Asking for directions will cost you money...

Asking for help getting around Jerusalem goes a bit like this:

You look lost, while trying to find your way on a very small map in the guidebook (which Nur kept leaving behind in stores, only to be chased by locals giving it back to her!)

A local stall owner approaches, asking where you want to go.

You hand him a business card of another stall owner, and while he is  quite happy to give you directions, he would like you to look at his shop, too.

This, friends, is how you end up parting with your much needed shekels.

Today, we asked for quite a few directions, if you know what we mean...

Our suitcases will be overflowing with physical memories of our time in Jerusalem.

But before we get into today -- last night was a real show of different cultures in the Old City.

After our dinner (challah with tomato, cucumber and our 32 shekel tiny, tiny pizza) on our hotel rooftop, we decided to go for a walk. The hotel manager told us it was safe to go out, and that was all we needed to hear.

We walked towards the Damascus Gate (yes, the same gate we staggered through with all our luggage at 10pm just days before) and saw a never-ending stream of ultra Orthodox Jews, walking with purpose to the point where they were almost running.

They were dressed in their Shabbat best, and curiosity got the better of us.

We decided to follow them and find out where they were going.

We ended up at the Western Wall. Why didn't we realise that's where they were going? It seems so obvious now!

The street, Via Dolorosa, was very busy, with the local Muslims, the ultra Orthodox, a few tourists and many, many armed soldiers.

We were surprised that nobody batted an eyelid. This is obviously routine for the locals. A mix of Muslim and ultra Orthodox, all running around the same busy street. Only we tourists looked at it like it was something out of the ordinary.

The strange thing is that our street, which runs parallel to the Via Dolorosa, has no military presence. We have been wondering why, but will probably never find out the reason.

Every Israeli soldier or police officer we've asked for help or directions has been very nice and helpful.

Anyway. We digress... Once we figured out where the Orthodox were going, we stood around for a few minutes, deciding where to go next. We ended up heading back where we came from, when we were distracted by loud drums, cheering and singing.

There was a large crowd, and we thought it was a festival. On closer inspection, there were flags being waved, and we were worried it might have been a protest. A local girl (probably about 10!) and a shopkeeper assured us it was nothing to be concerned about... it was a wedding!

Despite that, we decided to leave them to it, and went back up through the Damascus Gate, where there were still stalls set up. A group of local teenagers sat out the front flying a kite so high it almost looked like it had escaped them. However they were hanging onto the string very tightly. The sight of a huge kite over the old city was very pretty!

Today was an early start, but not as early as our mornings have been.

First stop? An ATM! Cash runs out quickly in the Old City where there's so much to buy, despite your best attempts to resist! The new city was deserted, since we were up and about before the shops opened. It will  most likely still be quiet because of the Sabbath.

Observation of the day: at the traffic lights, there are no buttons to push to get the lights to change. Presumably this is to do with the Sabbath laws.

After the ATM stop, we shopped 'til we dropped. We visited Majd in the Armenian quarter -- the boy we bought from yesterday. He remembered us, and we picked up a few other items of Armenian pottery.

Nur gave him a little stuffed koala to remember us by!

We then spent ages trying to find another Armenian pottery stall we had been to before, and got caught up buying other things we didn't need because we asked for directions to find it!

They all seem surprised when we come back after saying we will, and tell us that Australians are better than Americans (they probably tell the Americans they're better than the Australians!!! Anything that will help a sale!)

Anyway, the man at our second Armenian pottery shopfest remembered us. He asked us how our hotel was, talked to us about Australia, and helped us part with our hard earned shekels.

He also gave us more directions after we'd finished financing his holiday by buying up half of his stock!

We came  home (funny how the hotel feels like home after just a few days), and got stuck in a crowd of South African tourists, all wearing blue caps so they couldn't lose each other. Nur vowed that we would NOT wear humiliating tour caps in our group, and we would probably be leading the tour through Old Jerusalem, since we're quite the experts after just two and a half days (with a little help from our friends!)

We dropped our goodies off, and went out in search of food to eat on the rooftop. Falafel with chips and a couple of cans of Coke hit the spot, and we were up on the roof just in time for prayer time.

A fellow tourist from Indiana was on the roof too, and was telling us about the area. He had lived here four times over the years teaching at a university and said that the view from our hotel's rooftop was one of the best around.

After we finished our lunch, we chatted with him for a while, before the daughter and niece of one of the hotel staff asked us if we wanted anything from their cafe. So. Cute. These girls made chocolate balls, chocolate chip cookies, sesame biscuits and various drinks to sell  in their little cafe. Very inventive! Australian children could learn a thing or two about running a business from these girls, who couldn't have been much more than 10 or 12. We knew something was going on, because when we'd arrived back, we noticed a sign on the front door advertising their little bakery.

