New Jerusalem

I really love the Old City of Jerusalem. It's got a frenetic pace, especially in the souq area, and it's also got cool hostory around every corner. I figured I wouldn't be doing the city justice unless I got outside the walls and saw what the modern city of Jerusalem had to offer.

I headed west until I came to a large park, which had the really cool looking Monestary of the Cross in the valley. This Greek Orthodox shrine is from the 1000s AD, and according to the guidebooks, would be a major tourist attraction in any other city. Alas, in Jerusalem, it sits mostly forgotten because it is far away from the Old City and in a remote valley where it is hard to get to. I would have visited the inside, but it was Sunday and it was closed.

One of my main goal in walking this far was to visit two of Jerusalem's finest museums, the Bible Lands Museum and The Israel Museum (pictured above). The Bible Lands Museum was very good, if not a bit sterile in it's presentation. It had artifacts dating back as far as 6000 BC, and had them displayed by time period in an easy to follow layout.

The Israel Museum, much to my chagrin, was mostly closed for renovations. The two things that were open, however, were the two reasons I had wanted to visit. the first was a scale model of the Old City from the Second Temple Period, around the time of Christ. The admission fee included a handheld audio device that allowed you to type in numbers and get explanations as to what you were looking at. I really enjoyed this, and it put the ancient city in perspective. Even though I love wandering the streets of the Old City, seeing it in this type of layout gave me an appreciation as a geography geek of how the city must have looked back then.

The second part of the Israel Museum that remained open was The Shrine of The Book. This is the specially climate controlled wing where The Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. Discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy who was searching for a lost sheep, the scrolls are the best known artifact known pertaining to the Old Testament and how the books were selected. My only disappointment in this was that the actual bible scrolls were not on display, instead there were reproductions. They were many of the original scrolls on display, but most were from books that had not made it into the Bible. I'll be visiting the site where the scrolls were discovered (Qumran) later in this trip.

I was going to visit the Israeli government building, known as the Knesset, but when I showed up there were only two tours scheduled, one in Hebrew and one in German. My high school German is long forgotten (and was never good enough to follow along on a tour like this) and my Hebrew skills leave a lot to be desired, so I settled for a picture from the exterior and moved on.

My next stop was at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial and museum. I'd read a real good article before I'd left criticizing Yad Vashem for it's politicizing of the Holocaust. It's true, the way things are phrased and presented do have a definite bias, but unlike the authors of the article, I'm not ready to let that define my visit. The Holocaust is something that for those of us who aren't Jewish will ever be able to grasp as deeply as they do. The museum was sad and gripping, laid out in an historical order that was easy to follow. Like The Israel Museum, Yad Vashem had a handheld audio guide that was available for 30 Shekels (about $8) and added to the experience.

The were no pictures allowed inside, but I did snap the one above of the shoes that were taken from victims right before they were gassed at Auchwitz. I saw displays upon displays full of these things (suitcases, shoes, false teeth, even human hair) when I visited Auchwitz in 1999. Seeing this again brought back memories of that sobering experience.

Outside the museum portion, was The Avenue of Righteous Gentiles, a pretty walkway with trees planted for many of the people who had risked their lives during this awful period to save the lives of Jews.

My final stop of the day was at the Mahane Yehuda Market, or shuk. This is the market where Israelis go to buy their meat, spices, produce and vegetables. It was much less touristy and much more functional than the souq, the Muslim market in the Old City where I was staying. the biggest difference was that no of the stall owners tried to talk me into buying things that I did not need, the thing I hate most about the touristy souq. I picked up some pitas, hommus, olives and grapes and had a nice little lunch, all for about $5. After leaving the market I walked back to my hotel through modern Jerusalem, which was, to put it as nicely as possible, uninspiring. More about that in my Jerusalem summary post.

I had one more day in Jerusalem, but it wasn't going to be spent there- I was going to the West Bank, something I'd thought about everyday since I decided to do this trip, and it was quite an experience.

The Walls of Jerusalem part 2

On Friday, I walked the walls of the Old City from Jaffa Gate in the west all the way to the Western Wall Plaza on the southeast side of the city. I had tried to go back and walk the stretch from Jaffa Gate to Lions Gate but that part of the walk was close on Friday. I went back to finish my circuit of the city walls Saturday afternoon. (The part of the walls that border Temple Mount in the southeast corner is closed for 'security reasons'.)

