Israel Discovery
Day Seven – 2 Dec 2009
Weather: Sunny, 18 with cool wind (jeans & long sleeve shirt with light jacket)
I was up and down to breakfast by 7:15 then we met Zvika for 8 am. He wanted to get on the go to miss the traffic and we drove fairly quickly to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City.
He drove through the Armenian sector back towards the Western Wall.
The itinerary doesn’t include a visit to the Temple Mount because it is impossible to predict when the area will be open to visitors. Luckily, the door was open for us. We walked up a wooden bridge above the Western Wall and walked out onto a large open area with broken columns to the right and trees to the left. The Grey Dome was in front of us. We walked along the plaza until we could see the Dome of the Rock.
This is the golden dome that is visible in pictures of the Old City and the site of the original Temple. Zvika led us around towards the Golden Gate where the Jews believe the Messiah will enter when he appears. To prevent this, the Turks sealed the gate 500 years ago and it remains sealed.
We proceeded towards the next gate and walked by a doorway that says it is the birthplace of Mary.
A little further up, we stopped into an area of excavated ruins where baths were discovered some distance below the surface.
Eventually, we began to follow the stations of the cross (I believe it is called Via Dolorosa or something to that effect).
Zvika gave pointed out most of the stations along the way then we arrived at the Western Wall. He gave us twenty minutes to wander back down to the wall where one could put a piece of paper into small holes in the wall with requests to God. The others went down to the wall and I wandered around above taking pictures. Twenty minutes later, we left the area and reboarded the van. We drove back to the same vantage point that we visited on the night tour and took some pictures.
We returned to the Old City, this time parking in an underground parking lot (where one can park anywhere you can fit a vehicle without blocking another vehicle). The parking lot was underneath an open air mall and led directly to the Jaffa Gate. This time we walked through the Armenian sector. Zvika showed us some sites including original columns found under the City that are still being used with newer piles erected next to them.
We walked through the Jewish sector into the Muslim sector where we had another Sharwarma for lunch (whether we wanted it or not…LOL) then Zvika gave us a rare half hour to shop in the bazaar.
I had noticed some quality t-shirts back in the Jewish sector so I high-tailed it back to the shop and bought a couple shirts.
After the shopping excursion, Zvika brought us to the church where Jesus’ grave is believed to be by some. Protestants believe the site is outside the wall. I’m still trying to figure out how they can narrow it down at all. After all, five hundred years ago, Cabot discovered Newfoundland but despite good documentation, they still can be sure of which bay he actually entered.
The rest of the group stood in line for 20 minutes to visit the grave. My feet were getting too sore to stand around waiting, so I waited outside. When they were done, Zvika brought us upstairs to visit the site where they believe the cross was located. The rest of the group stood in line for another twenty minutes for a chance to pray and kiss the site. (Cooties, people!!).
Zvika sat with me and asked what my beliefs were. I told him I had none. He was a bit confused. He said I had to believe in something. I shrugged and said that I didn’t believe in anything, however I understood how nature led to the creation of the universe and our own solar system and how life emerged and evolved on this planet. That I understood how ancient man’s inability to understand the science behind natural occurrences led to the creation of higher powers to explain them. It made them less afraid, more empowered and eventually led to the earliest forms of government and control of populations. No belief necessary. Simply an understanding of the science and its effect on our history. He was still a little confused as to why I’d come to Israel and I said it didn’t matter what I believed – the country is still full of history. It doesn’t matter if I agree with the beliefs or not. They had an influence on the world I live in and that is where my interest lay.
Our conversation was interrupted when the others got through got through the crowds and we walked back through the bazaar when I noticed some polo t-shirts but had no time to stop. We exited through the Jaffa Gate and returned to the hotel by 2:30 pm. This was the end of the tour. We said our goodbyes to Zvika and gave him our tips. (About 120 NIS).
I dropped my stuff off in my room and took a taxi back down to the Jaffa Gate. I picked up a couple of polos and returned to the t-shirt shop in the Jewish sector to pick up a couple more. I walked back to the hotel which took only about 15 minutes.
I took some time to download my photos to flickr and went out to dinner with some of the others from the tour. We found a nice Asian restaurant around the corner and enjoyed a great meal. The gentleman from Australia paid for the meal, much to our surprise.
Thanks Damian!
I returned to my room to get my luggage ready for the morning. I’m pretty sure I’m under 44 lbs as I stuff all the heavy stuff in my knapsack. Our transfer is schedules for 9:30 with our flight leaving for Amman at 12:40. I will be going to Jordan with two others from this tour with another tourmate flying to Amman on Friday.
My tour of Jordan can be found here.
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