from Barb, A Lady on the Go
We arrived in Jerusalem in the late afternoon yesterday, checked into our hotel to rest as we were in for an exhausting day ahead, as to explore the old city can only be done by foot.
We entered the city by the main gate called The Damascus Gate and is the most monumental gate of the old city. The present day gate was situated on the road to Damascus, and is built over the remains of the original Roman Gate and parts of the old city. We were overlooking the old city and “The Dome of the Rock” – a Muslim church that is one of the first and greatest achievements of Islamic architecture. It was built in 688 – 91 AD and dominates Jerusalem, and has now become the symbol of the city. The dome was originally made of copper but is now covered with gold leaf – thanks to the late King Hussein of Jordan.
We then moved on to Herod’s Gate known as “Gate of Flowers”, referring to the rosette above the arch. Christians wrongly thought that inside the gate was the palace of Herod the Great’s son. We then visited the Sanctuary of the Flagellation and the Sanctuary of the Condemnation where Jesus was stripped of all his powers and sentenced to death. Then we travelled along Via Dolorosa – a street that passes through the Arab market quarter. It traditionally traces the last steps of Jesus Christ, where he was crucified, and the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where He is said to have been buried. There is no historical basis for the route which has changed over the centuries. However, the tradition is so strong that countless pilgrims walk the route identifying with Jesus’ suffering as they stop at the 14 stations of the cross – all of which we did.
Our lunch stop was to be a typical Jewish lunch – a fast food lunch. I had a sandwich of a pita pocket stuffed with shaved chicken and vegetables. It has a specific name, but I can not think of it at the moment. We finished strolling through the ancient city, ending up by strolling along part of the Western Wall. The wall is a massive blank wall built of huge stone blocks, and is Judaism’s holiest site, and the plaza in front of it is a permanent place of worship. The wall is part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount and was built by Herod the Great – this was wall #2, as he expanded his territory. For some time, it became where Jews came to lament the destruction of the Second Temple, thus became known as the Wailing Wall. While we were there, hundreds of people were praying – it apparently was a special Prayer Day for the sick and infirmed. The men’s section was to the left – women to the right.
Then we returned to our van to drive to the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of Jerusalem to see the magnificent view of the Dome of the Rock, the Jewish cemeteries and the old city. We then went to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed, only to be arrested as he left the garden. We travelled on to Mount Zion where the tomb of King David is, as well as seeing the room of The Last Supper. Our last stop of the day was at the Garden Tomb where some believe, but are not sure, that Jesus was buried there.
After a very long day we returned to our hotel – absolutely exhausted. We worked out that we had walked at least eight hours.
