Getting a black card

The flights from Copenhagen-Zürich and Zürich-Tel Aviv went smoothly. In Ben Gurion Airport, though, there was a bit of a hazzle. I was sent through the passport check fairly quickly and thought that it would all there was to explaining what my purpose for coming to Israel and Palestine was. When they send you further on they give you a card - I discovered at least two colours; some had been given a red one, but the print om my card was black. When I handed it to the lady in the next checking post, she told me that they had to ask me some questions - so in less than in about half a minute, I was introduced to no less than three different women and finally having to answer the same questions I had been asked by the first one: Why have I come here, have I been here before, do I know anybody here, how long will my stay last, am I absolutely sure that I don't know anybody here, where will I be going first - where will I be staying, can I show them my hostel booking confirmation....

The lady pointed our to me that I seemed a bit shaky; it was not until then I realized that my hands were shaking like and old lady's. No wonder. I was beginning to worry that I had not prepared myself well enough in case she would begin a real interrogation. But finally, I passed through.

The whole situation probably didn't last any longer than five minutes, but it felt like forever. Even though I had planned to stay an hour or two in the airport so I would not have to wait so long for my bus once in Jerusalem, I couldn't get out of the airport fast enough.
Driving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem I glanced out the window, once again overwhelmed by the beauty of the night: twinkling stars – thousands of them in sight, but their light is over powered by the immense darkness that make sky and ground almost melt together. Tiny, white lights are spread out on the enourmous hill tops in the horizon, revealing the curvy formations of this incredible landscape. Despite unpleasant questions in the airport, it felt good being back.

(The photo is from The Western Wall.)