Israel (3), or the old city of Jerusalem

Big gallery of pictures taken in Jerusalem, some months ago. The weather was a bit colder than expected. Coming from the lower parts of the country (literally, the lowest, the dead sea), it felt a bit chillier here. I was cloudy and rainy at times. Not too different from the weather in UK!

The old city feels chaotic. Crowded of people of all places and faiths, tourists and locals, people from everywhere gather here for different reasons. The biggest one is the religious for sure, but some people like me were just following a friend that wanted to come here. And I was curious about the place too. Even if you don’t feel like talking to your imaginary friends, this place is really special. There is this feeling of historic vertigo, willing to explore every corner, danger, and fascination, all at the same time. And at some point too, tiredness. It’s really easy to get lost in the labyrinthic narrow alleyways of this old place. At times the gps in your mobile doesn’t seem to work, and all you want is a pomegranate juice and rest in one of the hundreds of tiny shops where they prepare it right in front of you. Speaking of shops, it was surprising to me the amount of them. Before coming here I thought about this place to be like a preserved piece of time from millennia ago, for all the religions that find a meaning here, etc.. and yes of course, it is that, but it is also a gigantic bazaar where you can find souvenirs of all kinds, all sorts of food, barber shops, even photography studios!

But nothing really happened during the time spent there. Security more proper of an airport it seemed to me. It all felt safe enough, although a bit tense at times. That was the part that felt dangerous and paranoid to me. The situation here is known by everyone to be complicated, to say the least. In every corner you could find armed men and woman, asking for identifications, metal detector arcs to enter in some areas, CCTV cameras staring at everything and everyone, and depending on your religious/ethnic background you are not allowed to enter certain parts of the city.

One day was enough, although I reckon that this place deserves more time, a second opportunity to appreciate better things missed.