Israel & the Palestinian Territories

Hi all! Nigel and I are now traveling around Israel and Palestine. Our last week in Dahab flew by! On our last night we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant then went out for a few beers with some friends. Although we had a great few months, we were both definitely ready to leave.
We took the bus from Dahab to Taba and from there we had to walk across the border into Israel. My dive bag that I'd purchased the day before ripped all the way down the side as we were crossing...should've known better than to buy an Egyptian quality bag! Once we had crossed into Israel we then had to take a bus to the bus station in Eilat where we then got on another bus for the five hour journey in Tel Aviv. There were lots of soliders riding the bus as well and they all had huge machine guns, which is a bit scary to see. In Israel everyone (men and women) has to serve two years in the army at the age of 18 so most of these soliders with big guns were just kids. We arrived in Tel Aviv around 8pm at night, it'd been a very long day. We checked into MoMo's hostel and straight away met a group of four Americans....I couldn't believe it! Apparently there is a program called Birthright and Jewish Americans can come to Israel for free so there are huge tour groups of teenagers everywhere. That night we went out to dinner with the guys and were shocked by how expensive everything was. We were spoiled by living in Egypt where everything is so cheap and you can eat for around $2 a meal but the food here is alot nicer! The next day we walked around the city which is very westernized and has a beautiful beach. Eventhough Egypt and Israel are so close it felt like being in a totally different world and we were happy to be back in civilization. We walked through the busy Carmel markets selling everything from fruit to socks, through the expensive shopping district, then along the boardwalk to Old Jaffa and the clock tower and sat on the beach and watched the surfers and sunset. Supposedly Tel Aviv has an awesome nightlife but we were too tired and too poor to go out.
This morning we had an hour bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. As soon as we stepped off the bus we noticed straight away the difference from Tel Aviv. Here the Jewish people all dress in the traditional black suits and big hats and have the two long, curly sideburns. We were told of a good hostel in East Jerusalem so we got in a cab and went....turns out East Jerusalem is also Palestine. So our hostel is smack dab in the middle of the Arab area but it is alot cheaper in this area. We put our bags away and then went across the street to go sightseeing in the Old City. The Old City is surrounded by an enormous wall and you have to enter through the gates and stupid us, not remembering that it is Friday and the Muslim holy day, went to go enter when thousands of Palestinians were trying to exit from going to the mosque...it was insane! Inside is a maze of narrow alleyways and markets and the entire city is divided into four quarters; the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the main Christian site where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. Afterwards we went to the Wailing Wall, the main Jewish site where people stick prayers in the crack of the wall. I accidentally walked down to the mens prayer area and was instructed to go to the other side where the women pray...oops. We walked to the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim site, but weren't allowed to go in since its their holy day and only Muslims are allowed in. Our hostel gave us free dinner and then we went for a walk around the rest of the area. At sundown it became the Jewish holy day of Shabbat or Sabbath. All of the sudden, after not seeing one Jewish person in the Arab neighborhood all day, thousands of people walked down the street into the Old City to go for their turn of prayers. There were a few police cars lining the streets to keep the peace. It all seems so odd because it is so segregated. Nigel and I stood there eating ice creams in the middle of the square while on the sidewalk on our left walked all of these Jewish people in the Orthodox dress and to our right were all of these Muslim people in their robes and scarves covering their hair.
It truly is a fascinating place. I have learned so much about all of the different religions and traditions since being here. Everyone, both the Palestinians and the Israelies, have been so friendly. Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank and I was really confused by that because the West Bank is actually in the East of Israel but its called that because it used to be part of Jordan which would make it the western part of Jordan, confusing) and to the Dead Sea. I'm sure it will be another interesting day!
xoxo