LOST IN THE OLD CITY

Ten years ago, while studying abroad in Rome, Nore and I were roommates.  Recently we casually exchanged a few Facebook messages. Before signing off, not really believing I would, Nore suggested that I visit her in Tel Aviv before she moved back to Rome. Over the next few days I couldn't stop obsessing about actually visiting Nore. I mean, when else would I have a chance to see Nore or Tel Aviv?  After checking flights and my vacation schedule, one month later I flew to Tel Aviv. Our friendship must have been tightly held in a time capsule, which sprang open upon my arrival. We laughed, ate, and drank for four days-  as if those ten years had only been 10 days. 

On my last day in Tel Aviv Nore had to work so I decided to go to Jerusalem, which is only an hour away by bus.  When I arrived in Jerusalem I went straight to the Old City.  Immediately I was bombarded by overly aggressive tour guides decked out in paisley shirts and polyester pants.  They looked like they had been stuck in their own time capsule from the 70’s.  They threatened that, without a guide, I would get lost in the Old City.  Maybe it was because there were so many of them, or their aggressiveness, or the fact that they looked like they were lost in time without a map to the 21st century, that I decided to tackle the Old City on my own.  Shortly thereafter, I would be completely lost……

I stumbled upon the Western Wall and then just wandered around.  After about an hour I saw a long line of tourists and joined them.  Forty minutes later, with no idea of what I was waiting in line for, I walked through metal detectors and entered an unknown site.  While being patted down I noticed a pile of discarded books.  I was shocked….. They were bibles!  The look on my face must have really conveyed what I was feeling.  A guard looked at me, then pointed at the bibles and waved his finger like a disapproving schoolteacher.  Why aren’t bibles allowed in this site?    

Upon entering, everyone gravitated like zombies hypnotized by a colorful beauty wearing a crown of gold.  A marble, mosaic temple with a golden dome, which I had no idea what its religious significance was. Where were those pesky guides?  I walked around for another twenty minutes, when all non-Muslims, like dust, were assertively swept out.  I walked down one cobblestone street, up another, back down another.  Every street looked exactly the same.  No one spoke English.  I was a mouse in a maze --completely lost. Pesky 70’s guides?  Anywhere?  Several hours later, I found an exit and scurried out!  An entire day in Jerusalem and all I saw was the Western Wall and an unknown temple.

I believe that sometimes it is better to walk around a city completely lost in your own thoughts, letting your imagination run wild.  But here in Jerusalem, a city with historical influence that presently significantly shapes the tumultuous religious beliefs and politics of so many countries, I should have willingly jumped into that 70's time capsule, for a better understanding of the 21st century--at least for a couple of hours.