Back in Jerusalem...

Today has been an adventure and a return to Jerusalem. First our bus broke down 1/2 between Haifa and our destination, we ended up 30 mins later piling on an already full bus. But I arrived safely, and I always enjoy the journey up through the hills into Jerusalem. My friend Oren met me and we had an interesting afternoon exploring Mea Sherem, the city's ultraOrthdox neighboorhood. The trip required a change of wardrobe into a long skirt, long sleeves and putting my hair up, and presto...meet Yeshiva girl. We went in search of religious books & CDs for my research and I enjoyed exploring the shops, the busy-ness of shabbat preparations and the smell of fresh Challah. I also got to see a Kosher cell phone up close, which is exciting as I have written 2 papers about them. After buying many things we went a short distance to East Jerusalem and visited the Garden Tomb. It was a buzz with American tourist and we ran into Oren's friend Ariel who works as a tour guide and was showing a group of Assembly of God pastors around. It was interesting to see the tomb and the garden is built beautifully for reflection and prayer. Finally we escaped the heat and tourist for afternoon tea at the American Colony hotel...which ended up being a shared club sandwich and iced coffee. This is my 7th visit to Jerusalem and each time I am surprised by new images I see of lived faith, religious devotion and multiple and often conflicting interpertations living side by side.