November 21, 2003

The scene outside of the Old City of Jerusalem.

This morning we headed out of the Old City and were met by a cacophony of honking and cars and a multitude of police and barricades. We were thankful that our journey was on foot, as we walked past innumerable cars caught in a nasty traffic jam.

Barricades and additional police/army presence.

A friend we met on the way told us the crowd and the extra security was because today is the last Friday of Ramadan and tonight is Laylet al-Qadr, "The Night of Providence." This is a night that falls during the last ten days of Ramadan that commemorates the night when the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Mohammad. Because it is described as a night more valuable than a thousand months, many Muslims spend the night in their mosque. It was not clear how many of the hopeful would be able to spend the night at al-Aqsa this year.

When we arrived at Sabeel we had a very nice time catching up and gathering resources for our upcoming itineration. Then we were invited to share in a simple lunch of olives, olive oil, yogurt cheese, goat cheese, fresh bread, spices, fresh cherry tomatoes.

Our friend Susan picked us up and we went to Sunbula for a bit of shopping. Sunbula has Palestinian crafts from women's cooperatives and other self-help programs.

The view from the roof of our Old City hotel.

She then dropped us off at Jaffa Gate and we walked to the Gloria Hotel, which we have all to ourselves - including the staff. From the roof, we have a great view of the Old City. Jaffa Gate at night is especially beautiful.