Boarding the Bus: Beersheba to Jerusalem

Passengers hoping to board an already crowded bus on a Friday afternoon at Beersheba Central Bus Station.

August 19, 2011 -- After a couple of days exploring Mitzpe Ramon and Midreshet Ben-Gurion, I was going to travel via bus south to Eilat and then Petra, but a big terrorist attack on the same bus route I was going to take made for a change of plans. The roads were closed around Eilat and the Israeli Defense Forces were advising the public to avoid the area after a well-coordinated ambush near the Egyptian border murdered eight innocent civilians and injured dozens. So instead of soaking up the sun along the Red Sea and visiting Al Khazneh (featured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"), I took a bus north to Beersheba and then transferred to another bus to Jerusalem.

I crowded onto the packed bus with Israeli soldiers on leave for the hour-and-a-half ride north. Friday afternoons are very busy at Beersheba Central Bus Station because everyone wants to catch the last buses to their destination in order to be able to spend Shabbat dinner with their families and friends. I arrived at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station just in time for the Friday opening of the new light rail line along Jaffa Road and preparations for Shabbat in the Holy City.

After checking in to Abraham's Hostel next to Davidka Square in the heart of Israel's undivided capital, I was ready to explore my favorite city in the world—from Mount Herzl to the Western Wall and beyond. Jerusalem. Yerushaláyim. יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎.

Here are more pictures of the bus trip from Beersheba to Jerusalem. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.