What would Andrea do?

Jerusalem is a beautiful city with some pretty amazing historical sites. It has very high spiritual significance for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The hotel I stayed in was conveniently located across the street from the Old City which is enclosed by an ancient wall. Inside the Old City there is a Muslim Quarter, Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, and Armenian Quarter. The rest of Jerusalem is pretty much Jewish. Much of the cultural flavor of Jerusalem is provided by the Orthodox Jews that live in Jerusalem. You can easily spot them by the large black hats, long beards, tassels on the corners of their shirts, and overgrown sideburns. Not the most flattering or chic ensemble, but I suppose that fashion isn't the point.

I loved wandering through the zig-zaggy streets of the Old City. Religious monuments come crawling out of the woodwork! My first day in Jerusalem, I had coffee in Pontius Pilate's home. (It's now a souvenir shop.) I played Jesus, walking along Via Dolorosa and stopping at the stations of the cross. I walked into the Chapel of the Flagellation, where Jesus was tormented by gassy Roman soldiers. I visited the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, where a I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let me explain: everyone in the Mediterranean/North African/Middle Eastern area of the world thinks I'm Egyptian! I know I look the part and I don't blame them for making the assumption. In fact I think it's fun to make people guess where I'm from and I enjoy the looks of incredulousness when I tell them my ethnic background! But at the Tomb of the Virgin Mary the priest named my ethnicity and the city I live in on the first guess! It must have been Divine Intervention. I might have said one sentence to him ("Do I have to take my shoes off?") and on my way out of the church he said "You are Mexican. From San Francisco." Then he handed me an autographed poster of the the Mary.

I continued up the Mount of Olives and gazed at the view of Old City from the outside, crowned by the golden dome of Al Aqsa mosque.