Yom Kippur in the Old city of Jerusalem

So this Yom Kippur wasn't like others that i have had in my life. 

First of all it was spent in Jerusalem, which i have only done once in my life, when i was in Israel two years ago on Year Course. Second of all, this one i got to spend two of the three services inside the walls of the old city. 

I stayed with Yemmima, a good friend of Yaels and one of the scouts who worked at Camp Tel Yehudah when i was a camper there...It was especially nice, because i didn't make my plans until a few days before i actually went, so it was really nice of them to take me last minute. 

Friday afternoon the fast started pretty early, because here in Israel, we have already changed our clocks back for daylight savings time. (just for those who are curious, im 7 hours later than central US time now) We had a nice meal at Yemimma's house, then drove to the old city parked the car right outside, and went into the Shul. It was a sepharadi portuguese shul, but there were many people there who were neither portuguese nor sepharadi. It was pretty hard to find my place, because of the pace of the service, and the fact that they don't read out page numbers there like they do in the states. It was a good experience overall, and i would return to the same shul the next night for ne'ila to finish off the holiday, at which time i had began adjusting much better to the pace and tunes of the service.  After the service we walked back to Yemima's appartment (half way across Jerusalem) which took us about an hour or so. Then we got in, and i went right to bed, having woken up at 6 that morning, and after a day of traveling from the north to Tel Aviv, and then Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The next morning i woke up at about quarter to ten, and i got up, and we went to a different shul, a little closer to their house, only a 30 minute walk. That shul was more similar to the tunes and style we have back home, although not exact. After that service which went until about 2 in the afternoon, I ended up running into two different Judaeans, and walked back to the old city for ne'ila (the ending prayers of Yom Kippur). We got there in the middle of the reading of the story of Jonah, and stayed for about 3 hours until the fast ended. Overall i would have thought that fasting and walking as much as i did would have been really hard, but in the end, it wasn't too hot in Jerusalem, and it wasn't nearly as bad as i had expected. Overall the experience was pretty cool, being in the Old city of Jerusalem, where so many people had done the same thing for thousands of years. Also doing the priestly blessing in the shul inside the walls of the old city was very moving, because it was the closest i have felt to my ancestry possibly ever. Hope everyone who fasted had an easy fast and Chag Sameach, and Shanah tovah (happy new year) to everyone!