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Friday, March 9, 2012

... from Jerusalem

It's hard to imagine two cities so unlike each other as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv: the ancient and the new, the religious and the secular, the chilly and the warm, the hilly and the flat... sometimes it's hard to perceive that these are the two cities of the same country, set only 60 kilometers one from another.

When I first came to Israel, Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, was my first Hebrew city. (I wrote a post about it a while ago.) A bunch of teenagers who arrived to Israel as a part of The Jewish Agency youth immigration initiative, we were in constant awe of the city, its history, its spirit. We spent all of our weekends (and many of our evenings) wandering around the city, by foot of course, discovering Jerusalem neighborhood by neighborhood: the proletarian-bourgeois mix of Katamon, the fancy Rehavia, the beautiful German Colony, the artistic Yemin Moshe, but most of all - the Old City.
Because nothing in Jerusalem could really compare to the Old City. I think that more than anything we just couldn't believe that all of a sudden all this amazing heritage became available to us, our to discover, to touch, to walk on. This was like waking up each morning in a history book, and be able to live between its pages.

After I finished my university studies, I moved to Tel Aviv: finding employment there was so much easier. At first, I thought that after a few years I'll move back to Jerusalem. I couldn't imagine parting from this city. But eventually, Tel Aviv grew on me; now I couldn't think of leaving the coast, the cafes, the bustling street life.

Yesterday our team went to a day trip to Jerusalem. We drove to the city, parked in the recently build open street Mamilla mall, crossed over and entered the Old City at Jaffa Gate. We then climbed the stairs to the rooftop of the "Petra" hostel, situated right by the gate. And wow, what an amazing view can you see from this rooftop: the Dome of the Rock mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and tiled rooftops of the Old City, and on the distant hills the towers of the Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives. And I recalled my first years in Israel, and felt the awe I had then, when I saw these domes, towers and hills for the first time.
In "Jerusalem Hills daily photo", Dina had written about the view from "Petra" hotel here and here - take a look to learn a bit about this place.


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12 comments:

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Beautiful photos, and nice post.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely photos and a neat post on your life in Tel-Aviv. Thanks for sharing, happy skywatching!

jewaicious said...

Thank you for sharing such beautiful photos and your story with us.

I enjoyed the comparisons of the cities.

Dina said...

What a delightful post. I especially love the personal parts of it.
I'm so glad you still love Jerusalem even though you have become a Tel Avivit.
Shabbat shalom.

Birgitta said...

Such beautiful shots!
Have a nice weekend you too.

LadyFi said...

What an amazing city. Lovely shots.

Melissa said...

Beautiful photos. My eleven-year-old son wishes to go praying by the wailing Wall. It would mean a lot to him.

Nisha said...

This is one city I really want to go soon. It has attracted me no end and your pictures are making me more envious now. :)

Valladolid Daily Photo said...

Great post. I love the frame.

Tatjana Parkacheva said...

Beautiful cadres from Tel-Aviv.

Regards and best wishes

Anonymous said...

What beautiful views...

Laura said...

beautiful...I've not been to Jerusalem since I was 16... a very long time ago. Your photos take me back. Thank you.