Jerusalem

July 18 - Approaching the King Hussein Bridge

Arriving at the border, one of many checkpoints that would occur.

Arrived in Israel, about to go through another checkpoint, and trying to figure out if this is a cigarette advertisement or an act of international diplomacy. That’s actually the King of Jordan lighting a cigarette for Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel. 

July 19 - View of the old city of Jerusalem from Austrian Hospice 

Gateway to the Dome of the Rock. Tourists are only allowed entry during specific hours.

The Western Wall

Requisite Selfie

View of the old city from Mount of Olives

Overlooking a Palestinian Refugee Camp

Note: We decided to go to Jerusalem as research for future trips to see how feasible it would be to cross the land border at the Allenby bridge with students. A trip in March 2019 would not include visiting Jerusalem.

We heard that crossing the King Hussein/Allenby bridge was a long process that could take several hours (depending on how long the authorities decided to keep you) due in part because this is the only land crossing that Palestinians are allowed to use. After catching an Uber to the border, we arrived in a bus terminal-like building, where we were directed to a window for international travelers to get our passport approved. Our privilege was apparent as we got through with relative ease and speed, while our Palestinian counterparts had to wait in a separate, much longer line.

Once we got to Jerusalem, we were struck by the contrasts that the city represents. We arrived in the older, more traditional East Jerusalem, with everything written in Arabic and Hebrew, but as we followed the trolley line and reached Jaffa street, it seemed as though we had entered an entirely different city that was indistinguishable from any you might seen in Europe, except for the signs exclusively in Hebrew.

The following day, which was our only full day in Jerusalem, we took an 8 hour tour of the city with Green Olive Tours. Our guide, Anas, was able to offer us impactful insight into the nuances of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In many ways this tour challenged us, but it was an incredibly meaningful and informative experience--one that we will carry with us as we continue to travel through this region.

However, Jordan has captured our hearts, and we were so excited to return and continue our travels in this country. Our new friends Amany and Paul (we now have pictures of Paul!) invited us to a small gathering at Paul’s house, where we met some incredible, fascinating, wonderful people from all over the world: Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, the US, the UK, Korea, and Jordan. We laughed, danced, and shared stories, and we were so grateful to have been a part of it. For us, the most meaningful part of traveling is making connections with people, and we are so excited to have Watkinson meet some of our new friends when school resumes in the fall.