Days 80-82, October 4-6, 2008
Shalom!
As far as the cities I have visited in world, I rank Jerusalem just below Rome as one of my favorites. As I said before, I am staying right inside the gates of the Old City and have some of the most Holy locations of monotheism only minutes away. If I go outside of the city gate, though, New Jerusalem is right there with her modern malls, restaurants, and nightlife. My only decision when I leave the hotel is do I turn left to see history or right to eat, drink, and be merry.
I actually don’t have to go that far to eat, drink, and be merry. My hotel is situated off of a little alley and sharing the alley with us are two bars. My friends and I have got to know Christian Palestinians that own the place and have hung out there quite of bit the last few nights. In the middle of the square is a Roman mile post that was excavated near the hotel. It is written about a Roman general and commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem in 67 AD. My hotel, The New Imperial, has a lot of history. The building was originally built in the late 1800’s for Kaiser Wilhelm II to stay in when he visiting the Holy Land. It and the surrounding buildings are owed by the Greek Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church lives only a few blocks away and personally leased the buildings to the business owners. The Patriarch is the head of that Church equal to the Pope in the Catholic Church. The hotel was leased to the family that operates it in the 1940’s and has operated by father, son, and grandson since then. They are a incredibly nice family and before I left, I sat and talked to the Mr. Djanni, the son of the original owner, for a while. He has lived in Jerusalem for 70 years and has seen and lived through a lot so he has an interesting perspective and knowledge on the mideast.
The hotel is in the Christian quarter which is filled with churches. Every morning, church woke me up with her bells at 6:45. Then for good measure, another church provided a 7:00 snooze alarm bell ringing. On Sunday morning, with my window open, I stayed in bed and listened to the morning services all around me including the singing and chanting in Latin. Amongst the sounds of the Christian services, you can hear the Muslim calls to prayer for one of their 5 prayer times a day. Now that I think about it, Jerusalem in actually a pretty noisy city.
My friends did make it in from Ein Gedi and I have to admit, after hearing what they went through, I am glad that I had another night in Jerusalem. Friday evening and Saturday was the Sabbath where everything shuts down here in the Jewish world. Ein Gedi is in the middle of nowhere and 100% Jewish so they had nothing to do, eat, or drink. They ended up getting a taxi to Jerusalem about 6 PM Saturday night and when they showed up, they all had the look of starving dogs in their eyes and recounted the hell that they had been through for the past 24 hours. I felt kind of bad because in Old City, Jews are the vast minority so while my friends were starved and bored to death, I was eating, drinking, and exploring one of the greatest cities on Earth.
Jerusalem really is amazing. It is the holiest city to both Judaism and Christianity and right behind Mecca for Islam. A city has had a wall here for over 5000 years and the name of Jerusalem shows up in Egyptian texts over 3000 years ago. Today, Old City is split into four geographic quarters: the Armenian, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Arab. The Armenian quarter is a walled city within a walled city which is locked every night and re-opened every morning. The Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters are opened to each other and are divided geographically by main streets. The Christian, Jewish, and Armenian quarter all have about 2000 residents while the Arab quarter has almost 30,000. The makes Palestinian Arabs the prominent majority of Old City Jerusalem. Almost all of the businesses here are run by Palestinians including our hotel. I had thought that with the geopolitical climate here that there would be a lot of tension between the races and while it is evident, it is not as pronounced as I expected. I think that they are all proud of the city in which they live and that gives them some common ground despite the rest of their differences. Oddly enough, the majority of the violence right now in Jerusalem is from Orthodox Jews trying to push religion on secular Jews.
To get a good overview of the history and geography of the city, my hotel recommended a free-walking tour that goes for about 4 hours and starts everyday in front of my hotel at the Jaffa gate. I was very skeptical of a free tour. My experience is that if you are not paying for a tour or getting a “good deal,” they make up the difference by spending most of the tour at souvenir shops in which they make a little kickback for bring you in. The hotel said that shouldn’t be a problem with this tour group and so I figured that I’d try it out and if it wasn’t good, I’d just walk away.
My free Jerusalem tour was one of the best that I’ve had on my entire trip. The company is just starting out here and is trying to build a name for itself by word of mouth. They are operating throughout Europe and offer free overview tours there and then make a profit by selling additional tour packages. The guide was very knowledgeable, we hit all of the highlights of the city, and I learned a ton about the city. It also helped me to get my bearings around the city so I could further explore on my own.
