Day Ninety Seven - April 12

Today was our walk through one the holiest places on Earth, The Old City of Jerusalem. Our luggage was packed as we needed to drive to Haifa to meet the ship later that day. An early breakfast for all of us as we wished to be in the city by 08:00 to avoid the expected crowds.

This was the first day of Passover and a Kosher breakfast was prepared. No wheat products were available as yeast was not used.

The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: The Jewish quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Armenian Quarter and the Christian Quarter. We entered the Old city through the Jaffa Gate with its L-shaped entryway that is secured at either ends by heavy doors. The L-shape entryway also acted as protection from invading peoples throughout the history of Jerusalem. The timeline of who controlled Jerusalem is a made up of many dynasties. These included The Romans from 63 BC, The Byzantines 324 AD, Muslims from 638-750 AD, Crusaders 1099 AD, The Ayyubides 1187 AD, Mamelukes 1260 Ad., The Ottomans 1516 AD, The British 1917 AD and finally Israel 1948 AD.

Entering into the Armenian Quarter you immediately see King's David's Tower. Our walk continued through the streets of this quarter past shops including "Papa de Pizza" Kosher style, I am not sure what the pizza tastes like.

Continuing our walk with Josh our tour guide, we entered through the Zion Gate to visit King David's Tomb and the Room for the Last Supper.

Entering King David's Tomb, the men and women are separated into different rooms. Here we saw two men "Shuckling" which is the swaying of worshippers during Jewish prayer moving forward and back and also at times side to side. Janice did not see this but she could certainly hear the chants of the two men. I did not take any pictures of this to respect their privacy.

Leaving the King David's Tomb, we found the building that included the Room for the Last Supper. It was on the second floor and was quite tiny. Our guide suggested that we try to visualize how the last supper would have been like.

Back through the Zion Gate we traveled along cobble roads and walkways towards the Jewish Quarter. At one vantage point you are able to see the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in the distance. It is the oldest and most important cemetery in Jerusalem approximately five centuries old. You can see that space is becoming a premium and families are starting to stack their loved ones on top of one another. The Jewish faith does not believe in cremation, only traditional burials.

We next enter the Jewish Quarter having past through security and a metal detector. Security is prevalent within this quarter. There is another gate known as the Western Wall Mugrabi Gate which leads you to the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. Only Muslims are allowed through this gate and in the quarter where you can see Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock with its Gold Dome.

There are two separate areas at the Wailing Wall for Men and Women who wish to pray. Many tourists will go to the wall to say a prayer and/or leave a note in the cracks of the wall. Both Janice and I went to the wall and left messages. We also noticed many of the Jewish faith of different sects as well praying at the wall.

Leaving the Jewish Quarter we made our way to the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church contains the two holiest sites in Christianity, those being the site where Jesus was crucified and Jesus's empty tomb where he is believed to have been buried and resurrected.

No photos are allowed inside the empty tomb where religious people from the Catholic, Jewish, and Armenians faiths guard the entrance daily. You can take photos of the outside of the tomb though. Our guide indicated that he has never seen this church being so empty. It is usually a 2 hour wait to see the tomb and the church was virtually empty which was even more surprising given that it was the week before Easter. The tourists are slowly beginning to travel again to the Holy Land.

On our way out of the Christian Quarter all three men (Keith, Ron and me) had haircuts. I think Most pictures going forward will see me wearing a hat as my haircut was quite short,, a little shorter than my normal cuts to Janice's dismay.

As I write this blog, two days later there was news of rioting at the Al Aqsa Mosque within the Old City between Palestines and Israeli Police. I guess nothing changes unfortunately in this vibrant country and city filled with so much culture and history.