Day 1. Jerusalem.

Arrived in Jerusalem last night. We flew from Manchester to Tel Aviv and then took a shared taxi to Jerusalem, about a forty minute journey.

The flight was uninteresting until at about 1.30PM, a group of orthodox Jews gathered in the middle of the plane by one of the exit doors for prayer, some read from the Torah and others just seemed to pray. I think at this point I realised we were really on our way to Israel.

The weather when we arrived was colder than at home and the radio was giving out snow. On waking this morning and looking out the window there is a blanket of white across the city, not what I would associate with Jerusalem. It is cold too, as there is no heating in the house where we are.

We have already met with the some of the current issues in modern Israel. The taxi driver that took us from the airport would not take us into the Palestinian district. He dropped us off close by and we had to get another taxi from someone who was willing to drive there. We think this chap was Palestinian.

We are staying on the east side of Jerusalem, in a Palestinian district. We were woken early this morning, while it was still dark, by the call to prayer. We are staying in the house of a Muslim chap called Ibrahim who is currently in America. He has an open door and anybody can turn up at any time and stay. On arrival here, Steve met some old friends who are staying too. It is like a guesthouse that doesn’t cost anything. I’m constantly amazed how Steve manages to meet the people and make the contacts that he does!

We both slept pretty well and today we’re hoping to build a snowman and begin to settle into life here.

If anybody has anything they are particularly interested in knowing, or hearing about, that I don’t seem to be mentioning, ask about it via email, and we’ll try to respond if we can. The blog will be enriched by everyone’s queries and questions.

Until next time, Nigel and Steve