We decided after all to head to Jerusalem for the day. We knew that the boarder patrol was going to be a hassle, but we did not really understand it until we got there! We woke up at 5am to head to the boarder with a taxi. We waited for an hour for the Jordanian border to open, than when it did, we waited another hour before we could get cleared to get on the bus (passports stamped, x-ray machines). The bus then took us to the Israeli border 15 min away. Albert noticed that the Israeli soldiers did not have there safety on and they had there finger on the trigger at almost all times…I guess this is wartime! They are always prepared for battle! This is where things became tricky! We must first give our get our passports checked for stamps of countries that were not friendly with Israel, then we went through x-ray machines again and then our bags were checked again, Albert was interrogated. They thought his camel back had milk in it…anyways; we were finally able to go through customs. We asked to get the Israeli stamp on a piece of paper so that we don’t have problems entering other countries like Kuwait and Dubai (Those are the countries I plan on visiting after Israel that will not allow me entrance with an Israeli stamp). They allowed us to get the paper stamped. That’s a good thing for us, especially Albert who needs to go back to Kuwait and Iraq for the military! Which you cannot enter with an Israeli stamp…We then had to wait longer for a taxi to get to Jerusalem, which we finally arrived at around 11 or 12pm. The return trip was even worse of a wait, as the boarder did not open until later.
Jerusalem is a city surrounded by a great wall, one of them being the western wall where people come from all over the world to pray. We entered Jerusalem from the great Jaffa gate. I was surprised to see what the inside of Jerusalem was like. It was as if I was walking in a maze. The walls were high and narrow and the passage ways were sometimes covered like a cave with steps. Around every corner were shops and cafes. We finally found our hostel. The inside looked like a cave from the stone age. Our room was also cave like (see pics). Our first destination was to get some lunch! We found a falafel place where we had falafel sandwiches with salad and eggplant stuffed inside a pita (see pics). It was sooo yummy and vegetarian . Next we visited the Western Wall. What an experience!!! There was a makeshift wall separating the wall into male and female sides. After touching the wall and praying for world peace, I wrote a prayer and also stuck it into a crack in the wall. Albert and I met at the fountain where I washed my hands. Albert told me that he had this strange feeling come over him. He has never felt it before…It was god, I am sure of it! Which he does not believe in god! This was a wake up call for him. I also felt a great power after leaving the wall. Despite the 100.00 F (38 C) heat, I had severe chills that I could not shake. I did not realize how cold I was until Albert told me his story and then I realized how strange I also felt. It’s a feeling that can not be described by words, so I will leave it at that…it’s something that must be experienced to understand. Before we entered there was a sign written by the Rabbi saying that, “You are approaching a holy site of the Western Wall where the Divine Presence always rests. Please make sure you are appropriately and modestly dressed so as not to cause harm to this holy place or to the feeling of the worshippers”. Maybe that explains the feelings.
We then walked to the room of the last supper (Coenaculum). This is the site of one of the most famous painting in the world. The one where Jesus shares his last supper with his disciples. This place gave us also an eerie feeling. I felt as if we were not alone in this room. There was also a cat sitting in there. They say that you find cats in places where ghosts reside.
As we were leaving, I asked a Jewish Rabbi for directions and he asked if I was Jewish. I dont think so I told him....He said that he could sense that I was Jewish...I know that my relatives in Poland during WWII were sent to the concentration camps, but that is as much as I know...As for being jewish??? His college told me to take him seriously because he was phsycic.
We saw more than we expected as we walked the streets of Jerusalem. We saw the site of Virgin Mary’s birth place, Jesus’ prison and we walked the street called Via Delarosa (the famous walk where Jesus walked with his cross before he was nailed to it). We walked inside and outside of Jerusalem and saw all the quarters of Jerusalem (the Christian quarter, the Jewish quarter ect.
We decided to check our emails before dinner time. I was shocked to read that my friend Nitin’s uncle that I am staying with in Delhi had a stroke! He forgot how to do many small tasks and loss the use of one of his arms. He was so worried about me, despite his accident. He was eager to get in touch with me! Bless his little heart! He is not well and still one of his main concerns is my well being! He is such a kind man, and I worry about him! I then went directly back to the Western Wall to pray for him and to write my prayer on paper and place it in the crack in the wall. I know god will help him!
Our next day we went to the Dead Sea in Jordan. We stayed at a spa resort (the only option if you want to stay the night at the dead sea). It was worth it!!!(see pics). There were many pools and spas, but the best part was the actually sea. I did not know that it would be so easy to float. It is the lowest place on Earth and the sea is 27% salt. This makes you much much more buoyant. One of my favorite pics is when I am reading an Arabic newspaper while floating. Lol. The water felt and looked very different. It felt silky and looked as if it were not water at all, but oil. I tried to take a close up pic of the consistency, but it did not work… There was also a barrel full of the dead sea mud (very good for the skin) near the sea where we rubbed all over our skin.
Later that evening we ate dinner while watching belly dancers and smoking Sheesha (flavored tobacco).
Before leaving for the airport the next day, we took one last dip in the Dead Sea and were on our way to Kuwait. I got a Kuwaiti stamp in my passport . One of the strangest kisses that I have seen was in Kuwait. This is where two men greet each other and rub there noses together like an Eskimo kiss and make kissing sounds. After Kuwait I was off to Dubai. I got to the airport at 12:45 am. I had to leave to get my luggage and was not able to get back into the main part until 3 hrs before boarding my next flight (which was not until 7pm the next day). There was also no internet, so I went to the office of Gulf Air (my airline) and they let me use there computer to check my email. They also gave me 2 mango juices, chips, and a giant Egyptian chocolate bar! How nice! I checked to see if my friend Manvir got my email that I was coming to Dubai. If she got it, than I was hoping that she could pick me up and I could stay with her for the night and day. But I got no email in response, so I found a nice bench and slept there until I was too cold to sleep (4hrs later). I then woke up to see Dubai. It was Friday and that meant that most things were either closed or did not open until later. Fridays are holy days in Dubai where ppl pray all day. I went to the taxi stand to ask if they could take me downtown. It was expensive, so the taxi driver gave me his card for the bus because you could not buy a new card on Fridays. So I gave him some money for his help. I waited for the bus and I saw the world’s tallest building and the most expensive hotel in the world. I also learned that Dubai’s infrastructure is not as good as everyone thinks. For example the famous tallest building is falling apart and is still not in use. People in Dubai were very helpful. I met a local metro worker who gave me his metro card to use to go use the bus and go to the mall while I waited 2 hrs for the metro to reopen after prayer time.
After Dubai I was on my way to Thailand  I was sat on the plane next to an interesting government worker. I can not say what he does (prob not a good idea for me to talk about it…I don’t want any red flags with my name on it). I learned so much about what really is going on in the middle east….like world domination of the militias ect….

Pics coming later...