first full day as a group

(Blog entry written by Carley, Gosha, Sian, Will and Jem) First risers this morning were Lisa and Eleanor who forgot to reset their clocks and got up 5.30am two hours early. They caught sunrise though.)

Breakfast -- the halva experience wasn't a pleasant one for Carley, variety and pitta and cheeses.

Sian and Will headed off the Yad Vashem and had the place to themselves for the first hour or so, and went the reverse way round which avoided the tourists groups. Then headed down to the Western Wall, and spent an hour with Mohammed in his shop (friends for life). Will and Sian also went to the Sepulchre Church.

The rest of group walked down Salelhadeen St to Herod's Gate and then back out of Lion's Gate to the Tomb of Mary by Gethsemane in the Kidron Valley between the Old City and the Mount of Olives. Its a deep fissure in the rock where there's burial grounds.

Some went back up the Mount of Olives and others to St Anne's Convent, and then we reconvened at the Western Wall. Everyone got to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and had lunch made for eleven of us by one man, in his tiny felafel / kebab shop in the Christian Quarter.

Jem dragged everyone up to Jaffa Gate to the closed Tower of David Museum -- sabbath comes early to this place these days. Some of us went up on a roof next door, and then we split up to explore the Old City, go shopping in the Suk and wade through 'rivers of blood' in the meat market (well some did). Then it was time to survey the scene from Damascus Gate, some walked the Via Dolorosa and others went to the American Colony and the local cafe for further refreshments.

Tonight its dinner at the Azzhara Restaurant!