People of Israel

One of the fascinating aspects of a visit to Israel is the wide range of people you come into contact with. By no means am I an expert in this area, but getting a glimpse of their different cultures and daily lives was a clear highlight for me.

Want to carry a cross as you walk the Via Dolorosa? This guy has them to rent. By the way, EVERYONE smokes.

Two regular sights in Jerusalem, a large tour group coming through the narrow streets and a lot of automatic weapon yielding young soldiers.

This guy is a Bedouin - nomads that traditionally live off the land and raise animals. Israel apparently has a Bedouin population of around 80,000. Our tour guide told us a pretty funny story that a few years ago the government built houses for many of the Bedouins. They didn't want to feel like they were losing their nomad way of life so the families continued to stay in their tents and moved their animals into the houses.

You really don't see too many Muslim women in public so when I saw this group I had to snap a shot. Taken on Temple Mount these women were actually smiling - another rarity.

Reading the Torah at the Western Wall. This was actually inside the tunnel along the north side of the wall. You can also see the folded prayers tucked into the wall crevices.