By Eirini Ntoura a student of MA program in National Security Studies, 2019-2020 Cohort.
December 25th, or in other words “Christmas Day” for the Christians, my friend who visited me from Greece and I decided to take a trip to the Holy City and see all that it has to offer. It was the perfect time to visit Jerusalem because of the Christmas holidays. Although the weather wasn’t on our side.
Commencing our trip from Haifa with rain and cold, we thought that in Jerusalem we would have better chances with the weather. Little did we know! Ok, we checked online the weather and it was supposed to be cold, but once we arrived to the main train station in Jerusalem we felt the cold get in our bones and our teeth to tremble. We were talking about real winter! We braced ourselves and we agreed that this cold and wind wouldn’t stop us. As we arrived by bus to the sites, we could barely take our hands off our pockets in order to take some pictures, but we did eventually. We started our tour from the Wall of Tears (Western Wall) and got informed about the history and the holiness of the place. Later we got to walk on the little alleys, exploring the little shops and the architecture. Unfortunately, because of the time the security didn’t let us go into the Dome of Rock, aka Al-Aqsa mosque and see it from the outside. We were really disappointed but next time we have something more to visit and return to the city.
Wandering through the alleys with the cold and the wind really working us, we were stunned by the simplicity of the buildings that gave such a character to the place. We visited the Sepulcher Church and fell in love with the little lights that gave it color and character. It’s one of the most spacious churches I have ever visited and that really made an impression on me and my friend. We went up and down the little stairs leading to all levels of the church, opting to explore it all.
Later, we visited the City of David that was beautiful and filled with rich history. We went in the museums and got a little educated on the past of the place and Israel in general. Of course, we noticed direct influence and appearance of Ancient Greeks and Romans that made us think how close we always were to each other and how much our people interacted in the past. It’s probably one of the many things that unite us, being in the same “neighborhood”. From school days we learnt the history of ancient Greeks travelling through foreign places but seeing it abroad and away from home is always exciting. The little tablets that explained in English, Arabic and Hebrew the stories of the old days made us understand better the structure and the legacy of the place we visited. Combined with the general feeling of the holy essence that lurks through the corners of the site, made our experience better.
Generally, the city of Jerusalem is a must see and everyone should visit it at some point in their life. Depending on the season though, I must say that in the spring or at the autumn the city and the sites would definitely look better and would be easier to explore and enjoy. But the experience of visiting it during Christmas, or as it was for the Jewish people, during Hanukkah certainly gives more value to the trip.
Hope you enjoyed this little exploration of mine as I get to meet more of Israel and see you in my next trip!
Graduate Life in Haifa 