Now onto the 12 hour exploration. Yesterday Kyle, Ryan, and I decided to get lunch together but we had no idea what kind of adventure we were getting ourselves into. We walked to the nearest bus station and took a bus to downtown Jerusalem to eat at the Ye Olde English Tea Room. It's nothing earth shattering, but it was interesting to eat pancakes knowing that the people there considered them to be a "foreign" food.
After lunch/breakfast we walked over to the Old City. After passing through the new outdoor mal we arrived at the Jaffa Gate and headed over to Christ Church. It was the first Protestant Church in Jerusalem and much of the church resembles a Jewish synagogue. Louis, a Christ Church historian, showed us around and gave us a brief history of the church.
After visiting Christ Church we headed through a maze of streets and found ourselves at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Yeah that's it pictured below. The entrance wasn't what I was expecting but looks can be deceiving. This place is huge on the inside.
This dome is much more incredible when seen in person. Pictures just can't do it justice.
I'll be honest, I have no idea what this is a picture of. There was a line of people waiting to kneel in front of this. Please, if you know what this is let me know.
Now don't get me wrong, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was pretty outrageous, but there weren't any tour guides or signs so we didn't really know what anything was. It seems to be a very Catholic place and me not knowing anything about Catholicism didn't help.
Next, we left the Old City and hopped on over to the Garden Tomb. This is one of the places where it is believed that Jesus was buried after He was crucified. Wait, "places" you ask? Yes, the actual site of Jesus' tomb is unknown and all can go off of are best guesses, but this place has a pretty compelling argument. You should visit to learn more.
From the Garden tomb we walked all the way to Ben Yehuda St. and bought some very delicious challah bread for super cheap. And after the bread it was Back to the Old City. Did I mention we did a ton of walking? Below is one of many narrow streets lined with shops in the Old City.
And here are my two fellow explorers. That's Kyle on the left and Ryan on the right. No, they didn't know this picture was coming so please forgive them for not smiling.
But wait there's more! We headed over to a top secret hang out location that is on the roof of one of the buildings in the Old City. We spent some time sitting and talking before we left for Rabbi Mordecai's house. Every shabbat Rabbi Mordecai opens up his home to anyone and everyone to come and celebrate shabbat. He and his family provides a meal each and every week for about 30-40 people. From where we were in the Old City it should have taken us about 15 min to walk to Rabbi Mordecai's house, but we got a bit turned around and found ourselves in a very orthodox neighborhood. Let's just say we were a bit out of place, but after another hour or so we found Rabbi Mordecai's house and enjoyed a wonderful meal. There is a very good chance that we will become regulars to his shabbat gatherings.
We left around midnight and I got back to my apartment about 1:00 am. It was a very long day, but it was totally worth it and I'm sure I'll have similar stories in the future.
Take Care.
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ReplyDeleteHere's a site I found really helpful, John:
ReplyDeleteSacred Destinations: Holy Sepulchre Compared to the Garden Tomb, I think the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has a better case - but do some reading and see what you think.
About the line of people, it's a spot revered as the site of the crucifixion. The Greeks manage the altar there. The dome you photographed is a Greek-run area, too.
It's a complicated church.
If you need some Arizona Sweet Tea, you can get it in the area near the Armenian Tavern. Also, if you get up a little before dawn, you can get the first batches of flatbread straight out of the oven.
You mentioned the Dome of the Rock in your last post. I'm sure you'll figure it out, but should this be easier and you can put up with me acting like an authority, here's how it works:
1. You can exit the Temple Mount from any gate, but non-Muslims are allowed to enter only through the gate to the right of the Western Wall. That's the covered wooden walkway that was in your photo of the Wall. Be sure to check the opening times on the Sacred Dest. page. Note that you don't have to pay just to be in the Mount.
2. At the mouth of the gate is security.
3. If you're wearing shorts, at the end of the walkway someone will direct you to a man selling pants. He'll say they'll throw you out if you don't buy his pants, but you can just move along. Nobody will throw you out for wearing shorts. Might want to wear pants that day, anyway, though.
4. After that, men will approach you about showing you around (like everywhere else). If your prior research isn't sufficient, you can pay them to show you around, or you can politely speak gibberish to them and they'll discontinue their accosting.
5. Look around, take pictures, wipe your forehead, etc. Non-Muslims can't go into the Dome of the Rock but you can go right up to it and cup your eyes against the windows. I'm not sure about the other buildings.
6. Drink the water at the base of the main steps.
Can't wait to hear about it.
שְׁמוּאֵל
i think maybe the place with people lined up is where catholics believe is the site of (one of?) Jesus burial(s?)... kinda looks like something i saw once on the history channel.
ReplyDeletelooks like an awesome time so far! :D I'm way jealous.
Yeah, the place with peeps lined up for some ground-kissing is at the place where Jesus is believed to have been crucified. Check it on wikipedia. Have fun!
ReplyDelete