Day 10: Jerusalem: Old City
I slept like a rock last night and hope to get this update done while I prop my feet up a bit longer. We walked a lot yesterday. We were told to make sure we could walk up to 4 miles before the trip and David wisely added that if we counted walking in an air-conditioned mall as part of our preparation, that wouldn’t cut it. We needed to add elevation. To get ready I would take a 5 minute break every couple of hours during the work day to run up and down the back stairwell. That served me well yesterday as there were LOTS of stairs to navigate. My feet and ankles are crying out that they aren’t quite ready for this 2nd day in Jerusalem, but with a little TLC (Katinko ointment shared by Eleanor from the Philippines) and breakfast brought to me by Brent), I should be ready to go by our 8 am departure time.
We were able to walk from our hotel to the Temple Mount, our destination for the day. David pointed out sites along the way that included the Mount of Olives in the distance, the direction of several of the gates to the city as well as the direction of the four quarters of the city. (Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish).
We were told ahead of time not to wear any religious jewelry, not to bring Bibles or tablets and to dress modestly (no shoulders or knees visible). It is fall in Israel and it was a beautiful, cool day in the 60’s to walk in. David mentioned several times that we were having exceptionally good weather as I guess it can get drizzly and cold.
I wanted to write down all that he was telling us along our walk but with the uneven stones and steps, I stayed focused on just taking in my surroundings and watching where I was walking. Many trip hazards along the way and we have had a few stumbles during our trip with some of our tour group. Thankfully, there have been no major injuries, but falling is a real possibility here.
We walked through a tunneled area with stalls to sell things but David wisely kept us moving saying that if you don’t have plenty of time to bargain, you will just get ripped off. We made our way to the security section, a bit like TSA which was handled by the Israeli police to ensure that visitors do not bring weapons in but mainly so that we don’t offend the Muslims. David reminded us that we couldn’t pray out loud or even look like we were praying while there. We had to be careful about what we said and no public displays of affection would be tolerated. Any infractions would mean that we would be kicked out of there. Our group behaved well. Leslie, one of our group had followed all of the guidelines but was still told by the Modesty Police to put on one of their skirts. You can see her modeling it in one of the pictures. She did so with humility but the behind-the-scenes comments from our group generated some laughter, caught on camera.
Muslims can enter the Temple Mount from 7 different entrances at any time of the day or night, but all other visitors have one entrance with set hours. As we entered, we could see the Western Wall ahead. “There are plenty of walls in the Holy Land. You can see them everywhere but the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City stands above the rest. Jews consider this their most sacred site and the heart of their religion. It represents their beloved temple that once stood on their site. “ (George W. Knight) Jews especially treasure this location because they believe it is the closest to the Holy of Holies, the sacred inner sanctuary of the temple. From where we were standing we could see people praying. Men and women were separated as they prayed. After we toured the tunnel of the Western Wall, we went back to that area and had time to pray at the wall on our respective sides.
Before going into the tunnels we sat near one of the mosques and had a history lesson. In the distance you could see the gold-covered Dome of the Rock. The most prominent building in the Old City is this Muslim shrine.
Well…it’s about time for us to leave so I will return to share about some of the specifics later. To wrap up, we spent some time on the steps near the Southern Wall of the City with a view to our left of the Mount of Olives. We took turns reading the Psalms of Ascent (Ps. 120-134) and sang, “Come Bless The Lord” together. It was a beautiful way to finish our visit to the Temple Mount before walking back to the hotel for dinner. We passed by the remains of a portion of “Hezekiah’s Wall” (The Broad Wall) that is still being excavated. It was built over 2,600 years and is 7 meters wide. Archaeologists have excavated 65 meters of it so far.
Last night we enjoyed a beautiful treat. A light show in an old Crusader Citadel that beautifully illustrated the history of Israel set to music. We enjoyed the Chiluli glass accents as well.
So much more to share…but we’re off to the City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel and Bethlehem today.
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