The group was headed to the Holocaust Museum and the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), so Susan and I opted out and explored Jerusalem on our own.
From our hotel we walked to the wall ringing the Old City.
We entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gate and proceeded to get somewhat lost in the Armenian Quarter.
Street in the Armenian Quarter, so you can see how we might have gotten lost. Every street looked the same.
As we approached the Damascus Gate to go the the Garden Tomb (which is outside the city walls) we encountered a mass of Muslim men coming in the gate on their way to Friday prayers. We felt like salmon swimming upstream.
We exited the Old City and went north a few blocks to the Garden Tomb, which is where Protestants claim Jesus was buried. This is one of the few Biblical places where there is no church or shrine (Protestant influence). Nearby the tomb is the Protestant-claimed Golgotha. There were very few people in the garden and the peace and calm was markedly different from the frenzy and crassness of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Sign at entrance to Garden Tomb park.
Protestants say Jesus was crucified on top of this hill.
Side of the hill called Golgotha, or Place of the Skull.
Opening to tomb of Jesus.
Placard near tomb.
After visiting the Garden Tomb we returned to the Old City to explore and get lost several times.
By this time the call to prayer was over, so the crush of people was not so great as we reentered the Old City through the Damascus Gate.
Following are some of the people, shops, and scenes we encountered during our day of wandering.
The oval breads on the far end of the table are bagels.
Closeup of a bagel.
Spices galore.
Anyone have a sweet tooth?
Susan buying fresh pomegranate juice.
Rugs and colorful fabrics everywhere.
Wanna smoke?
Christian? Jew? Come into my shop and buy my goods.
A little backgammon competition.
Enjoying a smoke on the water pipe.
Or just an old fashioned cigarette.
Armed guards are everywhere in the Old City.
A Coptic priest standing by.
Osama?
Cats on a hot tin roof. Stray cats were everywhere!
On the way back to our hotel we passed the Jerusalem YMCA, surely one of the most beautiful YMCA buildings anywhere.
Jerusalem YMCA from the front.
Another view of the Y. Yes, the dome area is part of the building.
It was the beginning of Sabbath when we returned to our hotel and two of the six elevators were operating on “Shabbath Control.” This meant you didn’t have to touch the buttons (which would have been work) and the elevator stopped on every floor.
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