Jerusalem

So settle down in a comfortable location, as we have done a lot in the few days since I last posted.

We arrived in Jerusalem mid-day Wed (July 27). My cousin Marc who lives in Jerusalem had arranged for cab driver he uses to pick us up in Haifa. Eli arrived early (which Marc says is one of his consistently great assets) and took us on the 2.5 hour drive to Jerusalem. Horse power is not one of his car's assets. We chugged up the hills leading here, but made it all in one piece - and early. After a humorous debate in Hebrew between Eli and Marc, we picked up Marc at the entrance to a parking garage, and then drove the few blocks to his parents' (my aunt and uncle's) vacation house. Marc was the perfect concierge, got us settled, brought out the scrapbook chronicling the remodel of this historic home, and pointed out the directions to grocery store and nearby shops/restaurants.

Just to say a bit about this amazing home (you can see us above standing in the front of the front door), it is in a great location for us - we can walk everywhere and just a few blocks from the Jaffa gate to the Old City. There is a Waldorf Astoria being built (two towers being added to a lower building that was originally the Palace Hotel) - so we can easily find our way home by looking for the construction and cranes. It is a complex maze of streets here - so good to have a landmark!

The house is in the 2nd neighborhood built outside of the walls of the Old City - originally a Moroccan community. They bought the previous iteration of the house in 1996 - in the scrapbook the photos are labeled "no foundation but lots of promise". It took several years (till 2000) of reconstruction inside and out to create where I am now sitting and writing to you.

Here you can see the view (of the master bedroom balcony on 2nd floor) of the house from the alleyway.

The pathway leading up to the front door. Their landscape architect use the bible as a reference as to what indigenous plants/trees should be planted in the garden. Olive trees, pomegranate bushes, rock roses just to name a few.

You can see the original exterior walls looking into the kitchen.

Looking out through the patio windows, you can see how thick these stone walls are. All so amazing.

But we barely had time to settle in, as we had pre-arranged a tour of Bethlehem. I should say a bit about "pre-arranging" this. While Bethlehem is only a few kilometers outside of Jerusalem, is in the West Bank (one of the places tourists are not advised to go) and on the other side of the Separation Barrier/Wall (built in 2005). So I kept reading tour sites/blogs trying to figure out how to make it work without having to switch cabs at the security checkpoint. I found a recommendation for a tour guide Sam Salem and I was able to do it ahead via email. We met up with him at a hotel around the corner, and off we went. Sam was born and raised in Bethlehem. He is Catholic - his father is from Lebanon and his mother from South or Central America, and the immigrated here through the Philippines. He was born and raised in Bethlehem, but he and his wife and three young children live in Jerusalem. His mother still lives in Bethlehem. He works part time for the United Nations in Jerusalem, and part time as a tour guide. We drove to the security checkpoint, showed our passports and went into the Bethlehem side of what he referred to as the Separation Wall (many different names for it). Bethlehem residents can only travel back and forth into Jerusalem if they have a special permit.

Above and below you can see the art work of British underground graffiti artist Bansky. He did this in 2005 shortly after the wall was completed.

Very interesting to see this and consider the varying sides of the debate. The wall was erected to stop Palestinian attacks/suicide bombers - so Israelis will tell us how much safer they feel with the wall there; Palestinians will speak to oppression and rage the wall creates; our Catholic tour guide raised in Bethlehem talks about the sadness of seeing what has happened in his homeland, as well as hard it is with his mother in her aging years and having the access be so complicated.

Beyond the wall we passed this beautiful building - the InterContinental - I think now used to house visiting VIPs.

Sam explained that Bethlehem, other than these narrow streets, is not the "Little town of Bethlehem" anymore. It has a population of about 75,000 - and is 70% Arab and 30% Christian. He said the Christians will hold on to their property even if they move away, unless they can sell to another Christian family. Already the minority, they struggle to hold on to their identify in Bethlehem - one of the main reasons that his mother, in spite of her deteriorating health, will not leave. We continued our driving tour, until we reached a spot for falafel/shwarma and, of course, hummus.

Our next stop was the Field of the Shepherds, the supposed site where the shepherds were told by the angel that Jesus was being born. A beautiful oasis of Olive trees, as well as archeological dig sites.

Here is the church that is on the site

As well as the entrance to the actual shepherd's caves, which we were able to go in to.

From this area we could see some of the new Israeli settlements in the West Bank - very different form the idea of "settlement" that I think of when I read about them in the news. They are huge, modern cities. All of this is SO complex...

Our final Bethlehem stop was at the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace (cave) of Jesus. As with so many places we have been, many groups claim this to be their holy place (and there are also the archeological layering we have become increasingly familiar with). This church has a Catholic section, and Armenian section and a Greek Orthodox section.

Below is a photo of the nave leading up to the Roman Orthodox main church

As we drove out of Bethlehem, we spotted this wonderful cafe sign. As it turns out, Starbucks tried to create a presence in Israel, and failed.

