An Afternoon in the Old City

After my tutoring session this morning, I headed to the Old City to visit a friend of mine from Ulpan. Her family, Muslims, have lived in the Old City for three generations in the same building. Basically, they live behind the Kotel. My friend met me by the Kotel and we walked throughout the Old City. It was incredibly busy because of Ramadan and Sukkot. The most interesting part to me was spending time with her family. She has one brother and four sisters, one of the sisters living upstairs with her family (including a very cute baby). I was able to help with some of the cooking. I've never met someone who lives in the Old City. To me the Old City seems more like a place of pilgrimige. It's hard to imagine that the place actually has inhabitants. Her family was incredibly welcoming and made me feel more than comfortable in their home.