How not to get yelled at in Jerusalem and other tips
How to Step one of my ‘Jerusalem in a day’ guide is to wake up early.
Then go back to sleep, no need for that kind of thing!
Michael and I had had great intentions of getting up at dawn and cramming our day full of activities. Then of course dawn came and passed and not a movement was made.
We eventually made our way for breakfast at a leisurely 10o’clock. Then had the essential post breakfast nap by the pool. When we finally left the hotel, it was just in time for lunch.
At this point I would have happily dawdled around the souk, stopping for tea, but thankfully Michael had come prepared and knew we had limited time if we wanted to get into Temple Mount.
Temple Mount is home to the iconic golden Dome of the Rock and is one of Jerusalem’s most important holy sites. Due it is volatile history only one of the 11 entrance gates are open to tourists and non-muslims.
The Mugrabi Gate is located in the Old Town close to the Western Wall and visiting hours are as follows:
Summer: Sunday to Thursday from 8.30 – 11.30 and 13.30 – 14.30
Winter 7.30 -10.30 and 12.30 – 13.30
If you are visiting remember to cover up, in 35 degree heat this nearly killed me but they won’t let you in otherwise.
Sadly I still managed to get myself in trouble with a tree pose photo. If you haven’t seen my instagram, the tree pose is my signature pose and I like to do it in iconic locations in the places I visit.
I know it is a rather silly pose but I definitely meant no disrespect. I thought Dome of the Rock would be the perfect place for it as in my mind I link holiness with peace, and for me yoga is what gives me peace. It never crossed my mind that it may look like I was mocking Islam.
When I was first yelled at for doing a yoga pose I immediately stopped and apologised. Unfortunately this was not sufficient for my crime and the man who took offence came running after to me to yell at me for a few more minutes, before handing Michael and I pamphlets on why we should become muslim.
Needless to say I was a little shaken after this incident, I debated if I should post the photo or not and in the end decided to go ahead as I meant no ill will.
If you are planning a visit this blog post gives a good overview!
After leaving Temple Mount and the Western Wall we wandered through the Old Town to the Church of the Holy Sephulchre, where Jesus was crucified and where he was said to have been buried and resurrected.
It was then definitely time for lunch so we left the Old Town and went to a place called Pinati, that Michael had picked out of the Lonely Planet. This place also made the Wall Streets Journal’s list of best hummus in Jerusalem!
They were right, the hummus was delicious.
I wrote down where recommended it as I was later asked by Israeli security where I went to eat and why I chose there, and to show where in the guidebook it said go to Pinati… but more on that story later.
Post hummus, we set off for Mount Zion the location of the Last Supper. I would have thought it would be packed but there was barely a tourist to be seen. Perhaps they were all hiding from the heat.
As always, I was in search of a good view point so we climbed up to the observation deck which gave a terrific view of all of Jerusalem and into Palestinian territories.
That was about it for our day in Jerusalem, it was then on to Tel Aviv! In case this blog post was a TLDR situation here is a snap shot summary:
Stay:
Eat:
Pinati
See:
The Old Town, Temple Mount, Western Wall, Church of the Holy Spechulre, Yoel Moshe Salomon Street, Mount Zion
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