Jerusalem

 10 August

We finally managed to get off the ship at around 3:00.  We ran downstairs and hopped a bus to take us to the old city of Jerusalem, but it was not yet meant to be.  First we needed to stop at the immigration clearance.  We dutifully showed our passports and then put our bags on the conveyor to be scanned.  Back to the bus for the ride to Mount Olive.

The ride was a pleasant one with a guide who was very talkative.  I spent the time watching out the window as the country went by.  My first thought was what a wonderful thing the people here did with the desert that the country once was.  Everywhere you look it was lush and green.  There were trees covered in yellow flowers and every now and again we would see one that was a vibrant purple.  After around an hour we arrived at the first stop.

This was on the side of Mount Olive.  From here we overlooked the old city of Jerusalem.  The entire point was to be able to catch a glimpse of the Dome of the Rock.  We were told we were not allowed to enter on penalty of death.  I’ll bear that in mind and stay out of the area.  The building itself is an octagonal structure with a gold encrusted dome.  It was originally built as a christian church but later taken over by the muslims.  The guide of course told us a few bible stories. 

We reboarded the bus and headed off towards the old city.  Along the way we caught a glimpse of the Jordanian Dessert. 

I was hoping to go through the Lions gate, but because we are already running late and our group had some elderly people in it, we ended up at the Dung gate-so named not for dung, but because of a bad translation job.  Apparently in ancient times it was used by the natives to dump their garbage out of.  But I get ahead of myself.

We took off down a very steep hill and were to go back up again to the wailing wall.  Our second stop.  Sadly, the road was blocked and we were not given access.  Everyone decided to get off the bus and walk.  We could all use it after being on the boat for so long eating as much as we can possibly put down our gullets.  The walk was a pleasant one accentuated within the first 200 meters by the sounds of marching bands.  You see, we arrived on Palm Sunday and were now watching the procession.  Our guide had told us we would miss it, and that it was spectacular. She was right.  Most interesting were the bag pipers.  I normally hate bagpipes but today I actually enjoyed them.  The sound wasn’t 'squeaky'.  It didn’t offend my ears.   

A few in our group found a priest and a cardinal sitting on the side of the road and began to chat with them and take photos.  We carried on.  Of course we looked for the signs that told us where to go.  

Along the walk we came across the necropolis.  This cemetery is over 2000 years old and only houses Jews.  While we were walking past we were able to witness a funeral in the background.  Our guide was orthodox and was trying to explain the hassidic rights as best she could, but admitted she was slightly out of her element.  This cemetery had a number of large temples in it and even a few caves.  Apparently it was ransacked by the muslims when they came in and the tombstones were used to build roads.  

One thing that fascinated me here was the variety of religious buildings you could see in the distance.

We carried on walking and further up the hill we saw some ruins of old buildings that were being excavated outside the old city walls along with the steps that Jesus supposedly climbed on his way to crucifixion.  

We turned the corner and walked through a gate that took us to the wailing wall.  After we spent a bit of time visiting here; yes, I placed a devout prayer, we carried on into the old city.  

From here we went into the old city.  We were told that approximately 45,000 people still live here.  As it is Ramadan, there were lights all over. We walked on the via Delarosa and saw a couple of the stations of the cross, V, VI, and VII.  From there we entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  

What an amazing site this is!  We arrived late at night and were lucky to be able to go inside with almost no people.  We had about 15 minutes to walk around, view the different chapels and take a few photos.  The guide answered questions on the bus but did not guide us through the church.  It's a shame.  Inside were the last 4 stations of the cross, and the tomb where Jesus was said to be buried and risen again. None of this was told to us while inside.  I'm not an expert on this church and would have liked to have known some of what I was seeing.  I guess we were fortunate enough to have seen it at all given the lateness of the day.  Ah well, it's an excuse to come back again. 

As we left, we saw some pretty amazing lights.

We boarded the bus again  for the very steep, very fast ride back to Ashdod.  Needless to say, we saw nothing of Ashdod.  Our arrival was at 9:30 (2 hours later than we should have-George says I’m not allowed to complain …) and thankfully the ship left the Terrace Café open for us.  We headed up and had a quick meal and a glass of wine.  

The very fast paced rush through the old city and the church are reason for us to return.  We are ever hopeful that our International Puzzle Party will be in Jerusalem next year.  God willing.

Until next time, Happy Puzzling and Smooth Sailing.