Explore, I did. By myself and after my friends arrived, I think that I walked every street of Old City in which every turning every corner is like taking a trip back in time or tearing a page from the Bible. One minute, you are at the spot of the Last Supper and the next, you are at the Wailing Wall.
The two most significant locations in Old City are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Temple Mount. As I had mentioned before, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. It is the most holy spot in Christendom and, even for a heathen like me, was a moving experience. There are so many people inside that are totally lost in the depths of their faith and clergy from so many different denominations of Christianity that it is an impressive and, at times, overwhelming experience.
The Temple Mount is one of the most holy locations for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the location of Mt. Neriah from the Bible. On the, sits the Foundation Stone which Jews and Muslims believe is the spot from which the world sprang. On this stone, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty to God. God stopped him at the last moment and promised him and his descendents the land here as reward for his faith. King David placed the Ark of the Covenant on the Foundation Stone after conquering Jerusalem and his son, Solomon, built the first Jewish temple around it. Later, Kind Herod the Great built the Jewish people theirs second temple at the same spot. Christ spent much of the last week of his life in and around this temple and predicted its destruction. Today, all that remains of the temple is the Western or “Wailing” Wall. This is the spot that Jews believe always houses the presence of God and is a most holy site of pilgrimage and prayer. All of the cracks and seams in the stones are filled with little pieces of paper on which people have written prayers. I added mine even though I already have a direct line and God had just given me his New 10 Commandments.
Also at this spot, it is said that Mohammad ascended to Heaven to speak directly to God in order to begin the Islamic religion. The Dome of the Rock was built here to commemorate that event. Now, the entire top of the Temple Mount is an Islamic Holy Spot with the Dome probably the most recognizable feature in Jerusalem. Non -Muslims are only allowed to go to the top of the Mount at specific times and to specific locations but Muslims can visit at any time.
If you can’t tell, I loved Jerusalem. My days were spent learning and exploring and my nights were spent hanging out with friends sharing beers and stories. It was great and I was very sad to leave. Jerusalem has not seen the last of me.
Shalom!
As far as the cities I have visited in world, I rank Jerusalem just below Rome as one of my favorites. As I said before, I am staying right inside the gates of the Old City and have some of the most Holy locations of monotheism only minutes away. If I go outside of the city gate, though, New Jerusalem is right there with her modern malls, restaurants, and nightlife. My only decision when I leave the hotel is do I turn left to see history or right to eat, drink, and be merry.
I actually don’t have to go that far to eat, drink, and be merry. My hotel is situated off of a little alley and sharing the alley with us are two bars. My friends and I have got to know Christian Palestinians that own the place and have hung out there quite of bit the last few nights. In the middle of the square is a Roman mile post that was excavated near the hotel. It is written about a Roman general and commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem in 67 AD. My hotel, The New Imperial, has a lot of history. The building was originally built in the late 1800’s for Kaiser Wilhelm II to stay in when he visiting the Holy Land. It and the surrounding buildings are owed by the Greek Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church lives only a few blocks away and personally leased the buildings to the business owners. The Patriarch is the head of that Church equal to the Pope in the Catholic Church. The hotel was leased to the family that operates it in the 1940’s and has operated by father, son, and grandson since then. They are a incredibly nice family and before I left, I sat and talked to the Mr. Djanni, the son of the original owner, for a while. He has lived in Jerusalem for 70 years and has seen and lived through a lot so he has an interesting perspective and knowledge on the mideast.
The hotel is in the Christian quarter which is filled with churches. Every morning, church woke me up with her bells at 6:45. Then for good measure, another church provided a 7:00 snooze alarm bell ringing. On Sunday morning, with my window open, I stayed in bed and listened to the morning services all around me including the singing and chanting in Latin. Amongst the sounds of the Christian services, you can hear the Muslim calls to prayer for one of their 5 prayer times a day. Now that I think about it, Jerusalem in actually a pretty noisy city.
