Palestinian dinner party and some other stuff..

Old Jerusalem is like a blast from the past, err is the past... .that's really corny so let's start over.

Jerusalem is really neat...

Ok.. let's just look at some pictures first...

This is the room where tradition says that the last supper was had.

This is the wailing wall, or the west wall. It is the holiest spot in the world for Judaism. Basically this is the only spot on earth where Jews believe that a temple was authorized. And this wall is the closest point to "the holy of holies." This was anciently the wall where Solomon's temple was. People write prayers and stick them in the cracks. Underneath us there is are catacombs and paths which we took a tour of. This same spot, Jews claim, is where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac.

The dome if the background has now taken the place of where the temple was. It is called the Dome of the Rock. It is the third holiest site in Islam.

Jesus was buried in a tomb like this one. This is the actual tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Some kids were once throwing rocks at my friend Scott near the Mount of Olives when he was on a study abroad last year. They were Palestinian children. One day Scott went over and asked them their names and they went and got their parents. This was the beginning of a very good friendship between Scott and this family. We had the privilege of being invited to a dinner that really became an all evening feeding frenzy. I haven't eaten that much ever, and don't plan on it.

We were really impressed with the generosity of the family and what a great family they were. Their little girl was a fireball. While we were there she did everything from lock herself in the bedroom, to giving us all kisses, to singing and dancing for us. Kalli and I were both given gifts. Very nice gifts, you can see the coat I am wearing in the picture is a very nice suede jacket, it's brand new as far as I can tell. They gave Kalli shoes, sweater, and a very nice belt.

Words can't convey the warmth and hospitality that prevailed during our evening/afternoon. Their English was fairly good, and although our Arabic was nonexistent, but with some Spanish, German, and Scott's portion of Arabic we got along just fine. We will likely see this family again soon as we have been invited back.

My friend Scott is on the left.