Today was sunday. I went shopping. I played with friends. I bought food. I went to other churches but not my own. I was a rebellious little girl. Crazy, having Sunday on a Saturday and having Saturday on a Sunday. It is CRAZY!
Well I actually had a fabulous day! I ate breakfast and studied a little bit. (I am pretty sure I have senioritis because I don't want to do homework...ever. Or maybe it is because I would rather be social and go out into the city. Both are very valid options.)
Then I went into the city with some people. It went from a group of seven to a group of three to a group of seven to a group of nine to a group of four. It was pretty fun.
I started out going to a money changer named Aladin. He is pretty awesome and I have heard that he gives the best rates for BYU students. I think that is very nice of him.
After the money changer I headed into the old city and went shopping. I only bought food today but scouted out some prices for good items. I didn’t realize before I left that there was going to be so much shopping available here.
We spent a really long time shopping but then we stopped for some Falafel (every time I say that I feel like I am jumbling up my words. Try saying it five times fast). It was alright but not my favorite. Is all food here more of an acquired taste?
Then I headed to the Holy Sepulcher again. I love that place. We went to more of the places in it. I didn’t know many of the places until after when I came home and looked in my book about what each section of the church was. It is pretty amazing. There was a special place for where they say the crucifixion took place, and Jesus’ tomb. I feel very at home in Christian buildings probably because of my time in London. It is pretty amazing.
Next we went to the Dome of the Rock. What a beautiful building. Apparently they used to let people in every once in a while. Now, they don’t anymore. What a bummer!
After that we sauntered over to the Jewish Synagogue. We couldn’t get in because they only let people in during prayer times or for tours. But it was so much fun walking through the Jewish quarter. At one point we headed through a Jewish school yard and it was absolutely delightful.
A few people had told us that we could walk on the wall of the old city in some place for 16 shekels. When we were trying to make our way out of the city we found a place to walk on the wall for free! It was awesome! It was amazing to look over the wall and see the rest of the city.
Then we left the city through Dung gate. Doesn’t that sound delightful? Apparently it used to be used to take the ash out of the temple, thus the name. Now it is the smallest gate that leads out of the old city.
On our way home we stopped by the Virgin Mary’s tomb, and I think tomorrow may be her death day. It was interesting; there were a lot of candles there to celebrate her. It was beautiful.
Then I came back to the center. It gets so extremely hot and I was so yucky. Honestly, I usually don’t sweat very much but every time I get back from the city I feel disgusting. I sat down to study some more and naturally fell asleep.
Dinner was chicken curry. It was delicious. Did you know that I love curry?
It has been a delightful day and now I am going to do some more reading. :)
