Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem, Israel

Israel is perhaps the most fascinating place I’ve ever been which I don’t intend on ever going back to. Israel is intense, too intense if you ask me. I have nothing against the people and have no position in their religious/political quagmire. I just don’t like going to a shopping mall full of civilians with rifles strapped to their backs.
But that wasn’t even the most intense part. Jerusalem. I’m not religious and not Jewish. But I was still floored by the historical relevance of the Jerusalem. Not even floored, but awed, dumbstruck, mystified. It’s the cradle of civilization. And it only takes a stroll through the Old City to understand why this is the most politically contentious place on Earth: three of the world’s major religions have some of their most holy locations within a couple miles of one another. It’s an amazing disaster, and I mean that in the best way possible. You can be at the Wailing Wall, the final remaining part of the temple of David, and then a few blocks away is where Jesus Christ was crucified, and then around the corner is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept, and a stone’s throw away is the Dome of the Rock, one of the most holy mosques in the world… all while meandering through limestone paths built by the Romans over 2,000 years ago.
Jerusalem kind of ruined me for a lot of other tourist sites in the world. After Jerusalem, so many places feel insignificant or historically unimportant by comparison. For instance, my trip through Baria Gotica in Barcelona was a snooze, “Oh, this fortress is only 1,000 years old? And those old Roman ruins were built in 500 AD? Oh, OK, where do we eat?”