Jerusalem

Ah "the best city in the world", as repeated many times by our tour guide. Actually though, it's amazing to see so many different religions come together in one city. Touring Jerusalem allowed me to properly appreciate each religion's rich history.

The Old City is split into 4 quarters: Muslim, Christian, Armenian, and Jewish.

Yad Vashem

No pictures here, but this was actually my favorite part of the trip. This is one of the best Holocaust Remembrance museums in the world. I'm sad we only got 1-2 hours here, as I could easily have spent an entire day. There is an impressive amount of real artifacts in this museum from concentration camps, Jewish ghettos, and the war. For example, there were real bunk beds from Auschwitz and piles of shoes from those who were subjected to the horrors of the concentration camps.

As someone who grew up very interested in the Holocaust and the motivations behind it, this museum provided me with valuable insights and first-person accounts into this horrific period in history. I realized that almost every Jewish person is in some way connected to the Holocaust through a family member, and I really appreciated the time I got to better understand this key piece of history.

Abu Shakri

We ate lunch in the Muslim Quarter of Old City. The pictures say enough - none of us could stop eating for the entire meal. Highly recommend this place!

Dome of the Rock and The Western Wall

We spent around 3-4 hours touring Old City, visiting locations such as the burial ground of Jesus and The Western Wall tunnels. I learned a lot about the significance of these locations for people of all religions.