jerusalem schwarma

I have been going to Jerusalem nearly every weekend since I've lived in Israel. I am thinking about making it my second home, as I have made many contacts there, both personal and professional. One thing I really wanted to do is find an English-speaking Christian church. I've only been to a Jewish Synagogue here, which was in Hebrew and unfortunately very difficult to follow. But this time, I met some people who brought me to a Messianic Jewish church (Jews who believe in Jesus) in an area I'm familiar with, just off Ben Yehuda street. It was cool because the pastor is from New York, he speaks the message in English, and has a translator who echoes his words in Hebrew. The words to the songs are also projected on the screen in Hebrew characters, transliterations, and English translations. In addition to meeting my spiritual needs, this experience has been the best for my learning Hebrew thus far.

This time in the Holy City, I stayed in a hostel within the Old City. It was pretty deep into the labyrinth (if you've ever been inside the Old City you know what I mean), but was only 30 shekels a night (about 6 dollars). that was for a shared "dorm" room, but no other single women booked there that night, so i had the room to myself. The private rooms are about $20, which i think is about the going rate for a hostel in the area. Its nice to know my options... sometimes in Jerusalem I stay with friends too.

I did get a chance to see one of my friends I met over the summer, Ali. His English is not very good (though has improved drastically since I last saw him), but his first language is Arabic and he also speaks a lot of Hebrew. My Arabic and Hebrew have greatly improved since I last saw him (as they were nonexistent before), and he was impressed that i could read Arabic and make simple sentences in both languages. He took me to a "locals only" Hummus place... it was the best I've ever had, best pitas too!

At the conclusion of yet another wonderful Jerusalem adventure and on my way out of town, I had another craving for pita and hummus. Directed by the waft of chicken schwarma in the air, I spotted a convenient joint on the corner of Hillel and King George, 12 shekel schwarma. This was possibly the best schwarma I've had, and is my new favorite schwarma place in Jerusalem! I'll be back there soon....