On Monday, April 25th 2011, a group of 12 of us went to Yafo to watch a rather brief Arab Christian celebration. It was basically all the Christians from the area gathering to go to church, and then watch their scouts parading the streets. It's an occasion for people to dress up and socialize but since my cousins don't know anyone in Yafo, we just watched and didn't stick around. 

After, we headed to one of the many parks of the area to barbecue, and man was the park packed!!!!! As always it was a mix of people, but I suppose the people there were mostly Jews celebrating Passover and Christians celebrating Easter. The weather was really nice and 3 of the guys barbecued some amazing food: chicken, kebabs, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers (which burnt my tongue with how spicy they were!!!) and also this food that looked a lot like pieces of chicken but were actually pieces of 100% fat. When cooked it was very tasty and salty but again, you'd have to remember you are eating pure fat LOL

The park was huge, and there were some attractions for kids, such as a little 'zoo' with deers and peacocks, and playgrounds. There were also some big 'lakes' so you could water-ski and do a few other water-related activities. It was interesting to see this huge park that had what I consider to be better-than-average entertainment. We'd be eating our barbecue and then see someone randomly passing by on their water-ski, flying through the air if they happened to be doing some tricks. Some were dressed in casual clothes, others in religious clothing. Regardless all seemed to be there to enjoy a day off in the sun. We stayed there quite a while, eating and relaxing at the park. In the evening we headed to a place on the other side of Yafo called "Victory" for ice cream and waffles... Good grief, their portions were huge and tasted delicious!! I hadn't had sweets and chocolates in well over 40 days, so this was another welcomed post-Easter treat. 

This marked the end of the Easter week-end and back to work the next day for most people. Little road trips are always enjoyable and have a way of making you feel alive. Maybe some moments feel extra special because you know you only have that one day, one hour, or whatever specific time limit. Easter may be over, but we'll just have to see which other trips we'll make during my stay. +

Yesterday, Sunday April 17th 2011 was Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. We started off the day with an early mass and then watched some of the scouts march through the streets of the Old City. On top of the weather being so hot, it was absolutely packed... like there-is-no-room-to-walk kind of packed!!! It was quite a sight to see and I've got much of it recorded and in snapshots. The streets were a mix of well-dressed Arab Christians, tourists and cart-pushing young kids trying to deliver their goods through the narrow and packed Christian quarter. My uncle said that this is the last week that Jerusalem will be seeing so many people; after Easter it will go back to being quiet... 

After, we drove to a Jaffa restaurant near Tel Aviv, where we absolutely stuffed ourselves with fish yet again (since Palm Sunday allows for fish consumption). It was also quite refreshing since the restaurant had a view to the sea, which was my first time ever seeing the ocean here!!! After, we went for a short walk down to the boardwalk and to the water. Walking under the scorching sun, I must say dipping my feet in the ocean water had never felt so good... if not slightly cruel for tempting me to throw myself in the ocean entirely (LOL!!). 

After a long, warm sleepy ride back to Jerusalem, we went once again to the New Gate/Old City to watch the scouts yet again. The streets were closed off to let the scouts pass through and I was able to get pretty much the whole thing recorded (at the cost of my arm feeling sore today, LOL). It was really quite a sight to see the whole area so packed. Of course the majority of the people were Arab Christians, but there were some tourists and I think even Israeli reporters fully equipped for taking pictures of the parade (for newspaper articles perhaps?). Seeing that many people, I was reminded why I had wanted to come this year; because this year all Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same day. Apparently it will be another 11 years until this happens again. As a reminder, Catholics usually celebrate Easter 2 weeks before the Orthodox do. It was definitely memorable and I'm glad to have witnessed it. My cousin did make me laugh by asking me "if I was enjoying the fashion show," which was entertaining to see. I must say I'm always surprised to see women able to walk in stilettos on uneven, ancient, cobblestoned streets!!! I was never a fan of flats until seeing the streets of Paris and Rome, and they are definitely my go-to shoes here as well. Perhaps less religious areas like Tel-Aviv have flatter concrete pavement to walk on, but in these here parts, I have no choice but to go the safe route...=) All around a unique and enjoyable experience. +

What is planned for the days leading up to Easter:

Friday 22nd: to the Holy Sepulchre 

Saturday 23rd/Sun 24 in the AM: to Mt. of Olives' Russian Orthodox Easter mass

Monday 25th: to Yafo for Christian festival

Apparently I won't be getting much sleep that week-end since some of these will entail spending the night in places consecutively, but I'm not one to complain. I'm actually very excited to see it all... When is the next time I'll get to do this?! Off to the religious sites I go!!! +

The following are a few pictures I took. I mostly got all of it recorded but due to the large file size, I'm having a few issues uploading it right now... but soon, soon!!