Dome of the Rock

Sunday here is like Saturday in the States. Most people go to church on Saturday so Sunday is party day! haha so Sunday we went out to explore the city!! :)  Well this Sunday was for sure a fun one! The first thing we decided to to was go to the Dome of the Rock! Because of prayer times and other things tourists are only allowed on the temple mount in the morning. So that was the first thing we did.

Of course we couldn't make it all the way there without stopping to take some pictures teehee

Once we got there of course we took even more pictures!

The Ramp to get up to the Temple Mount

Al-Aqsa Moque

The cool clock in front of the temple

Rachel and Lizzie

Tess and Kate

Me, Sarah, and Ben

After we took pictures Sarah, Ben, and I decided to split off from the big group and go do some stuff in the city. Ben had a camera that he was trying to sell so we went to find that guy. Once we found him that was a whole ordeal in and of itself. The guy that was trying to buy the camera basically was going to rip him off and so we decided to leave. Well we found this place to stop for lunch right next to where the guys shop was so then he started trying to barter for the camera. Well as it turns out, he traded the camera for a 60 shekel chess set (that is only about 15 dollars) It was really sad. But lunch was super good!

We tried Falafel and Shwarma. I think I liked the Falafel better but I also think that the shwarma was lamb so i wanna try chicken instead. But besides that it was really really good! I will defintiely be eating falafel again while i am here!

 Then we just went walking around the city. I bought a pair of real leather sandals for 12 dollars which was awesome!! Then we went walking through the Armenian quarter of the old city which was kinda boring cause there was absolutely nothing but It was kinda neat to see. Then after that we had to go to the restroom so we went to the mall in West Jerusalem because we figured the bathrooms would be cleaner there. Well as weird as this sounds I was enamored by the toilets...they were square!!!!

After that we went back into the city. We decided to go to the pools of Bethesda but since it was Sunday and it was owned by a catholic church, it was closed. But on our way we walked past the church of Mary's Birth which was pretty cool too.

So after that we decided to go to the wood carvers and then go home. Well on our way home, we ran into another group that was playing soccer with some kids. So we stopped and played soccer with some kids in the city!! It was sooo much fun.

After that we went to see the nativities and figure out prices. I guess I have a lot to think about to figure out which one I want. This is what they look like! They are gorgeous!!

It was an amazing adventure in a beautiful city!!!