June 22: Boot camp

That really is an apt title for our first day in Jerusalem. Very strenuous. Exploring the tunnels of the ancient water system of the City of David involved a lot of climbing up and down very steep hills - like an all-day trip to the gym but with, of course, fascinating content. I could not make myself step into the very narrow and low water tunnel where the rushing waters rose thigh-high, and so I had to experience that part vicariously. We took a "dry tunnel" instead. We were deep in the bedrock under Jerusalem, and that in itself was pretty astounding. The second activity was participating in an archaeology project. We helped sift through rubble brought in from the Temple Mount to find pieces that help in researching the history of the place. We found lots of pieces of pottery, some bones, some pieces of mosaic, and so on. I found an interesting-looking piece of painted pottery from the Mameluk Period - I think!

We took it easy in the late afternoon, and just heard a very enlightening lecture on things happening here that are likely to change life in Israel. The most interesting, maybe, was to hear that among the very religious Haredi population there are now tendencies for the boys to get educated in subjects other than Torah and Talmud, to begin to work, to serve in the army, and so on, and for the women to learn work in high tech companies. That will be a huge social change in a country where about 12 per cent of the population don't work, don't serve in the army, don't get a modern education, and subsist on welfare in near-poverty conditions.

Last night at the hotel, and again tonight, I am noticing something interesting. I wonder if it's a type of courting ritual among the religious young people who are restricted in how they can meet members of the opposite sex. Last night I saw a conservatively dressed young woman and a young man in a black suit sitting in one the conversation areas in the hotel lobby. The large chairs are a good distance from each other, and so there is no chance - or suspicion - of touching. They sat there for several hours, looking and smiling at each other, talking intensely. Tonight they were there again, plus another similar couple, the man in a black hat. Same thing. Hours of togetherness and intense conversation - a private date, but in a very public place.