The above picture is from on top of The Jaffa Gate, as one enters the Old City. It's under construction right now, it looks to me like they are expanding the road as it runs into the Armenian Quarter.

The views from to the west of the Jaffa Gate were of modern Jerusalem. This part of the wall was very important in the Six Day War, as the Jordanian Army held the Old City and was able to fire into Israeli held West Jerusalem without impunity. The Israeli Army eventually to back the Old City in this war, as well as all of the West Bank territory they hold today.

It was hot (94 degrees) and having chosen to do this right when the sun was at it's mid-day peak probably wasn't the brightest move. The southern part of the walk had no shade, but I'd done it in the morning on a day where it was considerably cooler (mid 80s). I passed the New Gate (the scene from here entering the city as seen above). As you can surmise from the name, this gate, cut out of the wall in 1887, is the newest of the city's gates, and was closed during the Jordanian occupation of the old city from 1948 to 1967.

I reached Damascus Gate after a few minutes more of walking in the blazing heat. The chaos both inside and outside this gate which borders East Jerusalem, is not dimished being viewed from above.

The view from up top of the Damascus Gate over the Muslim Quarter was impressive, framed by The Dome of the Rock at every angle.

There were also good view of East Jerusalem, which is a predominantly Arab part of the modern city.

The walk from Damscus Gate to Lion's Gate all the way around the city was scenic, but this part of the walk was also much dirtier, both with the amount of weeds and trash that covered the promenade. Of particualer intrest on this portion was the Stork Tower, the defensive point at the northest corner, which was important because the eastern side of the wall has always been considered the weak point in the defense of the city. Many of the city's conquerers have come from this direction, including the crusaders, who breached Herod's Gate in 1099.

In the footsteps of Jesus (with thousands of other tourists)

On Saturday, I woke bright and early and took a cab from the Damascus Gate to the Seven Arches Hotel, situated on the top of The Mount of Olives, just to the west of Jerusalem's Old City. The Mount of Olives figures prominently in the story of the last week of Jesus' life.

The view from in front of the Seven Arches has to be one of my favorite viewpoints I have ever visited. Spread out before you is the whole Old City, with the gleaming Dome of the Rock taking center stage. I find myself constatntly using it as the focal point of pictures I take. It may be one of the most striking buildings I have ever seen.

Also spread out below this viewpoint are the thousands of Jewish graves. Tradition says in the last days, those who are buried on the slopes of the Mount of Olives will be the first to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Most of the major churches of the Old City are visible from here- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Enjoyment of the view was only mildly affected in a negative way by the tons of tour groups and tour buses that are sharing this magnificent panorama. I was glad I'd gotten up there so early, as I'm sure the worst of it probably happened later in the morning.

I walked up the road the road and came the Church of the Ascension. There are at three churches on the Mount of Olives that mark spots where the different religions or denominations believe that Jesus ascended into heaven.

Down the street from The Church of the Ascension is the The Church of the Pater Noster "The Lord's Prayer". The first church at this site was comissioned by Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. The site was chosen because it is believed to be the site where Jesus first taught The Lord's Prayer. The inside of the courtyard, and all the surrounding buildings for that matter, are lined with The Lord's Prayer in 161 different languages. When I read about this shrine in advance I thought it sounded cheesy, but it was actually very well done.

After Pater Noster, I bagan the steep decent down the mount. The first site I came to was the Church of Dominus Flevit, which translated means "The Lord Wept". This teardrop shaped church is one newest additions, having been built in the 1950s. This marks the spot where Jesus stopped and wept over Jerusalem. The viewpoint from the front plaza of the church is almost as outstanding as the one in front of the Seven Arches. I didn't get to go inside the church since a service was in progress.

The Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene is right down the path from Dominus Flevit, but is only open two days a week for two hours. I did get a picture of it's attractive golden onion domes from plaza in front of Dominus Flevit.

