Jerusalem Day 3/Mt of Olives

I climbed a mountain on Tuesday! It's not like the way other mountains can be. Along it's slopes are churches, houses, schools, tombs, graves and lots and lots of Trees. Olive Trees.
After being exhausted from my trek around Jerusalem on Monday, I got up pretty late. I planned on getting up early again around 7:30am but didn't really get up until 10:30am or so. Was just so tired. And I didn't get to Jerusalem until about 1pm. That was a bad move. A lot of the stuff on the Mount is opened earlier in the day. Then closes for a few hours, then may or may not open again in the afternoon. So I have to go back on Thursday morning to see what I want to see during the morning hours.

I climbed the mount, feeling the joints and bones in my legs, my knees, my body, popping and bending in pain. BUT I went on. I felt that it was what I needed to do. Cab drivers asked if I wanted a ride up, but I knew I had to walk it. I'm glad I did.

I saw an amazing view of the Dome of the Rock, of the Churches and of the lands from on top of the Mount. The higher I got, the better the view and the more I saw. It was amazing. I took pictures every step of the way. It was a hard walk and at times I thought I couldn't go on, but I did. The walk is very steep so that you must bend over as you walk up the hill and bend back walking slowly as you come down.

Along the way, I saw the Tombs of the Prophets, The Jewish grave yard, the Church of the Ascension, The Church of All Nations, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of Dominus Flevit, the Church of Pater Noster, and passed along the Church Mary Magdalene which I have to visit later because it was closed when I got there. Yeah, I saw a lot. All of this is on the Mount of Olives, along the way up.

Each time I go some place new, I stop, say a prayer and look at the sites. It's amazing how large everything is. All the way up at the top, past the Pater Noster, the Church of Ascension sits. Yousef one of the men who stays by the door welcomes me to come anytime. The church is closed, but he let me in to the grounds to look at the garden and the outside. I'm a Palestinian and I'm Beit Rima. He must let me in, he says. He must welcome me. I feel good that it's finally good thing to be a Palestinian.

Down at the base of the mount is where the Church of All nations is and where the garden of Gethsemane lie. I look into the garden where the oldest Olive trees in the entire country are. They date farther than 2,000 years. The olives grow thick and green. They are uneaten. Unpicked. I look off down the path and image where Jesus and his apostles sat together their last night. I can almost see them, how they seem to me in my mind, different from the images I've seen. Jesus sitting, looking at them, talking, before his arrest.

The view and the day climbing up and down the mountain was amazing. Although I was completely exhausted and in pain by the end of the day, it was well worth it. Took me a while, but it was okay. I felt blessed to have been able to make the journey.

(Writing from that night)

Now I sit in a restaurant across from the bus station eating chicken and mushrooms and drinking the local Taybeh beer. It's a lot like bass, but plainer. I had a very long day of walking. I can hardly sit up. I forgot to eat today since the morning. So I had to get something.

There are so many different people to look at in here. A woman reading and marking papers. Looking very much like an American Librarian. Short brown hair. Plain black glasses. Plain black suit and gray and white shirt. Drinking Lipton. Very skinny. Could hide and never be noticed. Not ugly. Just nothing extraordinary.

An American couple is sitting off to the other corner. They are in their 60's. The wife is sipping red wine, while her husband is having a beer. Old tats lay across his forearms. Now gray hairs and glasses are what are more noticeable on his face. His was is very plain. Dim brown hair and eyes, hiding behind very big glasses. Their accents are very Minnesota. But they might even be Canadian. The man keeps looking at me and nodding hello. I smile and keep writing.

Sprinkled about are friends and couples, smoking argilla. The scent is sweet and intoxicating, even for those around that aren't smoking it. The waiters rather stand around with each other and be silly than bring you a menu or take your order, but the ambiance and vive is nice. Trees grow out and around in this half in door half outdoor place by the entrance of the Jerusalem hotel. Large trees on the outside grow leaves and veins long and strong enough to covre the roof so that as you look up, you see beautiful greens and browns stitched into the green metals of the roof. You feel almost like you're in a tropical place.

It's gotten cold. The sun is down. I see an older bohemian Italian couple that I'd seen up on the mount. They are with new friends, speaking Italian and smoking argilla. It reminds me of my last trip into the Yucatan with Dave when we hung out with a couple from Seattle that was staying at the same hotel. They were really sweet. Dave had been mean to me most of the time, which he apologized for later. It makes me think of how different it is exploring a new place with someone else and then exploring alone. Makes my journey even sweeter.

Now they play Um Kalthoom the great in the back round. Ya Habibi, she says. Its getting colder.

A wave of folks go out. It's empty.

A wave of folks come in. It's full again.

The guard cat walks about. A gray, black and white fellow with a skinny face. He watches. He walks. He waits. He comes near people, but won't let you touch him. The older American/Canadian couple sees him.

"We saw him this morning. He's their guard cat." the man says.

I smile and nod.

A black woman with long black hair smokes argilla and waits for her friends. One of them comes and sits and they talk. She's a very full figured woman in a white shirt with blue horizontal stripes. Her hair is in a short ponytail. She could afford to lose a little weight. She's all smiles. The other one comes. She's a petite Arab woman with long hair and a big smile. They hug for a long time and continuously kiss each other on the cheek. They are close friends.

A blond man comes and orders a coke. He knew the bartender. The bartender was a student at the college he teaches at. 3 European folks come in. They speak English to one another. They also know the young blond man as they are professors as well. They talk about a course on Hamas. They talk about a course on Palestinian studies. They also know the bartender.

The argilla fills the air. The Hooka refill boy walks around the tables to put more in the pipes. The coals are hot. They warm me as he passes by.

One of the professors walks to talk to the bartender. Another waiter there is also another student they know.

I sit back and smile as I drink my Taybeh. I feel sated again. Another day of time well spent. I could sit and people watch and write about them all day. Yes, time well spent. Can't beat time well spent.