21-23 04 08 Jerusalem , Betlehem

After another morning stroll around Tel Aviv and a visit of th modern art museum, we met up with my Israeli friends Shiran and Illy. Sooooo great to see them again after more than 16 months. Seemed as if we"d never quit each other.
As they were occupied with visiting some other friends in Tel Aviv, we headed direction Jerusalem, couching there 2 nights...just right for 2 1/2 power-sightseeing days.
Power-sightseing??? This means, running through the city until 10pm, getting up the following day at 5am.....this way we managed to see quiet q lot of this great city in which you could stay for weeks without getting bored.
The main attraction of Jerusalem definetely is the "Old City"....cos this best represents this mixture. Holy for 3 different religions (Jewish, Christians, Muslim), there are more mosques, churches , synagoges as you can imagine. And within 10 minutes you ar from a totally Arabic quarter, markets, chaos and dirt to a clean, ultraorthodox place....
really really strange. Combined with tons of soldiers all patroling over the city..this definetely is a crazy mixture...
Away from the old city (with the temple mount as the plac of foundation of the world..., the place of Jesus last supper), there are tons of other places to explore. The Mount of olives, the different quarters of all kinds of immigrants (Germans, French, American)....and especially Yad Vashem, a museum reflecting the hostory of millions of victims of the holocaust...deeply impressive and moving.
Meeting up with Shiran & Illy again, making them move a step forward, measn tying them in the Arabic quarters....and then alone with Alex heading to Bethlehem in Palestine, the place of Jesus birth...
Sooooo many sights...think we have to take a break tomorrow....Beach time!!!