Day 5 - New Friends

Here's a photo of my first new friend, Joseph.  I bought the earrings and chai (life/living) symbol necklace from him.  They're blue malachite from the depths of the Red Sea (exact color as my pants).  He and his sons prepared chai (tea) with mint for me, and now we say "hi" whenever I walk past to or from Ecce Homo.  One son has been trying to get me to come in to see a bracelet with the same malachite, but I've withstood his entreaties.

My big accomplishment while in Jerusalem has been having fun saying "no, thank you" to the merchants while still being friendly.

The problem with putting this blog together is editing the photos before posting them.  I love doing that, but it takes time and then I write and then hours pass and then it's 5 in the morning.  Sigh...


I guess the big event of Day 5 was seeing the Western Wall - or actually, being in the square where everyone was there to see the wall.  I guess I've taken so many photos of people in the Old City because it's the only place where there's any color.  Jerusalem is all beige, too.


Here are my favorites...


The woman in the turquoise shawl (foreground) has it on to achieve "modesty."  Women hand them out at the entrances to the square.

The next one is my second favorite of the trip (right behind the Swiss Guards).

I just liked how everyone was looking a different direction, and the colors.

Notice what the sign says.  The main entrance to the square from the west is segregated, too.

There are cats everywhere in the streets of the Old City.  These two look pretty hopeful.

Smoke break.

Decisions, decisions.

What do they call "siesta" in Arabic???

Cultures co-existing.

Something for everyone!

Okay - that's all the photos for Day 5.  I made some other friends, Kris and Michael, from Portland, Oregon, at dinner here at Ecce Homo that night.  They invited me to go with them to Bethlehem the next day.  Lots of photos from that outing, plus a story to tell.