12th March: Finally we make it up to Temple Mount

This was an efficient start to the day: alarm at 6.45 a.m., collect pita stuffed with nutella at 7, arrive at entrance to Temple Mount at 7.15. We were stunned to see that one busload (a church group from Minnesota) had beaten us to it. Bizarrely, one couple who started talking to us used to live in Cobham, ten minutes from my parents' house. Behind us the queue very quickly lengthened with more tour groups. 

When the gates opened at 7.30 we were ushered past the first group to a second X-ray scanner, and while the tour group waited until they were all through security we marched along the walkway up to the entrance to Temple Mount. We were the first of the tourists to arrive, but there were already a few Muslims strolling across the plaza for morning prayers.

Looking back along the walkway up to Temple Mount

Arriving at Temple Mount

The large open space was wonderfully quiet, and we made the most of the tranquility by wandering over to enjoy the beautiful golden dome and blue ceramic tiles of the Dome on the Rock. This mesmeric mosque, originally built in the 7th century AD, stands on a site of the utmost importance to Muslims, as the place from which Muhammed ascended to heaven, and to those of the Jewish faith, as the resting place of the Divine Presence and the centre of creation (gross simplification, of course). It has had the most tumultuous history of anywhere in this conflict-ravaged city. Here's another link to its story. Bear in mind that when it comes to Temple Mount few writers are entirely free of bias.

Approaching the Dome on the Rock

Clem with her head covered, although most people hadn't bothered

Looking north from the Dome

Dwarfed by the Dome

Close-up of the blue ceramic tiles

It took the tour groups a while to pass through security so we had plenty of time to enjoy the site by ourselves. Another young couple had also made it in early; they tried to sneak inside the Dome, but were sent packing by the guard: Muslims only. At least they were able to take the above photo for us. We then ambled across the plaza towards the Al-Aqsa mosque. The present mosque was built in 1035, although it has had many alterations and additions since then. During the Crusader occupation of Jerusalem the mosque was converted into a church and was used by the Knights Templar as their headquarters. Outside the mosque two groups of Muslim men were sat together in prayer groups. Each new arrival would fetch a plastic chair from inside the mosque and join his friends. Off to the right, well away from the men, Muslim women did the same. If the devotees were bothered by the increasing number of tourists, they did not show it. 

Al-Aqsa mosque, with a group of men praying off to the right

Eastern facade of the mosque

Women at prayer, well away from the men

The tour group plague descends upon the Mount

We concluded our visit with a quiet stroll around the outskirts of Temple Mount, where we found the remnants of marble columns strewn by the side of the path. On the northern side of the plaza, teaching was already underway in a small Islamic school. We left to the north, through one of the gates by which only Muslims can enter the complex. 

Another shot of the Dome on the Rock

Ancient olive trees and ruined columns

School on the northern edge of the plaza

View from the northern archway

Last look at the Dome as the sun came out (and with it the birds)

We turned right, past the supposed birthplace of the Virgin Mary, and headed out of the city walls through the Lion Gate, scene of fierce fighting at the end of the 1948 war that left the Jordanians in control of the old city. We could see for ourselves the scars of war on the gate and the walls. After walking around the northwestern walls of the city we arrived back at the convent just in time for check-out. 

Birthplace of the Virgin Mary, apparently 

Inside the birthplace of the Virgin Mary

Lion Gate

Two cups of tea later, we set off for a quick excursion to the new city. The tram took us straight to Mahaneh Yehuda, the main market in Jerusalem. We meandered down the road from stall to stall, picking up some olives heres, some cheese there, and finally some bread: the makings of a fine picnic. A little further down the hill we arrived at Sacher Park, where we stopped to enjoy our purchases.

At the other end of the park we found the Israel Museum, a huge and very modern complex that included our principal target, the Shrine of the Book. This was built to hold some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the millennia-old legacy of an ascetic Jewish cult, who called themselves "the Community". The Shrine itself was shaped like the jars in which the scrolls had been found, bright white to represent the "People of the Light", as they called themselves. Opposite was a black wall symbolising their enemies, the "People of the Dark".

Top of the Shrine of the Book

Black wall representing the "People of the Dark"

Nearby was a large model of what Jerusalem might have looked like at the end of the Second Temple period (around 60 AD), at which time the Community is thought to have left the city seeking a purer life by the Dead Sea. Inside the Shrine we found the Scrolls themselves, first discovered by Bedouin in 1947 (supposedly while looking for a lost goat). The most impressive was the complete Scroll on which the Book of Isaiah had been copied in fine script. Another highlight was the Aleppo Codex, a well-travelled 10th century AD copy of the Bible. It journeyed from Jerusalem to Egypt to Syria (hence the name), where it was damaged in riots following the UN resolution establishing the State of Israel but was eventually smuggled back to Jerusalem.

One of the jars in which the scrolls were found

Photo inside the shrine, before I was told off

We had a quick tour of the archaeology and fine art sections of the museum, then headed back past Mahaneh Yehuda market (picking up some more food, of course) and caught the tram back to the Damascus Gate. We collected our bags from the convent, took the tram back into the centre, and caught the bus to Tel Aviv. We arrived at the enormous central bus station in Tel Aviv at around 6 p.m., and spent the next fifteen minutes passing through security and wandering the immense warren looking for the bus to the centre of town. Eventually we found the bus and, thanks to a helpful local, managed to get off at the stop closest to our hostel (which was pretty basic considering the price, testament to Tel Aviv's extortionate rates). After a quick turnaround we headed out to meet up for dinner with Pauline, one of Clem's friends from the College of Europe, who had been living in Tel Aviv for the last few years.