Doppelganger Is An Understatement

The other day I scanned the hostel common area here in Tel-Aviv and came across a familiar face. It was the legend John Lennon. Surely this couldn't be true but I swore it was. I did a quadruple take swaying my head back and forth questioning my eyes and if I was in the right reality... This 20 something-year-old young adult looked exactly like Mr. Lennons doppelganger. While a doppelganger does refer to a living look-a-like of a fellow human lets just pretend the unfortunate shooting in New York on December 8th, 1980 didn't happen. Daniel, the young doppelganger, literally blew my mind with how much he looked liked him. His facial features, hair, clothing style (generally speaking) and most importantly his glasses were right on "Q" with The Beatles lead song writer himself. This conglomeration was just too much for me so I had to introduce myself and ask him about it. 

It wasn't until the next day I got a chance to say anything. At this time it was only noon and I politely asked him..
Me : "Has anyone told you, you look like John Lennon from the Beatles?"
Daniel(aka John Lennon) : "Yeah this is the 3rd time I have heard it today."
Me : "Well that pretty much sums it up that you hear it a lot."

Now this hostel in Tel-Aviv, where I'm currently volunteering at, has a very social environment and holds upward of 70 people so getting multiple comments on the look-a-like-ness isn't a huge surprise but 3 people before noon is crazy! Even further proves how much they're twins. 

Aside form Daniels identical looks to John he was an amazing listener and had a great sense of people around him. I thoroughly enjoyed my time hanging with him whether it was a simple conversation or a night out for drinks. One other fun fact about Daniel is he currently lives in the New York City on the EXACT street John Lennon lived on as well. That's just crazy weird. 

Here are some photos below to prove that the second coming of John Lennon really did stay at Florentine Backpackers Hostel!

This photo is actually a photo of a photo but the original was done on a traditional polaroid camera and it turned out amazing! 

Basic snap and shoot camera photo of Daniel and myself 

The Power of People

Located in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem lies the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as Church of Resurrection to some. While it does not quite twinkle from the outside like some of the churches, cathedrals or holy sites connected to Christians across the world it's on the inside what counts. Pilgrims and Christians of most denominations believe this to be holiest site in the world with the exact location where Jesus was crucified and his empty tomb lying to left of the main entrance for visitors. While the Church is rich in history it was the power of the people on the inside that tugged on my emotional strings to make this an unforgettable experience. 

Once I walked through the 20 'arching doors my friend Johan from Denmark and I noticed numerous people with tears welling up in their eyes. We both shrugged our shoulders questioning and slowly moved on. Things were moving at such an incredible rate it was hard to keep up, scurrying all around. People dressed in all sorts of attire from traditional western priest outfits to fully clothed middle-eastern women. It was hard for me to rap my head around all the cultures, religions and opinions in one place. I walked on and found a little free space to take a seat and things started to come together after that.

Directly inside the main entrance I had walked directly past one of the many sites in the church. This one in particular was the Stone of Unification. The supposed place where Jesus was appointed before burial. This directly answered Johan's and my question why everyone was crying. For these Christians to be able to pray over such a sacred stone and come out so genuinely moved made me want to slip inside their heads to feel that emotion. But I could not literally do that. So as respectfully as I could I watched the people for ten minutes near that stone and it gave me a new slice of what can come of religion. The sheer passion these humans had for making this organised chaos work was remarkable. Again remembering that there are people from every nook and cranny on earth they allowed one another the time of day to do what they wanted at that Unification Memorial. Unity of humans at it's finest.

To me this is not a normal tourist attraction. Maybe it was just the day I went or forced feelings from the tears but I walked away that evening with a real sense of joy and happiness. While I was on the inside I tried to limit my pictures as much as possible but I did get some from the outside. Dare I say this Church is not easiest on the eyes but its the supposed history on the inside that counts. 

View from the outside of the Church of Holy Sepulchre (1) 

Church of Holy Sepulchre (2)

A Christian pilgrim from Ethiopia who wanted to take a photo with me. I asked the same of him shortly afterwards 

Panorama view of the Old City of Jerusalem with many of the holy structures in sight.