Three Days in Jerusalem

 

Western Wall 

After a day on our own exploring Jerusalem from atop the walls surrounding the city, we spent 2 days with a guide visiting the highlights of this ancient and beautiful city.  The layers of history are visible everywhere, from the excavations around the Temple Mount to the sections of the Roman road that once stretched across the city and on to the Mediterranean Sea.

Jerusalem's ancient ramparts

On our first day, the Temple Mount, with the beautiful Dome of the Rock and the huge and important al-Aqsa Mosque, was closed because of a Muslim holiday.  The Israeli police close the Temple Mount whenever they have the slightest concern about any political activity that could cause a riot or even just a demonstration.  The Israeli government wants, above all, to keep the Temple Mount quiet and peaceful, particularly since the 2 major Palestinian uprisings began there.  While the Palestinians control the area, there is a heavy Israeli police presence as well.  No one is allowed to bring non-Muslim religious materials to the site.  Jews cannot pray there.  Men and women cannot show any display of affection.  Palestinian police monitor the morals and Israeli police make sure no one violates the rules in this tinderbox area. 

Dome of the Rock

We were able to visit this beautiful place, holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews, on our second day of touring.  There are 9 entrances to the Temple Mount.  Non-Muslims can enter by only one of these, but can leave through any of the gates.  Muslims can use any entrance.  The day of our visit was quiet with only a few tourists visiting.  Muslim families and groups of enthusiastic school children strolled and romped across the spacious courtyards.  Since only Muslims can enter the al-Aqsa Mosque, we could only look at it from the outside.

al-Aqsa Mosque, Temple Mount

 The Western Wall is always busy.  Men and women have   different sections where they can pray, with the women’s   section being much smaller than the men’s.  Families   come with their 13-year-old boys for Bar Mitzvahs, but   there is no such thing as a Bat Mitzvah in the Orthodox   Jewish tradition, so you don’t see families of girls   gathered for the girls’ coming of age ceremonies.  This   solemn and holy place draws Jews from all over the world to pray, put tiny pieces of paper with prayers written on them into the crevices between the huge stones of the wall, and to feel the emotion of thousands of years of history and diaspora.  Not everyone was solemn, however, as a few young women, scantily dressed, took endless selfies of themselves in front of the wall, blocking the way for worshippers. 

window in Hall of the Last Supper

For Christians, Jerusalem is the site of Jesus’ last days, so visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Garden of Olives and Gethsemane are essential visits.  Of the 4 quarters of the city, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian, the busiest and most heavily populated is the Muslim Quarter.  Only about 800 people live in the Armenian Quarter while over 20,000 live in the Muslim Quarter, kept lively by a large market filling the alleyways and streets of this section of the Old City.  Armenians worship at the Armenian Orthodox Church, with its beautiful tile work, a hallmark of this Quarter of the city.

entrance to Armenian Church

 Our final visit was to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, with its heartbreaking videos of survivors of the Holocaust telling their stories.  You leave Yad Vashem with the horror of the Holocaust filling your heart and mind.  Unfortunately, the day we were there, the German chancellor was also scheduled to visit, so our time was cut short as the Museum shut down in preparation for his arrival.  

baklava display in Mahane Yehuda Market

We had lunch at an Iraqi restaurant in the Mahane Yehuda Market on our last day and loved a stroll through the endless stalls overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, candy, baklava and much more.  It is Jerusalem’s main food market where families from all over the Middle East serve their native dishes to shoppers and tourists alike.

Jewish cemetery at Mount of Olives

Israel is just reopening after 2 years of Covid shutdowns.  Restaurants have reopened quickly, so we enjoyed excellent food in the neighborhood surrounding our hotel.  But, the toll has been huge.  Our guide told us he had not worked in 2 years.  The government helped for a while, but the last 15 months have been very difficult for him and almost all Israelis.  

After a visit to Masada, in my next blog, we crossed the Jordan River at the Allenby/King Husssein Bridge crossing for 5 days in Jordan.