Travel to Israel

One day, I had a perfect chance to travel to Israel, which is certainly located in one of the most controversial and erratic but attractive and delightful, to my mind, corners of the world, in Middle East, “famous” for its endless wars and clashes; this area had always captured my attention and taken my breath away, and finally, I made a decision in favour of Israel (I had a kind of a choice, so to say, whether to go there or not due to the crisis, namely military conflict in 2009 on the Israeli-Palestinian border). In fact, it’s extremely terrifying to hear such words and phrases as ‘terrorism-related threats and challenges’ and ‘military invasion’ because they always rise in line not only with food shortage or poor record on human rights, but also with cruel conspiracy, violent actions and the overwhelming majourity of human deaths.

So, I decided to leave Antalya, a Turkish resort where I was staying at that moment, for a spiritual ‘capital-city’ of Israel – the paradise which now counts thousands of historical and religious values, ancient monuments, a number of outstanding buildings, dedicated to religious study, and architectural relics – Jerusalem, the holy city ever. Israel is the reliable child of its ancestors: the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. There’s a high level of concentration of three world religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The competition between them makes a grand impact on the political currents as well as on consequences and
implements of this/that situation.

My plane landed in Tel-Aviv: it’s a pulsating metropolis, full of night clubs, sophisticated restaurants, and ultimately, the Israeli capital city ‘de jure’, though, as for me, I didn’t adore it as much as Jerusalem. I often recall those small, narrow streets and alleys, mythical atmosphere, mostly at night when the stars were shining like bright pearls.

A bit earlier, an hour before sunset I was very lucky to hear the drone of a horn far away; it was probably surrounding around the Jerusalem Hills. I came much closer and saw the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I cannot say I’m a sinless Christian, but one thing’s for sure: I was really amazed by the great view of the old, powerful construction.

One more unforgettable beauty was the Western Wall Plaza. Jewish people suppose it helps overcome fear, solve problems, get rid of physical and mental pain, in other words, make wishes come true – and I wrote a note, wishing all the people on Earth peace and friendship.