Breakfast at the convent finished at 8.30; this meant we had to get up rather earlier than we would have liked, but at least we were left with the full day to explore the Holy City. We headed around the corner to the Damascus Gate, the huge gateway through the 16th century walls of the Jerusalem's old city. The stone streets were already crowded as we strolled through the souk, past stalls selling everything from fresh fruit to olive wood rosaries. We passed by a church on whose steps sat a couple of heavily armed soldiers, a reminder of the city's turbulent past and present.
In total we spent around eight hours patrolling the old city from one side to the other and back again, soaking up the unrivalled spiritual and historical atmosphere of the city. We stopped by a dozen or so churches, and passed by a handful of mosques and synagogues. Trying to narrate each of these visits would become tedious for us and for you, so we'll leave photos to tell most of the story. For most of the history we've resorted to Wiki links, otherwise we'd be writing forever.
Church of the Flagellation, built on the site where Byzantines and Crusaders thought that Jesus was flogged by Roman soldiers at the start of the Via Dolorosa ( the path along which he carried the cross)
Inside the Church of the Flagellation
Next door, inside the Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross, where Jesus was thought to have been sentenced to crucifixion and to have taken up the cross
An orthodox Jewish family with the kids dressed up for Purim
Courtyard of the Church of St. Anne, built in the 12th century by Crusaders over the place where they believed that Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was born
Church of St. Anne , with a French flag flying above (the site was given to the French by the Ottoman rulers of Jerusalem in the 19th century)
The Church of St. Anne, with its simple and elegant style, is renowned for its amazing acoustics. A couple of groups, maybe members of their church choir given the quality of the singing, stopped by to try it out.
Ruins just next to the church included 1st century BC pools used for healing, a temple to Asclepius (Greek god of medicine), and Byzantine and Crusader churches
The entrance gate to the Citadel of Jerusalem. The museum inside was closed for Shabbat, but we were able to climb up to the ramparts to walk around the 16th century walls of the city, enjoying great views inside and outside of the old city
Walking along the walls of the old city, with the new city on the left
Road running through the Armenian quarter of the old city
First glimpse of the golden Dome on the Rock, perched on Temple Mount
Temple Mount has a fascinating history. Unfortunately it was closed to non-Muslims on Friday and Saturday so that the faithful could pray in peace, so we planned to visit on Sunday.
The Mount of Olives across the valley from the old city
We left the walls and headed into the city for a closer view of the Dome
Teenagers in the Jewish Quarter dressed up for Purim
The recently rebuilt Hurva synagogue in the main square of the Jewish Quarter, with a mosque next door
Falafel pita for lunch; delicious!
St. Mary's Hospice of the Teutonic Knights, dating from Crusader times
Down by the Western Wall (with a few Purim costumes for good measure)
The Western Wall is a hugely important place for prayer. There are distinct areas for men and women, all of whom must cover their heads
Women placing prayer notes in the cracks of the Western Wall
Besides the men's section of the open-air enclosure the wall continues under cover, with a religious library next door
We then headed to Mount Zion, where we found the entrance to the Tomb of King David and this statue standing outside (the Tomb was closed for the Shabbat, so we returned on Sunday)
From the roof above King David's Tomb we had another great view of the Church of the Dormition
Inside the Church of the Dormition
In the crypt of the Church is a sculpture of the Virgin Mary's deathbed, made of ivory and cherrywood
In the afternoon we followed the Via Dolorosa, the path thought to have been taken by Jesus as he bore the cross to Golgotha. Every Friday at 3 p.m. a group of Franciscan monks lead a procession along the route, stopping at each of the 14 stations (each commemorating one of the events in the Biblical version) for prayers in Latin, Arabic, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. Apparently this has been a tradition since 1350. The procession started inside a courtyard that is now an Islamic school, where the Franciscans were awaited by a throng of tour groups (a real plague on Jerusalem, in my admittedly selfish view), nuns and monks, other pilgrims, and casual tourists like us. At one point Muslim prayers booming from the minaret's loudspeakers drowned out the monks, a reminder of Jerusalem's importance to more than one major religion.
The street meanders for around 500 metres through the heart of the Old City, all the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
A great view of the Dome on the Rock from the Islamic school
Waiting for the monks
Their arrival:
Prayers at the first station
The crowd around the third and fourth stations
After nipping up to a balcony to take the above photo, we fell to the very back of the procession. This was rather less interesting, so with crossed fingers we darted down an alleyway in the hope rather than expectation that it would come out further ahead. Neither Clem nor I had great faith in my choice of direction, but miraculously we emerged much further up the souk, just as the monks were passing by. We stepped aside for them and followed swiftly behind. This paid off soon after; as the crowd filtered into the narrow confines of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is supposed to encompass the site of Jesus' crucifixion and his tomb, we were right at the front with a great view.
Arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Calvary, where Jesus was affixed to and died on the cross
The final station, outside the "Edicule" covering the tomb of Jesus
There was a huge queue to enter the Edicule, so we decided to return another day; instead we popped our heads into the other end of the building, where we found the Coptic part of the tomb!
Damascus Gate in the late afternoon sun
Once we had returned to the convent it was a struggle to rouse ourselves to venture out to the new city for dinner. Eventually, however, hunger overcame fatigue and we dragged our tired feet along the Jaffa Road. We navigated our way around drunk kids who were wandering the streets after a full day of celebrating Purim, and found a restaurant serving a rather delicious dish of chicken glazed with honey. Sadly they were out of Israeli wine so we were transported back to Chile.
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