I've only been out here for three weeks, but I'm already going to have to play a lot of catch-up. Field trips every Monday and visits to the city as often as possible have made already this a very full trip. I really don't even know where to start!
My first week here flew by so quickly....maybe the extreme jet lag had something to do with it. But i got to see one of my favorite sites so far....the Dome of the Rock! It is the third holiest site to the Muslim world, and it is a spectacular and beautiful shrine. The architecture is almost mathematically perfect. Which may be fascinating to only a few people like me.
This site is one of the places that I've felt the most safe in the entire city. It's so peaceful here, and I could really feel the love and devotion that Muslims have for their God. Another thing that really amazed me on my first day was the call to prayer at 4:30 am. This is something that I don't know if it would work in the US. It was a most amazing experience. Less than 24 hours in Jerusalem and I had already cried haha. I had no idea that the first of their five daily prayers happened right before dawn. The speakers (called minarets) nearest the Jerusalem Center (or the Mormon University as everyone calls it) broadcasts a live singer. It was amazing! The prayer was so beautiful, and I was overwhelmed by the deep commitment and devotion of these people. I listened to the prayer go on for a full thirty minutes with my awesome roommate Jessica on the balcony. You could hear several other towers projecting different melodies far off. The city had a other-worldly fog/mist around it that truly made it mystical. We both got the chills as the prayers ende and hung in the air. That day I knew that I have the opportunity of a lifetime to step into another world unlike anything I've ever really known.
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