When we are done, we leave through St. Stephen�s Gate, and descend a long, steep hill to find ourselves in the middle of traffic. After about ten minutes, a cab stops for us�it is difficult to find one because of Shabbat. The front seat is occupied by a middle-aged Arab, the back seat by a large, ancient woman in traditional black dress with red embroidery. Betty and I squeeze into the back seat with her, and the cab took off. The other people lived closer, so they were dropped off first. We drove through Gehenna to the oldest village in Jerusalem�an Arab neighborhood, dirty, underdeveloped, with old, skinny donkeys tied to ruins. Our cab speeds up through narrow dirt roads, unimpressed by oncoming traffic. Finally, we reach a gate in a low wall, and the other passengers disembark. From there, we head straight to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, we have Mass, and then drive to an oriental restaurant in Abu Gosh. The food is incredible�and unending! Plate after plate of salads and sauces, pita, stuffed grape leaves, squash, huge silver platters of grilled lamb and chicken shish kebabs, gilled chicken breast and lamb chops arrived in dizzying succession. Finally came tea and Turkish coffee, and sweets. Then Gina, Joan and I presented each member of the group and each professor with a tribute that poked fun at some idiosyncrasy or comical incident from our trip. The presentations were met with much laughter, but finally it was time to go.
Roni, who before bringing us to the restaurant had taken us on a bus tour of Jerusalem at night, escorted us to the airport and stayed with us until he was sure everything was all right.
My watch says it�s almost 1:00 P.M., but in reality it�s 5:00 A.M.; we have arrived in New York. |
