Old City Orientation

This morning I was awakened for the first time by the call to prayer. The Muslim mosques all have speakers on them and each morning before sunrise they each issue a call to prayer that goes out to the whole city. At first it was pretty eerie to me hearing the call echoing through Jerusalem. Google call to prayer to hear what it sounds like, and then imagine waking up to that every morning around 4:30 am.

When i finally got up around six I showered and went straight to breakfast. It's so nice not having to blow dry my hair and get dressed up. I love how low key it is here. Before I went to eat, however, I took a moment to go out on my balcony and look at the Holy Land in the day time. All I have to say is WOW. The sun had just barely come up and the sky was still light blue and pink and beautiful. I'll have to get a picture of the early morning one of these days. After breakfast we had another orientation where they went through and taught us procedures around the center and other such things. I feel like everytime we have anorientation they go over the same things, they are just drilling us with these rules! It's kind of insulting, sometimes i find myself thinking "yes, we've heard this, we had a three hour orientation before we came and have heard it since we've been here. Lets do more productive things!" But then at the same time I just have to sit back and realize that Jerusalem is a crazy city and we need to know these rules back and forth and that it's for our own good. After our orientation we went on a walk through the city and learned about the places that we can explore later on our own.

The old city is amazing. It is inside the gates and it is just alley ways and alley ways of merchants and things to buy. The people are very nice and some occasionally called out "Hello, Mormons" or "Good morning, Mormons". I think they like us there :)

We didn't spend much time at any one spot, we moved around and saw a little bit of everything so we know where to come when we go back on our own. We did SO much walking! I'm planning on going out tomorrow for a few hours. Fridays are the when the Muslims gather in the old city to pray and worship, and apparently it's a brewing pot for conflict, so we cannot go out until after 3. And then after three we have until sun down to explore. I'm excited to go back to look at the things we saw today in more detail.

We walked by the Garden Tomb and it was totally not what I expected at all. A little disappointing, actually. I didn't actually get to see it because there are gates and we will go another time, but what I didn't expect is that the Garden Tomb is smack dab right in the middle of the city. I visualized a peaceful garden place, much like the Sacred Grove, but it is totally not like that. Outside of its gates are merchants and shops, garbage, and all sorts of other things. This was the same with Calvary where Christ was crucified. I didn't see it when my teacher pointed it out, but I was talking about it with some people over dinner and they said that it is also right in the middle of the city. What was interesting, though, was seeing the road where Christ bore his cross and carried it up to Calvary hill. The road is marked with numbers so that you can follow exactly where he walked. My teacher said that a lot of religions will reenact Christ's steps through the city. I think later during my stay I will get a brochure and follow the road and learn more about what happened there the day Christ as crucified.

The city really is wonderful. There are so many people and places to see, I am really excited to explore it on my own (in groups of three or more, and with a male after dark, of course). Sister Brown (my guide for today) said that when we come here on our own we can go in any building or through any door that is open. That sounds a little scary, but Sister Brown was so confident and has lived in this city for so long that I trust her and am excited about what I'll find.

When most people think about the Holy Land they think about conflict, war, and danger zones. I was nervous about that, but today, however, I felt completely safe in the Old City. I can't think of one time when I felt unsure or nervous about anything. We had our Jerusalem Center security escort us throughout the city. The security person who went with my group is a local Arab and watched out for us. Our security people are great men and I felt like a celebrity with a personal body guard. They even had walkie talkies and sunglasses! So legit. We won't have them from now on when we go out, but we got our cell phones and proximity cards (cards that we have to swipe whenever we go in and out of the building) today so we are now more protected.
The people here are very genuine and my group was able to strike up conversations with them. Mostly everyone speaks English, and the teacher who took us around the city told us that a lot of the BYU students can sweet talk their way into going places that the general public is not allowed. She said that last year the students became friends with the Priests at the Holy Sepluchre and were allowed to see the upper floors of the church that is blocked off to other people. One girl became good friends with a Muslim family and even got to go into the Dome of the Rock, which is definitely closed to anyone who is not Muslim. People here really love and respect the BYU students, I'm excited to really see that for myself. I need to work on my people/talking skills, along with my bartering skills as well! The women wear traditional outfits and are covered up and wear scarves, which makes me grateful that I am dressed modestly and have most of my skin covered to show respect. These people are so dedicated to their religions and their beliefs; that is demonstrated in one way when I hear the Call to Prayer echo through the city five times a day. I'm especially excited for Saturday to see how the people here worship on the Sabbath. Unfortunately I can't go into the city on Friday night when they begin their worship due to the massive crowds, but I think I will get a glimps of it on Saturday.

I'm still loving living in the Jerusalem Center. What facinates me most about this place and I don't think many people know or realize is that the Jerusalem Center is run by local people of Jerusalem who are not LDS. The director is not LDS, I currently can't remember what religion he is. But it's incredible how all of the staff are different religions, and outside of the center walls their people conflict and don't get together, but inside the walls they work together as a team to serve us Mormon kids! I think that is amazing. Speaking of staff, the chefs here are amazing but I am not a huge fan of the food---YET. It is not appetizing to me and sometimes makes me feel sick. Hopefully I grow out of this so I don't starve to death, but hey, maybe I won't be gaining that Jerusalem 20 lbs after all! But then again, maybe I will from all of the delicious food I saw and smelt in the city today that I couldn't wait to try.

Tonight they are showing the Alabama v. Texas game in the center. I want to go, the only thing is that it is being broadcasted at 3:00 am our time. But because of jet lag and my schedule being so messed up, I might be up, and I might go and socialize with the other crazy people who are there. But for now I must do my homework that I have been putting off so well. Classes start tomorrow! I'm excited to get into my classes and actually learn the history and meaning of the stuff I saw in the city today and will continued to get to know more about throughout this semester!

**Explanation of the pictures: The first picture is a picture of me outside of Damascus Gate which is the closest entrance from the center to get into the Old City. The second picture is of the view from my balcony right when I am leaving for breakfast as the sun is rising. The video and last picture are of the excitement and people of the Old City.