| Growing up in the Catholic church, there was never a time in my conscious existence when I hadn't known about Jerusalem. At the age of 4 or 5, in my developing brain, it was a long-forgotten civilization that existed only in the Bible and, in my Midwestern-shaped imagination, was very flat.
As I got older and learned that, yes, I could actually visit Jerusalem and Galilee and all these other places that were, in some ways, my first encounter with the knowledge of different countries and cultures, I knew a pilgrimage would one day be on the books.
Two weeks ago, I finally took that trip to Israel, where I spent seven days hopping from Tel Aviv to Galilee and, finally, to Jerusalem. It's a surreal experience when you finally see a bucket list destination. Sailing across the Sea of Galilee at sunset, wandering the streets of the Old City, looking out across the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives—it was, in a word, emotional, with the weight of history and knowledge and personal experience all pressing in on me.
Whether you're religious or not, though, there's something to be said about visiting a place with olive trees that are more than 900 years old, walls that are 500 years old, and the hustle and bustle of a living and breathing city that feels as old as time itself. Seeing historical sites that mean so much to so many different people and seeing the looks of wonder and reverence on thousands of faces—no matter their religious affiliation—is a beautiful thing. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment