Oh what a week it has been. We spent the 24^th and 25^th in Tel Aviv then headed up North for the rest of the week. Tel Aviv’s beaches are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The water is clean and clear. The sand is fine. And surprisingly, the beaches aren’t that crowded.

Our tiyul (trip) up North was a complete 360 from the relaxing atmosphere of Tel Aviv. It was very physically wearing and left us exhausted. Most of our time was spent hiking. The first day we climbed Mount Arbel. Arbel is the only mountain in Israel that has been certified for base jumping due to its steep cliffs. Near the top is an ancient castle built in to the side of the mountain. We explored the ruins and took in the stunning view of the North Israel countryside.

On day two of the tiyul, we traveled to Nahal Zavitan in the Yehudiya Nature Reserve for a three hour hike to swim in the natural springs. The terrain varied from desert like volcanic rock clearings to lush rainforests to vast prairie land. About two hours in we came across the first large natural springs. The water had a green tint, but was clear enough to see many feet down. The pool was created by natural basalt formations. The formations jut out of the earth in the shape of hexagons to form the walls, floor, cliffs and surrounding area. The pool was a good 15 plus feet deep allowing for us to dive off of the equally tall cliff adjacent to the pool.

After the hike we boarded the bus and drove to the Golan Heights lookout that overlooks Lebanon. As you may have noticed in the picture from the top of Mt. Abel, most of the Middle East is enveloped in a cloud of dust and sand. The cloud greatly reduces visibility and tints the sky brown creating a less than appealing view. On the bright side, I got to ride a metal dinosaur (part of the art installation at the Golan Heights lookout).

Day three we went on one last hike up a mountainside to see a fort abandoned by the British as they left Israel in the 1940′s. The fort was then occupied by the Arabs before being seized by the Israeli’s shortly thereafter.

Thursday our group toured the Old City of Jerusalem. We entered through Jaffa Gate to the most spectacular view. The architecture dates back to many ages throughout history—from the establishment of the Second Temple to the Crusaders conquering and massacring the entire population of Jerusalem.

We followed the pathway of the outer wall to see stunning views of inside the Old City. Below is a panoramic of the Armenian Quarter, Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter and Muslim Quarters.

After touring the Jewish Quarter, and stopping off at the Western Wall, we made our way to the nearby City of David.

While in the city, we explored recent excavations of historical sites, eventually ending up at an ancient waterway. The waterway was built thousands of years ago when the city’s water source was located outside of the main city in a valley. The secret underground tunnel was dug to ensure that enemies could not cut off Jerusalem’s water supply. The tunnels weren’t for the claustrophobic or those afraid of dark. There are no lights in except for our flashlights and the water depth, wall width and height of the tunnels seemed to change at every moment. At times the water was up to our waists and at other times the ceilings were so low we would have to crouch. The average width of the tunnel was only a couple of feet.

Yom Kippur ended today. Our first Yom Kippur in Jerusalem was great. Before the holiday started, we invited everyone in the group over for a “before the fast” dinner/lunch. Ashley made the most amazing challah bread. The fast lasted from Friday at 5:20pm to Saturday at 6:18pm, during which time we had no food or drinks. The fast went surprisingly well. Ashley and I slept in this morning then took a late morning walk around Jerusalem. The rest of the day we spent with our friends and at the synagogue. The whole town was awkwardly devoid of modern conveniences. Even the secular don’t drive on Yom Kippur. All the street lights are turned off (they all flash yellow) and children are playing in the middle of the street (and highways). The only car we saw was a United Nations minivan. After the holiday/fast ended we joined a few friends for a family style dinner.

We’ve been in Jerusalem for nearly two weeks now. Time really flies.

Ashley and I moved in to our new apartment last week. The apartment is stunning. I’ve included pictures at the end of the post. We’re still without Internet. It was originally going to be installed last Thursday, then it was pushed back to last Sunday (Sun-Thur work weeks here), now we don’t know. The whole country goes on holiday this week for Rosh Hashanah, meaning we may not get Internet for awhile.

We began our Hebrew lessons (Ulpan) yesterday. We have Ulpan everyday from 9am to 1pm from now until October. Come October, after we begin our internships, Ulpan will be reduced to only twice a week. It is amazing how much Hebrew I’ve already learned. I’ve mastered the alef-bet (Hebrew alphabet) as well as learned to write in cursive script. We’ve been working on basic dialogue; introductions, questions, hitting on women (not so useful for us married folk).

During Shabbat last week, we attended an outdoor Modern Orthodox service. Not quite my cup of tea, but the singing was beautiful and the outdoor area was gorgeous. On Saturday, we found the Reform Synagogue that is within walking distance of Nachlaot (our neighborhood in Jerusalem). The service was remarkably similar to Congregation Emanuel at home. I have a feeling we will be back regularly. We spent the day lounging in Independence Park and that night we had a few close friends join us for an end of Shabbat dinner and Havdallah service (ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat).

On a side note, I’ve probably lost 10 pounds these two weeks. All of our food comes fresh from the shuk (Pronounced shook, Arabic for market).

Walking down Ben Yehuda street to the bars.

At the bar with a bunch of Israelis and a few guys from our program. The guy in the red plaid is the social director for the Real Life Israel program. He knows everyone in Jerusalem. We got one of the best tables in the place and the bartender gave us a couple bottles of Arack (licorice flavored Middle Eastern alcohol of choice) and whisky at no charge. Also pictured is a bottle of Goldstar, think Budweiser of Israel but I believe it’s a lager instead of pilsner.

A photo of our apartment’s living room from the second floor.

Ashley standing in the living room on her way outside to use the Internet. While we have no Internet in the apartment, we can get a very slow connection by walking outside about 30 feet.

Our kitchen and dining room.

The bedroom. We have the master bedroom on the second floor. Our window overlooks the walkway to our apartment.

Our kitchen shot from outside our room’s door.

To get to our apartment, you have to walk through three archways, two of which are covered in apricot vines. Ashley picked some last week and made an excellent apricot spread for bread. Right now our pathway is full of construction waste (they finished working on our apartment last week). I’ll post pictures of the arches after they clear the debris.