June 14, 2003

Backed up traffic at the Tayasir checkpoint.

We left early this morning, catching the shared taxi towards Jerusalem with other folks from Zababdeh. The line at the Tayasir checkpoint was backed up for nearly half a mile, taking us two and a half hours to pass. The soldiers checked the cars one by one, most of them full shared taxis. All in all, it took us five hot, long hours to get to Jerusalem - the other checkpoints nothing more than a mere stop along the way.

We checked into a little cheap hostel near Damascus Gate where we stay from time to time - nothing fancy, just enough to lay our heads down. We grabbed a late lunch at Lina's, a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Old City whose excellent hummus draws a fascinating mix of clientele - Arabs, Israelis, Russians, Ethiopians, internationals.

Hanging out with friends in Jerusalem.

We stopped by to visit with friends at St. Andrew's Church of Scotland where we've worshiped from time to time when passing through Jerusalem before meeting up with our journalist friends in town, enjoying a magnificent view over the Old City before calling it a night.