The drive back through the checkpoint was much slower (Israeli security much more intense than the Palestinian authority upon entering) and the vendors were going car to car, much like traveling from Tijuana back in to the San Diego area. Our tour guide mentioned that once they got you to hold whatever they were selling, it would impossible to get away. We watched this happen to the car in front of us - she took one of the bottles of perfume, and within minutes the vendor was handing several more boxes through the window and you could see her trying to worm her way out of it. Very funny to watch - and so glad we were not driving.

We got back to the house and ventured out to find dinner - well, actually to find the grocery store, but took a wrong turn and ended up on a nearby area (I think called Nakhalat Shiva) with tons of shops, restaurants, etc. One of the first places we spotted was a yogurt/gelato cafe - so Jim was in heaven.

After dinner we did find the grocery store (same chain store we used in Haifa, but much smaller urban version of it) and picked up the necessities. Jim had a unique experience here. Behind us at the checkout were two nuns. Towards the end of our purchase, the cashier held up a package of Kotex pads from the items on the nun's side of the conveyer belt, and explained in her limited English that these were a 2 for 1 item, but it looked like what the nuns were purchasing wasn't over the limit you needed to spend to get the discount. Since our purchase was over that amount, the nuns were hoping that they could put the kotex on our tab, and they would then pay us cash. Trusting that they really were nuns and not scam artists in costume, we agreed. So, basically Jim (former parochial school student, choir boy, altar boy, and seminarian) in one of life's great ironies bought feminine hygiene products for the Sisters!

On Thursday, we had a full day (9:15 to 5:45 - oy, were we tired by the end of it!) with a tour guide, Susan Lamden. Susan is originally from Brooklyn but moved to Israel after collage. Her husband, prior to retirement, was an Israeli Ambassador, so she has lived many places. Most interesting to us was that he was the Ambassador to the Vatican (John Paul II) during the 1980s. She was a fabulous guide with so much to share about history, religion, architecture, culture, etc.

Let me preface with saying I took so many pictures and this is only a small sample - so don't be offended by what was left out! We started off at Mount of Olives - below is a photo taken on the Mount looking out over the cemeteries to the walled Old City. The Mount is on the easter side of Jerusalem and is best known as the scene of some of the last days of Jesus.

We final spotted a camel!

As I've mentioned so many times - there is so much overlap between the religions here - you see the view from Dominus Flevit Chapel ("The Lord Wept") - the supposed site of the stone he sat on as he wept for the fate of Jerusalem - looking out on to the Dome of the Rock (Muslim).

The hillside going down from Mount of Olives is a Jewish Cemetery (pictured below), and the side going up to the Old City Walls is a Muslim Cemetery. These are located here for prominent and/or wealthy people who wanted to be as close to Jerusalem as possible for the coming of the messiah.

Below is the Garden of Gethsemane where it is believed Jesus prayed the night before he was arrested. You can see the thick and twisted centuries old olive trees.

This area leads up to the Basilica of the Agony
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We climbed up the hill (the rest of the day was fairly level, thank goodness, because it was quite a hot day) and entered the Old City through the Lion's (AKA St. Stephen's Gate) and into the Muslim Quarter

in which the Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross) is located. We were surprised to find it to be just a narrow merchant's street

with marked spots along the way - for example below you see the 6th station marker.

Because we had to time things in a certain way, we stopped in the Muslim Quarter at Abu Shukri for lunch - known for having the best hummus (or Houmous) in Jerusalem. Great meal, although I think we are both getting a bit "hummosed" out.

As we headed to the entrance to the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock we passed the Western Wall (also referred to as the "Wailing Wall" but as our tour guide explained, that term is considered offensive by some, and the correct use of Western Wall correctly refers to the spiritual meaning it holds - the western wall of the original and second Temple, and where Jews came to lament the destruction of the 2nd Temple).

It is also an archeological site as you can see below - so the patio in front of the Western Wall is actually a platform built over the older cities.

A few things to note in the photo of the Western Wall above. On the far left side of the wall you will see an archway to a men's only covered area, then the space between there and the umbrellas is the men's outdoor section, and the other side of the umbrellas is the women's section. You see a lot of activity around the umbrellas - on Mondays and Thursdays, it is Bar Mitzvah day at the wall -so it is held right on the gender screen so that all family/friends can participate together. There are several Torah Arks placed around to hold the Torah's being used for what was a number of Bar Mitzvah's all happening at the same time. Fascinating. More about the wall later.

As sites overlap, the photos were taken from the ramp leading up to Dome of the Rock (Haram esh-Sarif), the Muslim Mosque, also referred to as Temple Mount. Only Muslims are allowed to enter, but the exterior and courtyards were a feast to the eyes.

