Day 4: Jerusalem and Jaffa

Today was the first really early day of camp! We headed off to Jerusalem at about 6:30 AM, and had breakfast of fresh mu’ajanat (an assortment of pastries and pies) on the bus. Our first stop was at the Mount of Olive Viewpoint in the Al-Tur Neighborhood, campers got to see a beautiful panorama of the city and got snapped some really good photos.

We were met by our tour guide by Bob az-Zahra (Herod’s Gate) and made our way through the Muslim Quarter to the Via Dolorosa (Al Wad Rd), and then to Al-Haram al Sahrif (Temple Mount). On the way we stopped by at a local bakery for some freshly baked Jerusalem Ka’ak. Some of our campers prayed in Al Asa Mosque, before we departed for a short shopping trip at a nearby Souq (Souq Khan Al Zeit). We continued our tour by visiting a local women’s NGO en route to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Campers lit candles and some chose to pray, and got to experience the deep history of this 4th century church.

After finishing from the church, we stopped by for a delicious lunch of maqloubeh at a restaurant in the Christian Quarter, and continued to Damascus Gate where we were met by our bus, to depart to Jaffa. Along the route from Jerusalem to Jaffa, the bus driver pointed out to the campers the different villages and towns that were ethnically cleansed during the Nakbeh in 1948 such as Lifta.

When we arrived in Jaffa, we hopped off the bus and got to enjoy about 2 hours of beach time as the sun set. We were then met by a guide from the organization Zochrot/Zakirat, an organization dedicated to preserving and telling the story of the Nakbeh. Our guide took us through Jaffa’s destroyed Manshiyya neighborhood, through the port and Al Ajami neighborhood. Along the way, he showed us a picture of what Jaffa looked like prior to 1948 while overlooking the city, and campers got to witness how much of the city was destroyed.

After this eyeopening tour, we concluded with a delicious dinner at one of Jaffa’s most prominent restaurants, the Old Man and the Sea.