Jun 7, 2010

Arriving in Jerusalem

By Lisa T. Bergren

We arrive in Tel Aviv, sleep deprived, wide-eyed. We hop on shuttle buses and wonder at the changing landscape as we climb higher and higher, en route to Jerusalem, forty minutes away. Here there are woods that somewhat resemble those you might see in Northern Arizona or parts of California, there, the barren valleys of a desert in a hundred lands. The buildings—uniformly limestone—are built in a sort of pueblo style, close together, one atop the other, and in some cities, extend to high rises. But black water tanks top all, like giant, bulbous smokestacks.

It’s been twenty years since I’ve been in Israel. Part of it feels familiar—the high fences topped with barbed wire, the hills, the consistent stone of all the buildings—part of it feels new, something forgotten I need to rediscover. Continue reading