A Jerusalem Birthday!

April 27th was my birthday and I was lucky enough to celebrate in Jerusalem this year! I gave some thought to what I wanted to do for my birthday this year, as I have no idea if I will have another "Jerusalem birthday" in the future or not. Although some of my initial hopes/plans did not end up working out, I still enjoyed the day immensely and wouldn't trade a thing!

I actually began doing my list of desired activities on Monday, the 26th. I have been wanting to go back to Masada ever since arriving in Israel in January, and I wanted to go before summer arrived with its baking temperatures. It was looking like I would be attempting this trip by myself, but a special couple I met the Friday before offered to go with me. It was their first time to Masada and my fourth. Ken and Judith were great company, and I enjoyed being able to explore the rest of Masada's plateau that we've never had time for in '04, '06, and '08. It was definitely a warm day and I am glad I went now!

That adventure began early Monday morning as we left Christ Church to catch the 8:15 bus from Jaffa Gate up to Jerusalem's Central Bus Station. It was a slow trip due to traffic, and we arrived at the station with barely ten minutes to stand in line, buy our tickets, make a quick stop, and then board the bus for a 1 hour/40 minute ride down to Masada. It was an uneventful ride, and I was so excited to have figured out the bus system thus far and actually be on my way!!

We arrived at Masada a little before 11am, watched a short video of its history, and then rode the cable car up to the top. From there, we spent 3 hours walking around the plateau (it measures about 1800 x 900 feet). We had brought some snacks for lunch and bought ice cream when we returned back down to the entrance center. Ken and Judith treated me to my ice cream! :-)

By the way, Masada has quite an intriguing history, check out wikipedia for an overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada.

Masada is a plateau on the west side of the Dead Sea; these cliffs are about 1300 feet high.

One of the new things I got to see was this enormous water cistern, built during King Herod's reign. It is 64 steps below ground, and the steps are quite uneven and steep. Given my past history with stairs in Israel, I went down and up these steps extremely carefully! :-)
Can you believe how huge this cistern is? It doesn't rain often in this region, so Herod took advantage of what little rain does fall and built a complex water system. If this cistern were full and water was used judiciously, it would last quite a while!

Herod built a three-tiered palace on the northern end of Masada. The bottom two tiers are built on the side of the plateau and offer incredible views of the Dead Sea region. This is looking down from the top floor at the lower tiers.

The lowest tier of Herod's northern palace. I had not had opportunity my previous three visits to climb down here, so it was one of my priorities this time! This is looking back up at the top of the palace (the place where I took the previous picture). The columns and paint are original from Herod's time.
A look at the stairs I had to climb back up from the third tier of Herod's northern palace to the top of the Masada plateau. I definitely got my work out this day!
Looking east from Herod's northern palace . . .

After touring Masada and eating ice cream, Ken, Judith and I caught the 3:20pm bus back to Jerusalem. We got off at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem's New City and I opted to walk back to Christ Church rather than wait for the bus to come and then make twenty dozen stops along the way. Ken and Judith took the bus back, and I think they did beat me back. It was about a 35 minute walk back for me, but it was quite pleasant as Jerusalem is higher in elevation than Masada and cooler. I got back to Christ Church about 6pm--just in time to clean up for dinner!

My traveling companions from Masada--Ken and Judith (from Australia!).

I started celebrating my birthday on Tuesday by sleeping in! The original plans for that morning fell through, but I happily substituted sleeping in for those. After a lazy morning, I had morning tea consisting of pita bread and a cup of hot chocolate made special for the day by Rafi. (silly computer turned this picture sideways; I can't get it back around, but Rafi made a flower on the top!)


For lunch, I walked to Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter to enjoy a falafel in their busy "Food Court."


Following lunch and a little bit of shopping, I decided to treat myself to ice cream on Ben Yehuda Street. This is in Jerusalem's New City; it's a good 15-20 minute walk, so I had to earn my cold treat. :-) There is a great ice cream shop that offers all kinds of flavors; I stuck to my favorites--a waffle cone with chocolate and cherry ice cream (two separate flavors, not mixed together!).



Following that sweet treat, I had one more treat planned for the day. I have walked past a flower shop many times since I got here 3 1/2 monts ago and often been tempted to buy some flowers. I have resisted temptation, thinking that would be my treat to myself on my birthday this year. Finally, the day had arrived! I got to pick what flowers I wanted; of course, I picked all purple and white. The bouquet is quite large and only cost me 50 shekels (about $13.50)! I think this bouquet is absolutely gorgeous and am enjoying it immensely!



I finished out my birthday by watching a movie with a friend. We stopped it in the middle to go have dinner and my sweet friends here had planned a little birthday surprise. Michelle had worked late to make a birthday cake! After dinner, they turned out the lights in the dining room while she brought out the cake (complete with candles), and everybody sang Happy Birthday. It was a chocolate chip cake with chocolate/cream cheese frosting--absolutely delicious! Michelle had even made up purple frosting with which to decorate it!


While we all enjoyed this fabulous cake, Michelle asked where I was on my birthday last year. As I stopped to think and remember, it was interesting to realize that one year ago, I had absolutely no idea I would be celebrating my 2010 birthday in Jerusalem. It just goes to show one never knows what a year will bring! In my case, this past year has brought some fabulous opportunities and I will never forget my Jerusalem birthday!

Thank you to all my friends who made my birthday so special!!!

April holidays and happenings

Three important holidays in the nation of Israel took place during April.

The first one began at sundown on Sunday, April 11th--Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) in Hebrew. Yom HaShoah was actually inaugurated in 1951 by then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. The day of mourning officially begins with a state ceremony at the Warsaw Ghetto Plaza at Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocaust museum). During this ceremony, a national flag is lowered to half-mast, and flags throughout the country remained at half mast all day Monday. At 10:00am on Monday morning, air raid sirens sounded for two minutes. During these two minutes, everything and everyone in the country stopped to remember those who were killed in the Holocaust, as well as family members still affected today by those cruel and horrible events. This includes cars on the highways--basically, the entire country comes to a complete stop while the sirens wail.

At Christ Church, those who were able gathered in the dining room at 10 on Monday morning to light candles and observe the two minutes of silence. After that, Paul read from the book of Isaiah, the shema was sung, and prayers were said. The candles remained lit the rest of the day as a reminder.

The next Sunday evening (April 18th), Israel's Memorial Day began (Yom Hazikaron). This is also a solemn national holiday meant to remember soldiers killed in the line of duty as well as civilians killed by acts of terrorism. This year, the country remembered 22,684 soldiers and 2,431 civilian victims (according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Hazikaron). The day begins at sunset, and the first of two sirens sounds at 8:00pm for one minute. Cars, pedestrians, buses, etc all stop for this moment to mourn those who have lost their lives in Israel's struggle for freedom. The official ceremony to mark the beginning of this day takes place at the Western Wall, and flags are again lowered to half mast.

The sirens sound again at 11:00am the next morning. They wail for two minutes and mark the beginning of official memorial ceremonies as well as private gatherings held simultaneously at all the cemeteries where fallen soldiers are buried. The day officially ends sometime between 7-8pm, in an official Israel Memorial Day service on Mount Herzl, after which the flag is returned to full staff.

Interestingly, as Israel's Memorial Day comes to a close, Independence Day begins (Yom Ha'atzmaut). Marking these two days back to back is intentional, as it is a reminder of the price that has been/is being paid for independence, but it also is a reminder that these deaths are not in vain--they secure the independence of the nation of Israel. Connecting these two holidays makes them more powerful and meaningful in my opinion. It would be like celebrating Memorial Day the day before July 4th in America.

Here in Israel, the change in mood at sundown Monday evening was tangible--from mourning to celebration. The ceremony on Mount Herzl that closes Memorial Day also serves to begin Independence Day. Twelve torches are lit, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel.

I had this Monday off and had walked up to Ben Yehuda street that afternoon, mostly just for exercise and fresh air. That evening, a group of volunteers from Christ Church walked back up to Ben Yehuda Street, and the atmosphere was completely different. Ben Yehuda (and the surrounding area) are considered the symbolic center of Jerusalem (which in turn is considered to be the center of Israel), and it is the place to be to celebrate Israel's independence. Police barricades stood at every entrance to the mall, and street vendors had tables set up on every corner (and in between!). They hawked plastic hammers, all kinds of light-up trinkets, and more. Our group walked up and down this area of celebration before sitting down for ice cream.

I didn't stay real late as I had breakfast shift the next morning, but it was a great opportunity to experience local culture and celebrate Israeli holidays. Later that evening, fireworks were set off, much like America's July 4th celebrations. I didn't see them as I was in bed :-), but I did hear them!

In fact, the next night as Israel's Independence Day came to a close, fireworks were once again set off. I didn't see these either, but they produced an unexpected and scary result. A firework apparently landed on a building not half a mile from the Christ Church compound and set it on fire!

It has been claimed that the Petra Hostel is the oldest continually-operating hotel in Jerusalem. It has hosted such guests as Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. The hostel itself was built in the 1800s by the Russian Orthodox Church and is between Jaffa Gate and the entrance to the shuk.

Anyway, the small building on the roof of the hostel became inflamed after its encounter with a firework. A lecture was going on in the Heritage Center at Christ Church, but some of us volunteers heard the news while other guests were perusing the museum's exhibits. We hurried out to the street and it was quite a sight! People filled the street looking up at the burning building, a fire truck or two were parked on the street below, and firemen were standing on the roof right beside this building spraying water on the flames. As far as I could tell, they were not wearing the traditional gear US firefighters would have been wearing, especially since they were standing right next to the burning building many stories above the street.

I watched the flames for a half-hour or so. As they began to die down, I returned to the lecture inside. I peeked back out at the Petra later that night to find the fire completely out. It is definitely one of the advantages to these buildings constructed of stone--the fire did not burn down through other levels, and floors did not collapse. But, it was something to see!

One observation and one thought . . . If that firework had fallen a half-mile further south, it would have been Christ Church! Secondly, I know many of my friends back home are concerned about the safety of Jerusalem . . . Although I have heard of various incidents and clashes in/around Jerusalem since my arrival in January, this is the first real "excitement" I've encountered. Imagine--a fire from fireworks. :-)

On a more somber note, one of the volunteers here knows the person who had been living in the building that caught on fire. She had just spent the whole day with her (and others from a nearby organization) that day.

Here are some pictures of the Petra Hostel fire . . .




The view in the daylight the next morning . . .


On a more upbeat note, on Saturday April 24th, I attended a Messianic concert in Jerusalem's New City. I really wrestled with whether to go or not for many reasons, but I was strongly advised by two friends at lunch that day to go, so I took their advice. I was so glad I did! The music was beautiful, the company great, and it was such a fun evening out. Thank you Beno and John for pushing me to go!!!

The music was mostly performed by Paul Wilbur and Joel Chernoff . . .


One last item of notice . . . my second Israeli haircut took place the Thursday before my birthday. :-) Deanna does such a lovely job!

Andreas (the first) also got a haircut that afternoon . . .