Day I: Jerusalem
It's been a long day, and finally coming to an end. I arrived in Israel today and now I'm in Jerusalem. I spent most of the day in the old city, security is intense, and the army is everywhere. (I'm running out of batteries) will have to finish this later. I'm sending from a wireless connection in the middle of the street at 11:00pm here. Don't worry there are alot of people here also using the free connection. I'll write more later.
Mike
It is a holiday here and everything is closed. There were lots of people praying at the Western Wall, including this soldier with his M16 slung over his shoulder. Tomorrow (Sunday) there are supposed to be even more people there. I spoke with a Dutch journalist who mentioned that the event might provoke the Muslims, and that it might be dangerous. I asked the Israeli security about this, and they said, "it will be fine". I'm not sure what to do. Security seems very tight no one can in without being searched.
The old city is very interesting. It reminded me of the shopping areas of Vietnam, with shops in little alleyways between old buildings where people live. It's a bit intimidating because it is so confined, you have to keep moving with the crowd, and there were lots of Israeli army there keeping an eye on things.
I have been a bit nervous about bombs, because that's what I read about in the papers. In the hotel, I was waiting for the elevator, the doors opened to a large unattended suitcase. I immediately turned for the stairs, and made my way out.
Even eating out I was a bit on edge. The idea doesn't seem to bother anyone else. There are families here with their babies, young people out all night, everyone appears to be acting normally.
posted by mykstax at 11:47 PM
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