The dream of visiting Jerusalem come true by Awdah Alhathaleen
I was with a group of both Palestinian and foreign friends, and it was scheduled in our program that tomorrow we would go to visit Jerusalem. For my friends this trip felt natural, but for me, it was a dream come true.
We were staying in Bethlehem and after supper, our guide asked us to wake up early the next morning because we would travel to Jerusalem. He did not know that I would not be sleeping that night. We went to our rooms and although I tried to sleep, I could not. I tried several times but I did not succeed. That night I laughed and smiled when I thought of Jerusalem and I was crying when I saw how simple my dream was but I did not realize it.
I used to blame myself for something that was not my fault. I thought of my mother, of whether or not to call and tell her I was going to visit Jerusalem tomorrow. I will not call her, I decided. I was afraid of not making it to Jerusalem; I did not want her to feel sad like me. I was looking at my phone all night, watching the hours, minutes and seconds go by. I hated time that night, I felt it was fighting with me, telling me the night would ever end. It was 4 am and I was wearing my clothes, praying and praying to God that everything would be fine and that I would make it to Jerusalem. I finally fell asleep, maybe exhausted from thinking too much, or from fatigue, but then something woke me. There was a voice at the door, my friend and my brother Eid. He was knocking on the door and calling to me, “we have to go, we do not want to be delayed.”
I ran to the ground floor and when I saw my friends there eating breakfast, I felt that there was hope that I would finally achieve my dream! After minutes we went to the bus. I did not want to lose any moment or sight of Jerusalem, so I sat beside the window. The intensity of fear and tension caused me to tremble, I was afraid of everything.I had a permit to enter Jerusalem, but I still had the fear. After a few moments they told us that we were approaching the crossing. I claimed our Lord so much in my heart, I do not know if my friends noticed my spirit or not- I do not remember any of them at that moment.
When we arrived at the checkpoint, our bus was stopped by the occupation’s soldiers. One of them approached the bus driver and began to talk to him. I was sitting in the middle of the bus and fear overtook me. I did not hear the conversation that took place between the soldiers and the bus driver. I was busy going through the most difficult two minutes of my life.
Riding the bus as we went through the checkpoint, I swear, my happiness in this moment was more than I can express. I was crying tears of joy.
In that moment, I decided to enjoy this wonderful day and forget the fear that I was about to die. I looked at everything through the bus window, as if I were seeing things for the first time. Everything in Jerusalem was beautiful.
When we arrived in Jerusalem and got off the bus, I began to smell history. I felt the past, the present and the future. I drank coffee with Tariq, who was visiting Jerusalem for the first time, too. He is like a brother to me, and being together with him in Jerusalem made even the coffee taste different. Then I asked one of the leaders who was leading the group, to allow me to visit al-Aqsa Mosque. I went quickly, joined by a dear friend. We came up to one of the gates to the Noble Sanctuary, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located. I was surprised by the Israeli soldiers who were always stationed at the gates. They allowed me in but unfortunately, they prevented my friend Nancy. I entered the gate and walked towards Al-Aqsa Mosque.
My dream came true: I was inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and my God, how beautiful and inspiring. I prayed to my God. I prayed so much: that the situation here would change, would become better. And I promised Jerusalem that I would visit again.
I will visit again soon
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