Which leads us to this moment.

We are checking our emails, writing our blog, recovering from the heat and waiting to double check with our tour group about where to meet up tomorrow in Tel Aviv.

It's sad that part one of our Jerusalem adventure finishes tomorrow morning.

It's been amazing.

It will be good to be back with the tour group, but will no doubt be a very different experience to navigating the maze of stalls, churches, synagogues and mosques on our own.

The contrast from one quarter to the next is so interesting and the people all over the city have been really nice, friendly and helpful.

PS. we both have sunburn, despite popular belief that those with 'olive skin' don't burn! However it's nowhere near as painful as Aussie sunburn!

Foraging for food in preparation for Friday...

You know how in Australia on a Friday around 4pm, everyone at work sort of downs tools and knocks off for the weekend?

Well, in Israel, they take that one step further.

Friday is dead in parts of Old Jerusalem. The new city's not much better!

We have worked out a cunning plan to keep up our walking fuel -- Friday is the Muslim holy day, so that day we can shop in the Jewish quarter. Saturday is the Jewish holy day, so we can shop in the Christian quarter. Sunday is the Christian sabbath, so we can shop anywhere we want but the Christian quarter on Sunday.

Yesterday afternoon we managed to get completely lost in an Arab residential area, and a nice Jewish guard took pity on the directionless Aussies and took us back to the Muslim quarter's market area.

We met two nice Australians from Malvern near the Wailing Wall. They were on a tour. Basically, during our great adventure in the Arab residential unknown, we were looking for ways to get back the main gates. How do you do that? Spot the tourist groups. There was much excitement when we spotted a bunch of people wearing very un-Israeli hats and carrying cameras. They were our salvation and led us to the safety of the main business district.

Tip for the day -- always wear sunscreen and make sure you break up your big notes before heading to the markets. They will always complain that they don't have enough cash to give you. And the sunscreen? The reason for that will become apparent when you get back to our hotel looking like a beetroot. The sun here is different. It doesn't sting, therefore telling you that you're burning, the way it does in Australia.

Also, stock up on water when it's not a holy day!!! What was 1.5 litres for 4 shekels became 1.5 for 5 shekels on Thursday, and up to 8 shekels today. Highway robbery, but what can you do? A tourist has to hydrate!

We've been walking around as you would on a summer day in Melbourne, with our arms uncovered, though with long skirts, of course -- and the only people to take offence have been the ultra Orthodox Jews. The men avert their eyes as they walk past us, which is kind of amusing, since the most devout of Muslims doesn't bat an eyelid.

One Orthodox man asked us for donations for poor families for Shabbat dinner though, and there was no eye aversion.

Our day started at 3.37 on the dot, when we were woken by the prayer call. Lesson to anyone planning to stay in the Muslim quarter: invest in earplugs unless you want a true, Jerusalem experience. The prayer time went on for well over half an hour. We had a knock on our door just before it all started, which is most likely to do with the fact that often people knock on doors to remind people to get up for prayers. My Saudi friend knocks on every door in her house to make sure everyone wakes up for prayer time!

After our early wake-up call, we chatted, and eventually left the hotel at 8, after a breakfast of fruit and cashews.

First stop -- the newer part of Jerusalem, outside the walls of the old city. Dead. Nothing was going on. We bought challah to go with our outrageously expensive water, and sat down to have a mid-morning snack.

After that, we spotted an Italian Synagogue and the Italian Jewish area, complete with French music playing in the background -- just for something different.

After that, we headed back to the old city, to the Armenian quarter. We were confronted by a man who was very, very pushy, trying to sell us some Armenian pottery. He told us we could bring him good luck if we were his first sale of the day. We eventually got away, walked through the market and found a stall run by a young boy who was maybe 10 or 11. He also wanted to sell us something, but wasn't pushy. When we said no, we didn't want to buy anything, he still gave us directions to where we wanted to go.

The boy's stall was just on the edge of the Jewish quarter. We decided to go back and buy from him, because he was so helpful, even though we hadn't intended to pick up any souvenirs today.

He was very happy to see us! The first thing he said was "You said you'd come back!" And we had, about 20 minutes earlier. We'd told him we'd be back in a few days.