Nearing the base of the mountain I came to the Garden of Gethsemane. I asked my mom and dad before I left what were some of his best memories from their 2005 trip. My dad recollected how peaceful a place the Garden of Gethsemane and been saying it had been a quiet place for prayer. I did not find it the same experience, as it was on of the most crowded sites I have ever seen. It was still moving to read the story of the agony Jesus felt in the garden immediately preceding his arrest.

Next to the Garden of Gethsemane is The Church of All Nations, an attractive building with an impressive facade.

Finally, I crossed the street to the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, another one of the holiest sites in Christendom. It is believed that Mary was interred here by the disciples after her death. This shrine was really amazing, requiring pilgrims to walk down a long set of stone steps to get to the heavily incense laden chamber housing Mary's tomb. This was one place I really found effective despite the crowds.

As I mentioned in my post about The Garden Tomb, I'll write a longer post about the dichotomy of visiting religious sites later. I'm still a few days behind...

The rest of the pictures from the Mount of Olives are here on my Facebook page-

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065446&id=1208119406&l=2be2e7446b

East Jerusalem & The Garden Tomb

In the afternoon on Friday, I left the Old City through the Damascus Gate and wandered into East Jerusalem, and another world. The chaos of the Muslim Souq had prepared me for it a little, very little though. The pace of things was incredible. The thing I noticed right away was that I saw no Jews and no writing in Hebrew anywhere. I guess this is to be expected, since the Palestinians see East Jerusalem and the capital of the hoped for Palestinian state. I wandered up and down the streets for an hour or so, so much in awe of this spectacle that I never even took my camera out- that is truly a rarity for me. I didn't feel unsafe at all, nor did I draw any attention I didn't like. I was stopped by a group of Palastinian young men, seven of them, who looked to be between 10-12. Only one of the boys spoke any English I could understand.

"You American?"

"Yes", I said.

"I know America!"

"What do you know?"

"I know Kobe Bryant", the ring leader said, and did his best impression of a basketball jump shot. The rest of the boys all cheered.

"Very Good", I said smiling. "What else you know?" Sometimes when speaking to people who aren't native English speakers, I fall into this simplified way of talking. I don't mean to, and so far, to my knowledge, I haven't offended anyone with it.

He puffed up his chest and said "I know Lebron James!"

I smiled and nodded, content to let him play to his crowd. I addressed the other boys. "Anyone else know America?"

They all seemed to defer to the leader, and he turned to a smallish boy with a small scar under his left eye. The boy looked embarrassed when addressed, and for a moment I was afraid I had made a mistake in asking the other boys. The leader prodded him some more.

The small boy all of a sudden came to life. "I know Lady Gaga!", he exclaimed, and the began to gesticulate wildly in what was supposed to be an impression. He broke into song- which I did not recognize, but I'm sure was supposed to be Lady Gaga. The rest of the boys broke down in hysterical laughter. The small boy went on for a few seconds longer, then laughed, and took off running. The rest of the boys charged after him.

The boy who originally spoke to me was the last to take off running. He smiled and said over his shoulder, "Goodbye America".

I said goodbye and thank you as he ran off. I'm not sure he knew why I was thanking him, but I knew.

After finishing my wandering, I found my way to the Garden Tomb. The story behind the Garden Tomb is a common one in Jerusalem. Certain protestants groups refuse to accept the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the site of Jesus' crucifixion. Famous archeologist Charles Gordon located the site of a skull-shaped hill just north of the Old City in 1883. When excavating the site, he found some tomb that generally matched to description of Jesus' tomb from the gospels.

Archeologists have since come up with some evidence (that is refuted by the owners of the site) that the tombs uncovered were from the 5th Century B.C.E., not from Jesus' time. Even with this evidence, it's hard to dismiss the Garden Tomb. The hill (as you can see above) does have a look somewhat like a skull. The setting for the Garden Tomb is also peaceful, where as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a magnificent structure, it's really hard to imagine the events of Easter taking place there. Lonely Planet quotes a protestant minister as saying "If they Garden Tomb was not the site of the Lord's death and resurrection, it should have been." That really sums it up- it fits the picture you have in your head of the scene- even though that picture isn't necessarily correct. Then again, most of the holy sites in Jerusalem can fall into this category. I'll talk more about this in the next post about the Mount of Olives and my Jerusalem summary post coming in the next couple days.

Here are a couple more pictures from The Garden Tomb.