My friends did make it in from Ein Gedi and I have to admit, after hearing what they went through, I am glad that I had another night in Jerusalem. Friday evening and Saturday was the Sabbath where everything shuts down here in the Jewish world. Ein Gedi is in the middle of nowhere and 100% Jewish so they had nothing to do, eat, or drink. They ended up getting a taxi to Jerusalem about 6 PM Saturday night and when they showed up, they all had the look of starving dogs in their eyes and recounted the hell that they had been through for the past 24 hours. I felt kind of bad because in Old City, Jews are the vast minority so while my friends were starved and bored to death, I was eating, drinking, and exploring one of the greatest cities on Earth.
Jerusalem really is amazing. It is the holiest city to both Judaism and Christianity and right behind Mecca for Islam. A city has had a wall here for over 5000 years and the name of Jerusalem shows up in Egyptian texts over 3000 years ago. Today, Old City is split into four geographic quarters: the Armenian, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Arab. The Armenian quarter is a walled city within a walled city which is locked every night and re-opened every morning. The Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters are opened to each other and are divided geographically by main streets. The Christian, Jewish, and Armenian quarter all have about 2000 residents while the Arab quarter has almost 30,000. The makes Palestinian Arabs the prominent majority of Old City Jerusalem. Almost all of the businesses here are run by Palestinians including our hotel. I had thought that with the geopolitical climate here that there would be a lot of tension between the races and while it is evident, it is not as pronounced as I expected. I think that they are all proud of the city in which they live and that gives them some common ground despite the rest of their differences. Oddly enough, the majority of the violence right now in Jerusalem is from Orthodox Jews trying to push religion on secular Jews.
To get a good overview of the history and geography of the city, my hotel recommended a free-walking tour that goes for about 4 hours and starts everyday in front of my hotel at the Jaffa gate. I was very skeptical of a free tour. My experience is that if you are not paying for a tour or getting a “good deal,” they make up the difference by spending most of the tour at souvenir shops in which they make a little kickback for bring you in. The hotel said that shouldn’t be a problem with this tour group and so I figured that I’d try it out and if it wasn’t good, I’d just walk away.
My free Jerusalem tour was one of the best that I’ve had on my entire trip. The company is just starting out here and is trying to build a name for itself by word of mouth. They are operating throughout Europe and offer free overview tours there and then make a profit by selling additional tour packages. The guide was very knowledgeable, we hit all of the highlights of the city, and I learned a ton about the city. It also helped me to get my bearings around the city so I could further explore on my own.
Explore, I did. By myself and after my friends arrived, I think that I walked every street of Old City in which every turning every corner is like taking a trip back in time or tearing a page from the Bible. One minute, you are at the spot of the Last Supper and the next, you are at the Wailing Wall.
The two most significant locations in Old City are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Temple Mount. As I had mentioned before, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. It is the most holy spot in Christendom and, even for a heathen like me, was a moving experience. There are so many people inside that are totally lost in the depths of their faith and clergy from so many different denominations of Christianity that it is an impressive and, at times, overwhelming experience.
The Temple Mount is one of the most holy locations for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the location of Mt. Neriah from the Bible. On the, sits the Foundation Stone which Jews and Muslims believe is the spot from which the world sprang. On this stone, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty to God. God stopped him at the last moment and promised him and his descendents the land here as reward for his faith. King David placed the Ark of the Covenant on the Foundation Stone after conquering Jerusalem and his son, Solomon, built the first Jewish temple around it. Later, Kind Herod the Great built the Jewish people theirs second temple at the same spot. Christ spent much of the last week of his life in and around this temple and predicted its destruction. Today, all that remains of the temple is the Western or “Wailing” Wall. This is the spot that Jews believe always houses the presence of God and is a most holy site of pilgrimage and prayer. All of the cracks and seams in the stones are filled with little pieces of paper on which people have written prayers. I added mine even though I already have a direct line and God had just given me his New 10 Commandments.
Also at this spot, it is said that Mohammad ascended to Heaven to speak directly to God in order to begin the Islamic religion. The Dome of the Rock was built here to commemorate that event. Now, the entire top of the Temple Mount is an Islamic Holy Spot with the Dome probably the most recognizable feature in Jerusalem. Non -Muslims are only allowed to go to the top of the Mount at specific times and to specific locations but Muslims can visit at any time.
If you can’t tell, I loved Jerusalem. My days were spent learning and exploring and my nights were spent hanging out with friends sharing beers and stories. It was great and I was very sad to leave. Jerusalem has not seen the last of me.
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