Israel: First Impressions of Jerusalem

We came into Jerusalem just as the sun was setting. We were able to find our hostel and get settled in for the night after such an adventurous day!

Our hostel, which I will blog more about later, was the home of a famous Israeli. It was set up in dormitory style. We all slept in single bunk beds, but they were clean and comfy. The next morning, we were served breakfast. Much of it reminded us of Turkish breakfast. Bread, jam, cucs, tomatoes. All normal. But we don't have cottage cheese in Turkey, so that was fun! And tuna? For breakfast? Straight out of the can? Three of my kids devoured it and are asking for tuna in their lunches now. They smelled like little kitty cats all day.

The kids were troopers. Parking was difficult, so we walked into the Old City, which was several kilometers.

Just behind the plant, you see a hillside. This was where the people (in Bible times) came to throw their trash. It is called Gehenna. It was also where apostate Israelites were sent and those who chose to follow Baal and Moloch went to sacrifice their children. It has come to be a word for "hell."

I suppose it made a deep impression on me because it was the first site that CC pointed out in Jerusalem that I recognized from my Bible reading.

This was my first view of the Mount of Olives and the hillside of graves lining it.