Buffalo+Israel Experience Day 1: The Mall and The Wall
Our group of almost 80 arrived in Israel about 8:30 this morning after a 10-hour flight from Toronto. We cleared customs, got into our three busses, and drove to Jerusalem treated to a fascinating historical, geo-political, and cultural narration by our tour guide, Ezra Korman, a native of Ithaca, New York. Ezra is one of three guides—one for each of the busses.
What stood out (or maybe better, what “stuck out” through the fog of jet lag) were: the height of the hills we climbed to get to the city (close to 2,500 feet above sea level); the impending completion of a high-speed rail line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; the fact that Jerusalem has been conquered roughly 40 times in its roughly 4,000-year history; the open-air and super secular Mamilla Mall, outside the gates of the Old City, where we had lunch and got a chance to meet our fellow travelers; and the contrast to that of a late afternoon visit to the Western Wall, the most significant spiritual site in the world for the Jewish people.
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