulous meal, complete with dessert and coffee.

Day 21 - After breakfast and just a wee bit of shopping, we walked to the E. Jerusalem bus station so we could catch a bus up to K's house on French Hill. S was already there, eating as usual, as was Munir (K's brother). Upon our arrival we went to the best pastry place in all of Israel -- then again I haven't really tried that many; however it is deliciously good so I stocked up on both the sweet and savory pastries, which are sold by weight. We then piled into K's car to go to the Ambassador Hotel where we were meeting Luke for lunch. Luke is an Australian who is on a trip around the world. He is stopping off at various points to do volunteer work before moving onto the next destination. Such was the case here and he ended up volunteering for An-Najah University as a Optometry lecturer for just 2 weeks before taking off for more adventuring! I admire him very much and admit I am a little jealous.

After gorging ourselves on the always delicious food at Ambassador, Munir gave us (me, mom, and S) a ride to H's house. H lives in what was once a suburb of Jerusalem, but since the Israelis built the separation barrier is actually now located in the West Bank. There used to be a small checkpoint in N. Jerusalem that was literally a minute away from his house. This made his access in and out of the West Bank relatively easy -- H is an Israeli citizen and is therefore able to move freely between Israel and Palestine; however this wouldn't be the case if he had a Palestinian ID card; he wouldn't even be allowed to leave the West Bank. Recently the Israelis have closed the checkpoint near to his house so he now has to circumnavigate the wall and go through the Qalandiya checkpoint - which is renowned for its traffic jams, or Hezma, which is a further 20-30 minutes away. How convenient! After some coffee, dessert, and as ever wonderful conversation, we left H's house so that mom could get ready for her flight in the morning.