Trips

 

 

Sun., 1/29/23 - Jerusalem

Today we spent the day in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a quite compact area where just about everywhere you turn there is a major historical structure or place where an important event occured. It was really overwhelming!

 

Damascus gate
Archeological Park - Dome and minaret of al-Aqsa Mosque	Dome of al-Aqsa Mosque
Minaret of al-Aqsa Mosque complex
We stood outside at the Western Wall of the Second Temple. People come to pray there so their prayers enter the Rock and then go up to heaven. I put my hand on the wall. Men and women are separated at the wall - men on the left and women at a smaller section on the right.
Western Wall - women's side	Western Wall - men's side
Western Wall	We took the tour through the Western Wall underground tunnels. This underground ancient city of Jerusalem is a remnant of the Second Temple period and we could see and touch the massive stones that were used 2,000 years ago to build the the Western Wall which was a retaining wall of the Temple Mount. The Western Wall is also known as the Wailing Wall. There is a synagog under the city next to these walls. The synagog has a globe shaped ark of the covenant and a large menorah.
Entrance to the Western Wall tunnels	From a movie depicting the destruction of the Second Temple
Western wall tunnels site	Western wall tunnels site - stonework
Western wall tunnels site	Synagogue within the Western wall tunnels
Round ark made of sculpted metal in the Synagogue within the Western wall tunnels site
Western wall tunnels site - Women's section	Western wall tunnels site - Women's section
Mughrabi Bridge - Connects Western Wall Plaza to Temple Mount
Sign for a Hammam	Entrance to Cotton Merchant's street - in the Arab Souq
Along Cotton Merchant's street	Along Cotton Merchant's street
Dome of the Rock We saw the gold dome (the Dome of the Rock) of the mosque that is the third holiest site after the mosques in Mecca and Medina. This is the place where Mohamed is believed to have ascended into heaven.	Cotton Merchant's street - in the Arab Souq
Candy shop - Cotton Merchant's street	Candy shop - Cotton Merchant's street
Door Along Cotton Merchant's street	Coffee stand
Local police presence - in the Arab Souq	Street sign - in the Arab Souq
Street scene - in the Arab Souq	Street scene - in the Arab Souq
In the Arab Souq	Ever-present, heavily armed Israeli soldiers
In the Arab Souq	Ornate manhole cover
Street scene - in the Arab Souq

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