From Irbid To Jerusalem (Part 2)

Ok, so my last post finished with our journey through the West Bank.  Now it's time to talk about Jerusalem.  At about 1:00 pm on Wednesday we were dropped off by our bus right outside of the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is made up of a small "Old City," which was the original city of Jerusalem, the "New City" in West Jerusalem (controlled by Israel), and East Jerusalem (which is part of the West Bank).

The Damascus Gate

We then entered the Old City and wandered through the streets until we found our hostel.  The streets were packed with shops and people.  It was really quite a spectacle.  Here are some pictures.  Unfortunately they don't quite capture the energy of the city:

We checked into our hostel and then went up to the roof to check out the view - it was awesome!

The view from the roof

Also from the roof.  The golden dome is the Dome of the Rock, which is situated on the Temple Mount.  It is the place where Muslims believe that Mohammed ascended to heaven.  It is the 3rd holiest site (after Mecca and Medina) in the Islamic world.

Throughout our stay in Jerusalem, we slept on the roof of the Citadel Youth Hostel.  The roof, you say?!  Yes, the roof.  They actually rent out about 30 spots on the roof for very cheap rates.  Every night we had to find a mattress, a pillow, and a blanket from the pile in the shed on the roof and claim our spot amongst the throng of people who were staying there.  It was definitely less than sanitary and a little crowded, but it was worth it for the cheap price!

The roof.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the roof with all the mattresses out.  I have a video, but the internet is too slow to upload it, so it will have to wait.

Having dropped off our stuff at the hostel, it was time to grab some food and see some sights.  After eating lunch, we made our way to the Temple Mount.  As we wandered through the streets, we quickly realized that something so seemingly insignificant as asking directions to the Temple Mount was a very politically-charged question.  One of my friends approached a man who he thought was Arab and greeted him with the traditional Arabic/Islamic greeting, "as-salaamu alaykum" (peace to you).  Unfortunately for my friend, this guy was most definitely Jewish and did not appreciate being greeted in Arabic.  So, when my friend asked for directions, he was rebuffed quite quickly.  Similarly, I asked a Palestinian where the "Temple Mount" was and he told me that the Temple Mount did not exist.  I quickly realized my error and asked him where the Dome of the Rock was, and then he responded with directions.  He made sure to tell me, though: "Don't ask for what is not there anymore."


Now, I don't mean to make it sound like everyone we encountered was irreconcilably opposed to each other.  Most of the people we met were very friendly and helpful, directing us where we needed to go without incident.  However, it's hard not to pick up on the visceral political realities of life in Jerusalem.  With heavily armed Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets day and night, it's evident that there is a lot of tension inside the city.


When we finally made our way to the Temple Mount, we were able to see the Wailing Wall, which is the only remaining wall left from the complex of the 2nd temple.  The wall is actually only a retaining wall and was not attached to the actual temple, but is nonetheless a holy site in Judaism.  While we were there we didn't see anybody wailing, but we did see a whole lot of people touching the wall and saying prayers, or reading from the Torah.  It was an interesting experience being at a site that is considered to be so holy.  Being a protestant Christian in America, I feel very far removed from traditions surrounding holy places, rituals, etc.  Nonetheless, many times during my stay in Jerusalem, I could not help but feel that there is definitely something special about the city.  (More about this in my next post.)

The Wall

These are little pieces of paper that people write prayers on and stuff in the cracks of the wall. Very interesting...

It's hard to see in this picture, but I'm wearing a kippa (yamaka) because you aren't allowed close to the wall without a proper head-covering.  They had a pile of kippas near the wall so that all visitors could acquire the necessary head-covering.

This is an enclosed room with the Wailing Wall (on the right), where many Jews came to sit, read the Torah, and pray before the Wall.

An excerpt from a sign near the wall.

After seeing the Western Wall, we left the Temple Mount because the Dome of the Rock was already closed for the day.  We walked along the outskirts of the Old City until we reached the Mount of Olives.  At the base of the Mount of Olives is the Church of All Nations (pictured below), which is situated right next to what remains of the Garden of Gethsemane.  We went inside the the garden for a little while, and then into the Church.  It was not really until I went into the garden that I really began to grasp the gravity of where I was.  It is very possible that I was walking around the very same ground upon which Jesus prayed to the Father before his crucifixion.  This could have been the spot where Jesus re-affirmed his willingness to take on the sins of the world.  This was a humbling thought.

The Church of All Nations

The Garden of Gethsemane

Having spent some time in the garden, we hiked up to the top of the Mount of Olives to see if we could get a good view of Jerusalem.  At the top, we found a beautiful little park filled with panels containing the Lord's prayer in about 150 different languages.

The Lord's Prayer in Arabic

The Temple Mount, seen from the Mount of Olives

This is actually the view from the bottom of the Mountain, but oh well.

Most of the group that I travelled with.  From the left: Jim, Will, Me, Quint, Mandeep, and Hussein.

We descended from the Mount of Olives and came upon the Tomb of Mary.  This is supposedly the spot where the Virgin Mary was buried, so we went down underground and looked at the tomb.

Here's a shot of the stairway down into the Grotto.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the tomb yet because my camera broke when I was in the garden with all of the Lord's Prayers.  So, this, and the rest of the pictures that you see are all from Jim's camera.

By the time were were finished with the Tomb of Mary, we were all pretty tired and very hungry.  So, we walked back inside the city walls, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed back to the hostel to secure our mattresses for the night.  Then, we left the Old City again to experience some of the night life of the New City.  While most things in the Old City close down by 8:00 pm, the New City stays open much later.

The city walls at night

Ben Yahuda Street.  This was the street where much of the action was in the New City at night.

We didn't stay out very long in the New City because most of us were absolutely exhausted.  So, after walking around for awhile, we went back to our hostel and fell fast asleep.