We stayed in the same hotel (Intercontinental David) that I stayed last time because I knew how to navigate to the open air market, Shenkein Street shopping, and Neve Tsedek from there (all were closed on Saturday, which was expected - but it is still odd to see a bustling market empty and silent (left). We walked all around in the morning and headed over to Jaffa for the afternoon enjoying the weather and had an unexpectedly fantastic meal after exploring the old port area at an outdoor restaurant in this setting (right):
On Sunday I had a meeting in Jerusalem in the morning, so we took the opportunity to see the Old City in more detail than what I saw in my 20 minute visit to the Western Wall on my previous trip.
There really is no way to describe it without being there - it is just amazing that there is several thousand years worth of history there, and that some of the most sacred settings valued by multiple religions are in such close proximity to each other.
We entered via the Jaffa Gate, and were hoping to see all four quarters of the city (Armenian, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian) - however I think we just had a glimpse of the Armenian area before entering the Cardo area, which is best described by this photo: (right)and this photo of Rachel haggling over the price of coffee, shawarma spices, salad spices, peppercorns, and other fun stuff here:
From here we managed to extract ourselves from the myriad shopping stalls and paused for a quick water and falafel before visiting the Western Wall. While Rachel was trying to find a pen to borrow and figure out whether or not she should be walking away from the wall backwards as many women were doing,
I went in to the tunnel to the left of the wall that I did not go in last time because I had received a prayer, a kabbalah string (which actually finally fell off on this trip!), and requests for money from a group of orthodox (guys? followers?) last time and I really did not understand the protocol so I retreated... Apparently the tunnel extends to a point that might be under the Dome of the Rock - which is also the site of the second temple, and is therefore the closest that the Jewish can get to their most holy site. I went all the way in and was surprised that there was a whole library of books in one area that can be used in prayer and that it was much more crowded than outside (photo at right)Next we went through security again and up the new makeshift walkway that is in use because the construction of a new path has been halted in controversy (see interesting article here) to the Muslim quarter. We walked straight to the al-Aqsa mosque, anxious to see the detailed interior and rugs we had read about, and went to the entrance where there are many cubbyholes to place your shoes. I bent over to unlace mine, only to hear 'This is not for you' above me. I stood up and we asked the two men why - only to receive a shaking head 'no, you cannot enter'. Rachel thought it was because I still had the string on and they thought I was Jewish - but basically non-Muslims are no longer allowed in, and they said there were people inside that would not want us there, and that we should have come seven years earlier if we wanted to see it. Message understood - we walked away to take a few photos of it and the Dome...
It is in a beautiful setting, was very quiet and actually quite peaceful in the large open square, and we walked right up to the Dome to see the impressive mosaic-type detail of the structure (knowing that we should not try to go in this time) - but we may have gotten too close as we were abruptly asked to leave by a security/police guy with an automatic rifle, bulletproof vest, and generally imposing presence. Rachel asked if it was because prayers were going to begin - and he said 'something like that - you must leave now through there' - directing us to a portal in the wall.This was not the way we entered, and we then had to wind our way through some confusing narrow pathways with a distinctly less welcoming feel to them and from the men watching us walk through (I think we forgot to take photos during this part).
After a few wrong turns we found the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in front of us - completing the trifecta of holy sites. Not having done my homework (or Sunday School work?) I did not know that we were in front of the anointing stone and that the tomb of Jesus was potentially here (it is also the site of the 'immovable ladder'... but that sounds more like a Monty Python skit - see the link for more detail and I cannot believe that I do not have a photo of it).
It was another very impressive structure that has an amazing history and I think at this point we were a bit overwhelmed by the overall Old City experience. We explored some of the stations of the cross and went down the stairs to an even older excavated section/tomb/chapel before heading out - and back to Tel Aviv.
Many more photos from the whole trip can be seen here. And a good overview of Jerusalem's Old City with maps and descriptions of the sites (including those that we did not make it to) can be read / seen here.
It was also a very good and busy trip work-wise (too busy actually as I did not even make it to the beach once during the week) - and in an ironic twist the rates at the hotel went up significantly because of a joint Israeli venture capital and Red Herring (the new version) conference for start up companies being held there - so I moved to a small boutique hotel which was actually much more enjoyable than a large chain hotel. It was in the neighborhood that I like, and felt more like renting an apartment. My room was the two first floor awnings seen here:
and two more bookend photos are from the airport at arrivals (see all the balloons on the ceiling) and departure area:
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