Free Birds: Israel Part 3: You Didn't Ask for it but here it is anyway!

We couldn't tear ourselves away from Jerusalem even though we knew we needed to get on the road if we wanted to see all the places we have planned! There's just so much cool stuff there! And we made some amazing friends that we ended up hanging out with for a few days. We went to the BYU JerusalemCenter for a quick tour and met a cool couple who were there studying abroad for the semester. They'd been there a few months and had seen and done a ton and invited us to hang out and see some sites with them! They took us to the museum of Israel which was very cool and interesting (lots of history and we got to see some of the original Dead Sea Scrolls!) and we spent a lot of time with them just wandering around different parts of the city while they played tour guide and taught us a ton of stuff they had learned about the city during their semester there. Seriously these kids were smart!

We're not in Provo anymore

Our Jerusalem friends!

One thing we loved seeing was the Western Wall. We went back to this almost everyday. It's a stone wall in the old city outside the area that the Jews believe to be where Solomans Temple once was (this area is now referred to as Dome of the Rock). Since there are only a few in the Jewish religion high enough to be in the presence of the Holy of Holys, no Jew is Allowed past that wall. Even though the temple is no longer there it is still considered sacred ground and they don't know exactly where the holy of holies once was so in order not to risk it no Jew is allowed near it. (It's a major sin to be in the presence of the holy of holies without the right to be there). So they have this wall that is the closest to it that they can be and they go there to worship. The wall is separated by two sections - one for men and one for women. No man can go near the wall without wearing a yamaca so Robby had to get a paper one! The wall gets PACKED around sunset on Fridays since that is the beginning of the sabbath and you can see people kissing the walls, dancing around the wall, bobbing in front of the wall, and reading the Torrah at the wall. It's pretty action packed and more entertaining than any Nicolas Cage movie I've ever seen.

The wall!!! during normal times. To be honest the men's side was more entertaining than the women's.

Friday at sunset! Insane!! If only you could hear the signing, chanting, praising. So cool!

The craziness from a level above

Close up shots at the wall

Heres a video I snuck from the women's side of the wall looking into the men's side (it was way more action packed!) Can you spot Robby?!

Some other highlights in Jerusalem include the Dome of the Rock (believed to be the place where Solomans temple was and where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac - where Jews will not go - now owned by Muslims), random barmitzvas that take place thoughout the old city that come through like parades tossing candy around (that I ran behind and collected leftovers from), the most amazing Shwarma wraps ever, fresh squeezed juice, pastries galore, and just lots of ancient history.

Dome of the rock! They wouldn't let us go inside though - but we could walk the grounds.

The shwarma...oh I could write so many sonnets and love songs about the shwarma. So good !!

Bar mitzvahs are party central! We seriously saw like ten of them in a day. They parade through the city to the Western Wall. Some kids have more friends than others that join in on the celebrating. And some have better candy than others. I may have followed some of the parades and collected the leftover candy that was thrown....me and a really old/potentially homeless woman.

Oh and how I could I forget!! We watched the most amazing light show that was projected on CASTLE WALLS. The light show basically told a history story about jerusalem with pictures and music but it was the most incredible light show we've ever seen - even better than the one at Disneyland! The lights transformed the castle to different scenes and it looked so amazing! Pictures won't do justice but it gives you an idea :)

The castle. Looking all normal and castle-like

Then the show begins!!! Can you to what it is?? Bookshelves galore. Looked so amazing first hand.

Still on the castle - all sorts of scenes were projected on it and the images moved around like a movie. No cameras allowed so we could barely snap a couple pics without getting our heads chopped off!

On fire!!

Finally - we had to be on our way to Petra! But first we had to check out the Dead Sea and float around in it! We took a bus out there that got us in late and it turned out that the very few hotels that are there were sold out! So what do you do?? You sleep on the beach of the Dead Sea and watch the sunrise.