So it's here the adventure begins.... after an extreamly trauma free journey to Israel I arrive at around 7.20pm, collected my visa and headed out of the airport to find a ride to Jerusalem. I had originally intended to get a shurrot which is a shared taxi, kind of like a shuttle bus, the downside to this is that you have to wait for them to fill up before they go. I got chatting to a guy who sat near me on the plane and we decided to share a taxi. It was getting late at night and where I was staying on Jerusalem Old City does not allow any kind of vehicle so I still had to find my way on foot from the city walls. A questionable Israeli man also asked if he could share with us which Jonny agreed to dispite the discouraging look on my face. However, it turned out he was out saving grace as the text driver did not speak much English so the man translated for us. Once we reached the city of Jerusalem which only took about half hour it was abundantly clear we had arrived in the city of the Jews.
Everywhere you turn there were men wearing Kippa's (skullcaps to us) and many of the Orthodox Jews with the Shtreimel (large round fur hats) with the standard side curls as well as the Tallit-Katans (undershirt with knotted tassels which hang out the bottom) as well as the woman with long skirts and long sleeved tops (never trousers) I literally struggled to find a non Jewish person in the crowds! It was fascinating! Jonny was giving me a mini Jewish history lesson in the taxi as he was also Jewish although not here on pilgrimage.
The taxi driver was obviously very proud of his country and magically seemed to speak English very well as he proceeded to spend most of the journey telling us why. We talked about where I was staying and he seemed concerned I was staying in the old city and just keep saying 'I'm sure you will be ok' in a very unconvincing way. This concerned me slightly as he pulled up next this huge stone gate. The 'gate' was a massive stone archway with an impressive demeanour. This was Damascus gate. At either side of the gate stood 5 police officers with machine guns constantly watching everyone which made me feel safe for a split second before remembering why they were there on the first place! On entering I faced with a maze of small alleyways with metal shutters either side and large stoned streets. I knew that if any point I went the wrong was I would be lost in this crazy maze. So luckily I stick to my directions and made my way to my hostel without any hiccups. Although I was a little intimidated along the way as Israeli men do not feel the need to hide their stares or comments.
Once I arrived at the hostel which was in a side street of the original maze I walked up the stairs to into what seemed to be someone's living room. The hostel I chose in the old city was not luxurious or any kind of star rating but I chose it because the building itself was 2000 years old and was made of these beautiful stone rocks that arch over the ceiling, (I'll add a picture so you can see how lovely it was!) and of course the location. Right on the centre of the action!