Holy City Batman

Wow. Israel is pretty damn sweet. With the coming of Eid, a few others and I found ourselves with a few free days on our hands and the intentions to make the most of them. When I got home at 7pm Tuesday, we still had no set plan on our hands and even less so when we found out about the Gaza border closure.
No matter.
After Ryan finished packing his tupperware we set out shortly after 9pm. Four hours, three taxis, three bus stations, and two metro rides later we were sitting in a microbus heading for Taba, the most southern Egyptian border town. Alas, no turning back.
We found luck that morning as the Taba bus station is a mere kilometer from the border and again as we passed through with no stamps marking our adventures.
This is where I notice the first difference. The Israeli border guard/customs agent force is 99% women... and beautiful. Not the last time I note the beauty of the women.
Our questioning at the passport check was more like a speed date than any sort of intelligence gathering. Skip ahead an hour and we're sitting pretty in Eilat with 3 tickets to Jerusalem.

With a population of 704,900, it is a richly heterogeneous city, representing a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups. The section called the "Old City" is surrounded by walls and consists of four quarters: Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim.

The status of the city is hotly disputed. The 1949 cease-fire line between Israel and Jordan, also known as the Green Line, cuts through the city. Since its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has controlled the entire city and claims sovereignty over it. According to a Basic Law of Israel enacted in 1980 (the Jerusalem Law) Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and is the center of Jerusalem District; it serves as the country's seat of government and otherwise functions as a capital. (wikipedia)

And heterogenous it is. As a non-religous person, one can still feel the intense spirituality encompassed within the walls of the Old City. As a nexus of three major religions, it holds a religious diversity I've never experienced before. We met a muslim selling christian knick-knacks to tourists. Looking upon it from an overlook point, my hairs stood on end as I wandered the ages and deep history endured there.
With an atmosphere I can only compare with that of Europe, the city is very clean and well organized. Amazing English skills and exceptionally nice, approachable people made for some superb evenings in New City, where one finds the main strip of bars and "clubs." If partying is the main event, swing over to Tel Aviv (where the natives kept pointing us). On countless occasions I found myself talking to some nice dame, only to be disappointed by her age, or lack there of. Alas, your nice backpack isn't going to impress me. For whatever reason, the crowd we found was young.
The time was too short, but the taste was there. Departing Israel unmasked similar feelings to leaving Brasil. I will return. If only for the girl at that pastry shop.
Or the one in the wife beater at that club.

All Photos Here

PS It's no contest. They have the hottest military in the world.