You can see that, in spite of the heat, we kept needing to "garb up" for the various sites - but it was so hot! So Jim had on shorts that had zip on lower legs, and a t-shirt he could put over his tank top; I had a shawl. So we are not bundled up to stay warm, but out of respect! Unprepared people who wanted to visit had to buy pashminas/scarves to be able to enter. So there were a lot of men in shorts, with long pashminas tied around their wastes.

From there we headed in to the Arab Souk - all lit up for Ramadan which starts on Monday.

We entered the Christian Quarter, stopped at St. Anne's for a view of the Church at the site where perhaps Mary was born (but do remember that we visited Zipporis/Tsipori which was also the supposed place of her birth...so who knows), an archeological dig, and clean bathrooms. And then on to Church of the Holy Sepulchre (believed to be the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection).

Here you can see Jim touching the Stone of Unction (place where Jesus's body was anointed and wrapped). You see him in a black cape (he was not "garbed up" for this spot) - he was waiting in long line for this, and maneuvered around a tour group that was lagging with their guide. Once Jim was actually at the front of the line, that tour guide burst in to protest that Jim had taken cuts, went and got a nearby priest. Jim assumed he was to be sent walking, only to have the nice priest bring him this cape and motion for him to continue. The miffed guide walked off grumbling. Our tourguide, Susan, explained that he was leading a group from a cruise ship that tries to "do Jerusalem" in a short day, so they are very aggressive about their schedule.

Here we are in the Jewish Quarter in a painting depicted how the wide Roman streets would have appeared.

After the Jewish Quarter, we exited through the Zion gate. Here you can see the bullet holes that remain from the conflicts in 1969 I think.

The lovely path leading to Mt Zion - as I said most of the day was level. Many of the "rocks" or "mounts" actually have years of civilizations built up to them (as displayed at the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock) so were on level ground. Mt Zion housed King David's Tomb, the alleged hall of the Last Supper, and Church of the Dormition (where Mary is said to have fallen in to Eternal Sleep).

As we left the Old City/Mt Zion we had a lovely view of Yemin Moshe, the first community built outside of the Old City walls (around 1860). She explained that many of the apartments were leased rent free because people were so afraid to live outside of the walls, and even those that moved out there would sneak back inside the walls at night.

This is the park area outside of the walls. You may notice some shrubs coming out of the wall (and also the Western Wall photo) - these are capers. They grow in the cracks throughout the Old City.

We walked through the fairly new Mamilla Shopping Center - when it was built, some attempt was made to keep the historic buildings. So they were taken apart, the stones were numbered so that they could be put back together. Here you see a sculpture of Sarah laughing as she discovers, at a very old age, that she is expecting a child.

So we went from ancient to modern day Jerusalem as we passed a Gay Pride demonstration at the park near the house...

On Friday, we strolled through some of the neighborhoods. Saw the Italian Synagogue - which was interesting in that it was re-constructed from an abandoned (no more Jews) 18th century synagogue in Conegliano Veneter (near Venice), and the adjacent museum, the Ticho House museum, and walked a bit in the Hassidic Mea Chearim neighborhood. We had arranged to have Shabbat dinner with Marc and his family, but this would include Jim joining him and his teen son Alexander for their Shabbat minyan (prayer group) at the Western Wall (since there is the gender divide I opted to stay at Marc's with his two youngest girls). So the plan was for us to take a cab to his house, then the cab would take the men to the entrance to the Old City - all before the sun went down. We had paid attention to our tour guide hailing and negotiating with the cabbie for the drive to Mount of Olives - the cabs here prefer to tell you a set fee and you have to push/insist to put them on the meter. Marc told us that if the price was around 25 shekles to go for it, otherwise request the meter. First cab said 45, and when we asked for the meter instead he told us "more for Shabbat" and ushered us out of the cab; the second cabbie quoted the same price, but was agreeable to the meter - turned out to be only 30, so glad we had been forewarned.

We were greeted with hugs and enthusiasm by Marc's two youngest girls, Talya (aged 11) and Chana Tsipora (7 next week)

Marc and his wife have six children - the two oldest, and youngest, and his wife are all traveling in the USA until next week, so we will see them at Shabbat dinner next Friday. Jim went off with the men for sundown prayers at the Western Wall, and then the walk back home. He said it was a very powerful experience for him - so hopefully he is the other room working on a blog about that.

I enjoyed talking with the girls and watching transform into their fancy Shabbat clothes.

We had a lovely dinner and good conversation. Then Jim and I took the 45 minute walk (no wrong turns) back to the house - lovely, warm evening; many Orthodox Jews (men, woman and children) strolling home, stopping to chat with each other; many streets blocked off from cars. And all of this between 11:00 p.m. and midnight. People had told me that it would be a very different experience for me to be in a place where Jews are the dominant culture - and this truly one of those moments.

Today we are relaxing, and tomorrow are scheduled for the Western Wall Tunnel Tour and Monday another day with Susan (tour guide). It is mind-boggling how much there is to see!