Today was our day to visit the old part of
Jerusalem. We started early and drove from our hotel north of the Old City to
the Dung Gate in the southeast, near the Temple Mount. Ahuva, our guide quickly
saw that the line was growing rapidly for the Temple Mount, so rather than stop
to visit the Western Wall (the Weeping Wall), we got into line for the Temple
Mount (entrance only open to non-Muslims until 10am). The reason for the
airport-style security check was the ongoing tension on the Mount between
extremists on both sides. Orthodox Jews want to re-take the Temple Mount to
re-establish a Jewish Temple, and fundamentalist Muslims still dream of a
Palestine free of Jews, and a Jerusalem for the Muslim Arabs. Most want peace,
but there are the extreme few and we saw not only a stack of riot shields ready
for use just before we entered the area, but ever-present armed Israeli
security. We also saw a group of Muslim women ready to make a fuss if anything
happened which they did not like (such as seeing an orthodox Jew come onto the
Mount) – and later heard them doing just that.
The Mount itself is lovely, and larger than
I would have thought – probably 500 x 300m. At the south end is the El-Asqa
Mosque. The Dome of the Rock with its golden dome and octagonal tile-covered
base dominates the area. We cannot see inside, but the outside is truly
inspiring. The fact that this area has become a symbol of dissent and conflict
rather than a symbol of peace is truly tragic.
We descended through the northeastern
corner close to the Lion’s gate of the city, and were aware that the Mount
rises a number of meters above any other area in the Old City. From here on we
seemed always to be either going up or down on the streets, sometimes with
stairs, on the slippery polished stones of the streets.
Our next stop was St Anne’s church next to
the pools of Bethesda within the Muslim Quarter. Stepping into the area was
stepping into a garden within the city. It was a church going back to the time
of the crusaders, stone and unadorned, but with magnificent acoustics. We did
have a holy moment singing and feeling the sound ring though the simple domed
nave. We then went to view the remains of the pools of Bethesda (“House of
Mercy”) that have been there for 3000 years - at least 10m below grade. We
recalled the story of Jesus healing the cripple who waited by the pools – and
was criticized for doing so on the Sabbath.
A little further on we joined the Via
Dolorosa, the path of Christ from his judgment by Pontius Pilot towards
Golgotha and the Tomb. There are references to the Stations of the Cross on the
wall as we moved, and we met other groups at times from Nigeria and somewhere
in the Far East who sang as they processed down the street. The street at this
point was walled, often with some shops on the side. It is wide enough that two
cars could pass if they had to, but thankfully there are almost no cars in the
Old City.
We broke off from the Via Dolorosa to head
south through much narrower streets, lined with small shops and often covered
above to head to the Western Wall. At this point, if everyone cleared the
space, there may have been room for one car to pass through, but it was filled
with innumerable people, mostly visitors. Then the space opened some and we
were in a Jewish area, and came to another checkpoint 30m before coming to the
back of the square for the Wall.
The Western Wall was confusing to me. On the one
hand I felt I did not belong in this place of worship, yet here were hundreds
of people taking pictures next to others fervently praying at the Wall. We saw
at least 3 Bar Mitzvahs in progress (Thursday is one of the days this is
allowed) with the women leaning over the divider between men and women while
the celebration progressed. Each ended with the young man carrying the scroll
of the Torah back to an area set for this at the side. Perhaps the most fitting
prayer is what Wayne suggested; “peace in Jerusalem”.
We backtracked to the Via Dolorosa to catch
an early lunch of pita with the usual offerings. Most of the group was happy
with this, but some are starting to yearn for more typical Canadian fare.
Then back on the Via Dolorosa to the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher. This site has been the centre of an un-holy tug-of-war for
centuries between various branches of the “church universal”. That is worthy of
a chapter to itself, but suffice it to say that cooperation between the various
groups who have staked a claim to parts of this site is less than ideal. In
addition, today we had the opportunity of sharing this site with the occupants
of at least two cruise ships, so its usual chaos was even greater.
On first entering, we were presented with a
slab of stone on the ground which tradition holds was the site of preparation
of Jesus’ body. On our immediate right was a massive lineup to ascend about two
stories to the top of Golgotha (we passed on the line). Circling the church
counterclockwise, we passed a flight of stairs that lead down to an Armenian
sanctuary with thousands of crosses scratched in the walls, a leftover from the
crusaders, and apparently the origin of the Jerusalem Cross. After circling ¾
of the way around the church, we came to the main dome; the site of the Tomb
itself. Again, there was a lineup that would have required at least an hour to
get a closer glimpse of the inside. The whole area was enclosed in a “cube” at
least 30 feet high. Everything was dimly lit, crowded with uneven floors and
far from peaceful. We were thankful that Ahuva had taken us to the Garden Tomb
yesterday for a much more spiritual experience.
A final walk through the narrow streets
showed us some Roman ruins as well as remains of the city wall from the time of
the First Temple (i.e. Solomon). And then we trekked through more narrow streets
to exit the city by the East through the Jaffa Gate.
What to make of this day, one of the key
days of our journey? The Old City is certainly unlike any city I have every
visited. The corridor-
