in the middle east

Jerusalem is divided into two basic parts. The "old city" is surrounded by large walls whose present structure dates to around the 1500's. For most of the city's history, this was Jerusalem. However, starting in the mid-1800's there began to sprout up neighborhoods and settlements outside the city walls, these have been called the "modern city". Today, the modern city eclipses the old city in size and population and surrounds it on almost all sides. We live on the West side of the modern city, which is a 25 minute walk from the old city. Our neighborhood, called "Nakhlaot", is perfectly located for our living situation. We've included some pictures of our apartment and our neighborhood. We are also a 5min walk from the main food market on this side of town called the "shuq" ('market'). It's quite an experience and we've tried to give you a taste of it in photos and video. We're also a 10min walk from the city's central bus station, where we can go anywhere in the country. So, we are really blessed by our living situation. Take a look and get a glimpse of daily life for the Mackie's at this link: http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tpmackie/web/pictures/ourneigh...

A few days ago we took our first trip out of Jerusalem. We live about a 15min walk from the city's central bus station, from which you can go anywhere in the country for a very reasonable price. We heard that the Mediterranian coast towns are nice, so we picked one and went off into undiscovered country: no map, no idea when we're supposed to get off the bus. A person sitting next to us happened to know English, and he told us where to get off to be close to the beach in Netanya. We ventured through town, found a map, and made our way to the beach. The sun was so hot (mid 90's), you could just feel the UV rays going into your skin. The Mediterranian sea wasn't much help in cooling off. In fact, it seemed just as warm (or hot!) as the air temperature. The only respite from the heat was the breeze that would occansionally come by. It seemed very much like southern California, except no one was speaking in English, and the large choppers that frequently flew by did not belong to the Coast Guard (see the pictures). After being kissed by the Mediterranian sun, we wandered around the boardwalk and found a great dinner of Falafal and Schwarma pitas, along with some form of ice cream called "Tony Ice." The day ended with a beautfiul sunset that reminded us of sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, and a long bus ride home. A fun day outside of Jerusalem, a nice break from our apartment, and a taste of life on the Mediterranian coast. For more pic's see this link:http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tpmackie/web/pictures/netanya/...

Jerusalem is an amazing place. It has been consistently populated through the rise and fall of many differently civilization going back at least 5,000 years. However, it has been only in the last century that a large city population has expanded outside the old city walls. Thus, a walk through town will offer sights coming from all different eras. The following photos are meant to give you a sample of the diversity one finds here in Jerusalem. From ancient city walls to old Arab neighborhoods and to more recent buildings from the period when Britain controlled the city, these all can be found within a pretty small distance from each other. You can find them at this link: http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tpmackie/web/pictures/aroundto...

We've been taking long walks all over the city in the evenings to get our bearings. Jerusalem is such an amazing city, there is rich history tucked into every street. The old city itself is divided into four quarters, 2 Christian, 1 Jewish, and 1 Muslim. We spent an entire morning walking through one of the Christian quarters, which contains some of the oldest Christian historical sites in the world. It was an amazing experience to be in places where the events surrounding Jesus actually took place, and where millions of Christians have come to remember those events over the centuries. Click on this link to see it for yourself:http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tpmackie/web/pictures/christia...

We began our journey on Saturday August 12. After living a week with our friends the Metzger's we packed our bags and headed out for the year long journey. We left O'Hare at 8pm and arrived in Zurich, Switzerland at 10am. Since we had 12 hours until our flight left, we took the train from the airport into downtown Zurich. We were told that one can see the Swiss Alps in horizon of the city on a sunny day. But alas, it was a cool, cloudy, and rainy day. After buying an umbrella (we forgot one), we set out to explore downtown Zurich. As you will see, old town Zurich is like stepping back in time 400 years to an old European town. We ate lunch at a cool buffet restaurant, and ventured out into the cobblestone streets of old town. We discovered some really old cathedrals and had a great time. After we had enough of the rain, we went back to the airport and flew out at 10pm. We arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel at 4am. We caught a taxi to Jerusalem (about a 45min ride) and arrived at out new apt (we'll show you pictures later) So enjoy some photos and video from our journey by clicking on this link:http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tpmackie/web/pictures/wisc-zur...