It's morning in Jerusalem. We've just finished a Middle-Eastern-style breakfast (eggs, tomatoes, sour yogurt, olives, fruit) in our apartment. Leroy is ironing, and we're both grateful to be in a place with both washer and a dryer (drying machines are rare in this part of the world.) Our small studio apartment is perched three stories above the famed Ben Yehuda pedestrian street. There is no traffic below, just cafes and places for people to sit and talk over coffee. We have a small balcony with flowering window boxes and a view of all that is happening below.
Yesterday was Israel's version of Memorial Day. We wondered why people were out in the streets the day before selling Israeli flags. While I was lying on the beach in Aqaba with my eyes closed before our flight to Jerusalem, a loud siren sounded and continued for two minutes. After a minute or so, I looked around and was startled to see every other person on the beach standing still with their head bowed. I learned later it is an annual moment of remembrance and prayer throughout Israel Last night, Ben Yehuda Street was hopping with Memorial Day celebrations. A band played and people of all ages roamed the streets with noisemakers. The apartment manager assured us that we would not hear street sounds inside, but we were awake long past midnight when fireworks were exploding above us!
Food is very expensive in Israel. We plan to prepare two meals each day on our own, so we shopped in the "shuk" (partially open-air market) yesterday on arrival in Jerusalem. Not knowing the currrency and local value of food makes it hard to shop, especially in a crowded place with people shouting in an unfamiliar language. For dinner last night, we went to a falafel stand down the street and ordered two shawarmas - turkey and lamb with vegetables, wrapped in a pita. We ate them outside among the Memorial Day revelers.It is interesting to be in Israel after a week in two largely Muslim countries. Orthodox Jews mix with the general population on the streets and in the markets, the men wearing tall hats and long ringlets hanging below their ears. Many of the non-Orthodox men wear yarmulkas (skull caps) as a symbol of reverence and humility. Today, we will begin to explore the old city, where Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian neighborhoods are separated into distinct quarters. We've seen much evidence in our travels of both religious separation and cooperation. One of the most interesting discoveries made on our journey thus far is that there is an Islamic mosque within the walls of St. Catherines Monastery in Egypt. The prophet Mohammed himself is said to have visited the Monastery and pledged that Muslim neighbors will always protect the church's property and the monks. The Bedouins have done so for centuries, and our new friends in St. Catherines spoke of the respectful relationship between the two faiths in that community.
A couple years ago, I preached a sermon on what Christians can learn from Muslims (part of a series on interfaith understanding) and I mentioned the emphasis in Islam on prayer and family relationships. We saw many examples of both with the Muslims we met in Jordan in Egypt. We didn't always appreciate the loud call to prayer from the nearby mosque at 4:30 in the morning, but we knew that those around us were waking early to pray. I do not know if we will have opportunity to speak with Palestinians while in Israel - including those from the sizeable Christian population here in Jerusalem and neighboring communities - but we will meet with missionaries working with Palestinian women.
There is so much to see and do in Jerusalem... it's hard to know where to start! We'll venture out on foot in a few minutes and see what today brings!