We spent 100 shekels in his shop, buying Armenian pottery and Israeli glasswear (this is so beautiful, it has to be seen to be believed!) He gave us a good deal. Other places were selling their pottery and glass for much more, but we noticed that he dusted every item before he gave it to us, because each one was covered in dust. His shop is not in the main tourist area, so presumably he doesn't get a lot of tourist traffic. It was nice to be able to give him some cash for his beautiful products!

We then walked (with instructions from our new friend the shop boy!) to the Jewish quarter, which is a complete contrast to the Armenian and Muslim quarters.

The Jewish quarter is spotless. It's organised. It's very well set out. We could live there.

The Muslim quarter is organised chaos! It's bright, colourful, hectic and full of spices and Arabic sweets. People shout to you to get your attention, so you'll buy their wares. People push their carts full of produce down the narrow street (if you could call it that!) and whistle for people to get out of the way.  It's wonderful, but tiring here!

The Armenian quarter seems sadder. It's not as busy with tourists, so the money doesn't seem to be going in there so much. In contrast, the Jewish quarter has expensive shopping with designer/artisan items. The Muslim quarter is full of amazing bargains. They are both full to the brim with tourists and people offering to be your guide.

We just had lunch on the roof of our hotel, which has the most amazing view of the golden Dome. The dome itself has illuded us for the the past few days. Try as we might, we can't find a way to it. Tonight's plan is to map out a fool-proof route. And if all else fails, to find that nice Iraeli security guy to give us directions again!

We're now off to explore the Christian quarter. We've skirted around it, but haven't actually gone into the area.

Our feet are still holding up -- but only just! So far today we have done 13,846 steps or 8.03 kilometres!

At this rate, we will need a holiday from our holiday!

How to walk around Jerusalem in 16856 steps (and it's only 11am!)

After an 'exciting' entry into Israel, we arrived at our hotel inside the walled city of Old Jerusalem at 10pm.

We managed drag three bags each down the steps to the Damascus Gate, until a very helpful elderly gentleman asked why we didn't use the ramp -- just next to the stairs.

Lesson one -- even in the dark, it is helpful to look around for alternatives when confronted by steep, ancient steps!

Lesson two -- research where you're staying, so you can tell the cab driver offering you a ride for 50 shekels that you KNOW he can't get his car in there!! (we may be naive, but we didn't come down in the last shower!)

Lesson three -- beware of little boys offering to help you find your hotel. There is always money involved. We were lucky that the elderly 'ramp man' told the child to bugger off, and that we could find it on our own!

Which brings us to today.

Up at 5, out of hotel by about 6, and we've just come back at 11 to change rooms. Our original room wasn't ready when we got here last night -- they weren't expecting us until today, despite the booking. So.. we had an 'interesting' room last night and have been promised a 'beautiful' room with a view for the remaining nights.

Helpful tips for suriviving a day in the Middle East -- even if it's not in the heat of the day:

Tip one: Always carry water. A 1.5 litre bottle is preferable. And yes, it will be heavy, but trust us, you will need it!

Tip two: Forget pretzels, 'these bagels are making me thirsty!' They like salt here. Which just reiterates the need for your 1.5 litre water bottle!!

So... what did we actually do this morning? We walked to the Russian compound. The church was closed (that's what we get for getting up and out at an ungodly hour!). We then went to the ultra Orthodox area, Mea Sherim, which was basically full of little children on the way to school. At 7.30 in the morning. And kids at home complain about getting to school...

Once we'd got that area out of our system, we did the Ramparts Walk. Word of advice: wear good shoes!!! It is very slippery. And the steps are steep. Thongs? Bad. Hiking shoes? Good.

We had a fun time trying to find our way back to our hotel. The market is a maze of stalls and people, selling everything from religious items to scarves, food to Armenian pottery.

We ended up in the meat area. What the hell? Seriously. The vegan goes on a tour of the death alley of Old Jerusalem. However after many stops to ask for directions, there it was, right in front of us! Our hotel!

The area was so different at 11 this morning compared with 10 last night.

Our walk to the hotel in the dark through the laneways was a little daunting. There was just us and a couple of men and boys, packing up stalls. Today, we had hundreds of tourists and locals keeping us company on our trek through the city.

Oh, we were also asked directions in Hebrew. Hilarious. Do we look like locals? I don't know about that. I think we're a little conspicuous in our attempts to dress 'modestly' in long skirts and the like. The backpacks and water bottles are also a bit of a give-away.

Anyway, that's it for now. We are off to find a good falafel. Though if you ask the stall holders, theirs is always better than the last one you saw, so it could be an interesting task.

We will post pictures when we can.

Hope everyone's making the most of winter while we're sweltering under the Middle Eastern sun!