Israel Day 5 – around Jerusalem

We had a bit of a sleep-in then down for a restricted breakfast as it is the Sabbath so no-one works to cook hot food for us.  But they do have waiters who clean up the tables, so how come…..too hard to work out who works and who doesn’t on the Sabbath.

The group headed out at 9am for the short walk down the hill to the Jaffa Gate into the old city where we commenced our walking tour. 

The tour took a large anti-clockwise loop through the Armenian quarter which seemed to comprise mostly restaurants, ceramic shops and narrow streets, then through the newer Jewish quarter, which featured buildings over ancient architecture such as this main road called a Cardo.  

We walked around to a nice view of the Wailing Wall with the gold Dome of the Rock behind:

and to the immediate right of that, the Mount of Olives covered in graves:

 
We were told that our knees should be covered to visit the Wailing Wall.  It would have been really helpful to have been told that before we left the hotel, because I had to pull my shorts down as far as I could, and another lady had to borrow Julie’s scarf to tie around her like a skirt.  No photos allowed as it is the Sabbath.  Men to the larger space on the left, and women to the right, to put their bits of paper into the crevices and for quiet reflection.  Julie said there was a bit of a bunfight for the women to get through and there wasn’t much space for the papers.  The men had no such issues. We didn’t put any messages in, feeling no need to join in such a quintessentially Jewish custom.

Then off through the Muslim quarter which was crowded.  Our perplexed guide asked a policeman why so many people were there and was told it was Children’s Day, and so there were many women all dressed beautifully with their kids crowding the very narrow streets and adjacent shop stalls. We pushed through the melee to go to the first Stations of the Cross where the crowds thinned out.  So began our second walk along this route with informed commentary this time. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was heavily populated but perhaps not as much as might be expected.  Eg to touch the rock where the cross is claimed to have been might only have involved a ten minute wait.  We went through innumerable chapels and alcoves in a fluorescent maze of candles, gaudiness and ornamentation, punctuated by dark passageways, but overall, sensory overload when added to the noise from the people. 

The only relief from this was in a small chapel which had been burnt out 50 years ago but never repaired as the 2 Christian churches involved with it can’t resolve which one is the correct one to do the refurbishing.  All the carpeting and wall ornamentation have gone, and the paintings and altar are all burnt and just left there, blackened.  It was so peaceful in there after all the noise everywhere else outside, with people poking their heads in and then vanishing because: “nothing to see here”.  Two of us agreed we hoped it is never refurbished. A much-needed sanctuary, courtesy of bickering churches.

Then to lunch of delicious falafel sandwiches made with pita bread and salads, (JB: you were right) then we headed off by ourselves to poke through the narrow streets, get totally lost, then blundered out through the New Gate and back down to the Jaffa Gate for a coffee and watch the crowds go by. 

 

Back to the hotel to do the blogs and catch up on emails, before heading out again at 6.30 for a trip to an Armenian restaurant which had passable food, and then the Tower of David sound and light show where the story of Jerusalem is projected onto the architectural remains in the Citadel area.

 

This was spectacular, and for those Canberra readers who saw the recent Enlightened show where static images are projected onto significant buildings in the Parliamentary triangle, well, we have a long way to go.  This had moving images plastered over vast tracts of ancient walls and excellent sound and music.  Photography is prohibited but Julie did get to sneak one of the very beginning, of King David playing his flute on top of the castle.

Apologies about the strange positioning of photos and text.  The blog software seems to be a little sick the last couple of days.

Julie has the day off tomorrow to explore the modern shops between the hotel and the old city while Mal goes back to school, and also gets to place an Australian Psychological Society wreath at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Mt Scopus just out of the old city.