Seen & Heard: Jerusalem's weekend vibes, Wildcats' 18-hour trek, Arizona president Robert Robbins joins

JERUSALEM — Even after taking 18 total hours’ worth of bus and plane rides to reach Israel, the Arizona Wildcats still found plenty of adrenaline upon arrival in Israel on Thursday.

Having a tour guide insist that you are walking the same roads as Jesus might have done it. Or, maybe, it was the chance to check out some way-back-in-the-day toilets, in which three-foot rocks had holes drilled into them.

Or maybe it was the intrigue of where the City of David actually is. The Wildcats toured several different archaeological areas Thursday, and were told archaeologists have found evidence indicating the City of David may not be exactly near to Jerusalem’s famed Western Wall. The players were taken to a location where it is now believed to have been.

“I don’t think they were jet-lagged at that point,” said UA athletics spokesman Nate Wiechers, one of UA’s 50-person traveling party. “They were all generally paying attention and following along. It was respectful.”

The Wildcats did get a brief break after their midafternoon workout and, by the evening, they were escorted to the rooftop restaurant of the top-end Hotel Mamilla. UA center Oumar Ballo posted a photo of himself looking out at the view over the city to his Instagram story.

A party of 50Arizona president Robert Robbins met the Wildcats in Jerusalem on Thursday after arriving separately, while graduate assistant Przemek Karnowski flew in from Poland after taking a break to visit his homeland.

Those two are being joined by 48 other players, coaches, staffers and donors along for the tour. That includes all 18 players on UA’s 2023-24 roster plus 10 coaches and staffers. Assistant coach Riccardo Fois, who is coaching with the Italian national team in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, is the only staffer not to make the trip.

Maui sadnessNews of the Maui wildfires’ destruction of historic Lahaina hit home with high-major college basketball programs, as the city is host to the prestigious Maui Invitational event.

“Devastated to see the images coming out of Maui after the wildfire,” the Arizona men’s basketball program tweeted. “We are sending our thoughts to all the amazing people of Lahaina that make it such a special place.”

The event’s venue, the Maui Civic Center, was spared and has served as an evacuation center. Also the hotels where the participating teams stay, along the the Kaanapali beach strip, are north of the fires.

But the historic parts of Lahaina near and along Front Street, places that Maui Invitational fans and players have enjoyed for years, were destroyed.

Buckle up

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While it’s normal for airplane passengers to be asked to sit down and buckle up as an airplane makes its final descent into a city, planes flying into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport are forced to take things to another level.

It’s the law.

On our flight from San Francisco, passengers were told to sit down and buckle up a full 37 minutes before landing, with 186 miles still left to fly — because the plane was entering Israeli airspace.

Israel law requires passengers to be seated and use seat belts once in its airspace.

Exclusive coverage of UA hoops Mideast Tour — only in the Star and at Tucson.com/Pascoe

Breakfast for dinner

While traveling a half-day behind the Wildcats, who left early Wednesday to catch a connection in Atlanta, we flew from Tucson to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon and then from there to Tel Aviv.

Convenient, yes. But weird. The 14-hour flight took off from San Francisco as it was turning dark at 8 p.m... then it landed as it was turning dark in Tel Aviv, at 8 p.m.

And the meals? Adjusted for Israel time, dinner was served at 8 a.m. and breakfast was served at 7 p.m., about an hour before landing.

Weekend vibes

Even with a late arrival at Jerusalem’s train station, where Tel Aviv airport passengers are whisked in with just a 26-minute ride, there was no doubt the weekend had arrived.

In an area where businesses close routinely for Shabbat on Friday evening and Saturday, Thursday night is party time. Outside the central train station, where a light rail stopped, music boomed out of a parked van that people danced on and in front of.

Jerusalem’s City Center also crawled with people, restaurants, music and a police presence until late in the evening.