My personal journey in Israel truly started during our time in Jerusalem. Our fantastic tour guide, Dror, facilitated a very meaningful entrance into the city at sunset with a beautiful view of the city (you can make out the dome of the rock at the left hand side of the first photo). As the spiritual center of the Jewish people, Dror welcomed each of us home before we entered the city.

Our journey within the city took us to the Western Wall, where I placed a note within the cracks of the sacred stones. We toured the old city markets, as well as the Mahane Yehuda market. After photographing an Israel Defense Force soldier, he freely offered up his loaded rifle for me to hold (see below shots of IDF soldier and of Dave with gun). We had the incredibly sobering experience of visiting Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum. We also journeyed to Mount Herzl where we saw the graves of soldiers who have perished in war, some of whom were younger than I am.

I stumbled across the "Jerusalem skate scene" and spent some time watching and photographing some of the skateboarders. I was also able to check smoking hookah in Israel off my list during my stay.

One of the great joys for me in exploring new cities is getting to approach and speak with people in the public spaces. You'll see some of these faces in the below photographs (in addition to many photographs of my Taglit peers). All of these individuals agreed to have their portraits taken.