Last weekend E and I made our way to Jerusalem to visit Yad Vashem (Otherwise known as the Holocaust History Museum). It was the one place I didn’t have a chance to visit during my previous time here.

As Americans, we’re taught about the atrocities of the Holocaust at a young age. It’s more than just a blip in history class. As Americans, we feel intimately tied to what happened during WWII. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Wiccan….. Americans feel the weight of the Holocaust. And so, it was important for me to see the Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem herself.

The museum is actually an amazing work of architecture. The main hall is a triangle made of giant concrete slabs. On each side of this main hallway are rooms containing artifacts from that era.

From the bunk beds used in the concentration camps to the uniforms to weapons, it was all overwhelming and powerful.

The museum is actually a part of a larger complex. Most of Yad Vashem is outdoors. Surrounding the indoor museum is a large park which includes several other monuments.

And of course, a stunning view of Jerusalem….

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Another life size tag discovered during one of my runs along the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv. Even though this one may be pushing the line between a spray painted tag and a painting, I noticed the same taggers name appears next to this one as it does for many others.

The complete archive of my Tagged Tuesday: Israeli Graffiti series can be found here.

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I laughed a little when I learned that the zoo in Israel is called a “safari”.  I thought perhaps it was a mistake in the translation between Hebrew and English. 

A safari (when used in English) is a reference to an African adventure hunting elephants or trapping tigers.  It’s a relatively old fashioned concept but still used when talking about entering or experiencing something wild and untamed. I couldn’t fathom a zoo being “wild and untamed”.

That is, until I actually went:

(above) Ostrich walking up to the cars.

The Ramat Gan zoo is only 15 minutes outside of Tel Aviv but when driving into the complex, it’s easy to forget how close it is to a major city. The zoo is in two halves: the first half allows cars to drive through a huge “safari” area that includes ostriches, hippopotamus’, zebras, giraffes, and an assortment of gazelles.

I had never found myself so close to “wild” animals like this before.

(above) The lion’s den.

The second half of the zoo was traditional. All of the animals were in their respective “homes” behind large fences or cages. A notable difference were the gangs of roosters and chickens allowed to run free around the zoo complex. They were surprisingly friendly and had no fear pecking bits of my ice cream cone from my hand.

Would an American zoo EVER let wild animals get this close to the general public??

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