Tour of Jerusalem's "Old City"

We begin with an orientation from Yael, about the "Old City" of Jerusalem and how to navigate through the twists and turns of the various Quarters with their unique flavors and lifestyles all crammed into what was once the entire city of Jerusalem, packed away inside the beautiful stone walls of the city.











In the Jewish Quarter, we saw the newly constructed Synagogue on a plaza where a young girl donates her shekels, to "Thank a Soldier Today." Since almost all young Israelis (boys and girls) are required to serve in the army, soldiers in uniform with their guns at their sides are a pervasive sight throughout the old city and the whole country and are highly honored and revered.











We went down to the "Western Wall or Wailing Wall"– as it used to be called, where Jews from around the world come on Pilgrimage to pray at the last standing retaining wall of the old Temple from the early days. There, on separate sides, men and women pray and slip little pieces of paper into the cracks, asking that their prayers be answered.




Above the Western Wall is "The Temple Mount" which is currently in Muslim hands and features the "Dome of the Rock" over a rock where sacred events within all three Abrahamic faiths were supposed to have taken place. In addition the al-Aqsa Mosque is there as the place where the first inflammation of the 2nd Intifada was begun.















In the Muslim Quarter, one can find in the Souk (market) an unbelievable number of sights, smells, colors, tastes and sounds, all combining for an extravaganza of the senses. Here there are florescent-colored vegetables, sweet-smelling spices, tacky plastic toys, jewelery from precious stones, freshly butchered animals, ice cream in all flavors and colors, exotic underwear, sheepskin-lined "sheiks' coats," Turkish coffee and kebabs, fresh-squeezed tamarind juice and anything else you might want or desire!

The Christian Quarter mainly catered to Christian Tourists with guest houses offered by the various churches, shops with all kinds of "ancient relics" and plastic rosaries, and of course the major sites where Jesus was thought to have walked, especially during the last week of his life. The "Stations of the Cross" wend their way through the various streets, heading to "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre" which is generally thought of as the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and from which he was resurrected.




This place, built by the Empress Helena (Constantine's mother) between 326 and 335 AD, has been inhabited and fought over by the various Christian sects ever since, so depending on your flavor of Christianity, you can go to masses or light candles and pray in any number of sections or time periods.


The Armenian Quarter is a less-visited portion of the old city which has been inhabited by people from Armenia since they first accepted Christianity as their official religion in 301 AD. Their pottery is especially sought-after by artistically-minded tourists.

We left the Old City via the Damascus Gate and returned to our "Ritz Hotel" to a fine banquet of Middle Eastern delicacies!
A fine feast was had by all!