Jerusalem

Wednesday we had to get up at the crack of dawn to head off to Jerusalem with Pamela. None of us were sure how it would go spending another entire day with her. I had found her so annoying on Monday that I had cancelled day three with her re Massada and the Dead Sea. However, I did end up enjoying the tour with her to Jerusalem, even though I had been to Jerusalem only two years ago.

We had to make an hour drive to Jerusalem so we left at 8:30. I don’t think any of us had eaten and we went until almost 6 p.m. before we actually sat down to eat a light supper. We were happily driving along when Pamela announced we were on a road through the territories…these are the areas that are under dispute and have been known to be under rocket fire, etc. Special walls have been built to prevent snipers from taking out people in their cars. I don’t think anything has happened where we were for a while but Ashleigh was not comforted by the thought that we were now STOPPED in traffic. We made a few sick jokes and sat in the car and arrived in Jerusalem with no problems. I don’t want to give the impression that Ashleigh was “oh my God we have to get out of here”..she just said….hmm, great place to be stopped in traffic. HA!

We started at the Mount of Olives and stopped for a really long look at Jerusalem Gates and the Dome of the Rock. She gave us a history lesson. Trees growing at the Mount of Olives aren’t the trees Jesus sat under but they do date back to that time….as in roots, small bits of tree etc. are actually that old. This is a strange thought really.

We then drove into town and parked our car and walked through a very modern shopping mall on our way to the entrance to the Old City. We wandered down old windy streets, examined a crusader castle with the holes where boiling oil could be poured down upon marauders or potential conquerors and the little window slits for arrows to fly through the air and slay the enemy. I’ve seen these before in other cities but it was a first for Ashleigh. We as usual wandered through the Armenian quarter…our guide has a fondness for Armenia I guess as we always wander there…plus she stopped in a shop to order an extra plate or two of the set she has had specifically made for her dining pleasure. There were many of the “fish” symbols on the walls with “jesus” name inscribed in Hebrew. I could think of a lot of religious people who would love to have one of those.

We continued on to the Armenian church where she pointed out the cross that they use which looks different from the regular Christian cross as there is no crucified jesus on it. We went on to the rooftops about the souk….the old Arab market. There were barrels of esophagus (how do you cook an esophagus)…from what animal we don’t know, pig feet, pig heads, livers, hearts, brains….enough to make my niece nearly vomit. We still don’t know why there were so many pig parts as neither the Jews or Arabs eat pork. When we got to the wool selection Ashleigh was happy. The spices were beautifully arranged and I got a good sniff of frankincense and myrrh, which was cool….heaped baskets of it. Abe, Benj and I have been to so many market like this that the body parts didn’t bother us at all but it was a first for Ashleigh. In fact last time we were here it was during the extreme heat and humidity of August and everything is a tad “sniffier” then. It is amazing to me to walk through these markets and see Jews and Arabs working side by side, no problem. All they want are buyers…they are good sellers calling out to everyone who passes by extolling the virtues of their items. I found bracelets that Linda (Lulu friend

We moved up on to the roof top of the market where people live, donkeys carry thing around in baskets, etc. This is NOT the Woodlands for sure and really makes you think of what ancient times would be like. We got a good view of the Lutheran church. During one of the intifada’s (and I forget which one, I’m sorry) Islamic extremists used this church (as there is a balcony on the spire) as a place to act as snipers. Once everything was under Jewish control a young Jewish soldier was given the task of going up to the balcony to ensure no snipers were there. He had to trust the priest when he told him that all was safe…it was, but it took a lot of willpower to climb the stairs to do the check. This soldier survived the intifada but later died in a battle. In between his search and his death he and the minister at the Lutheran church became great friends and spent holidays together in each other’s home. I enter this for Kristina!

Next stop was the Holy Sepulchur where Christ was laid out prior to his burial, in a traditional Jewish style, simply bathed and wrapped in a white sheet and buried in a sepulcher with a rolling rock closure. There is a burial site you can actually enter and see what it is like. Each corner of the church is claimed by a different religion…Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Catholics, etc. They all have to agree on any changes made in the church before anything can happen…they never do so nothing ever changes. A ladder that was standing up above the main entrance (when the agreement was created) has to be replaced periodically when it rates since it was above the main entrance and has to remain there until the group can decide to remove it – which they can’t.

Grafitti is nothing new folks. The walls of this church are covered with it….mainly the symbol of the cross (thousands of them) that people had placed on the wall for them or inscribed themselves thousands ofyears ago as they made pilgrimages to the church. I loved this! These people couldn’t write but they wanted to say, “I was here.” Every once in a while you would see someone had gone crazy and had carved a small church with a spire in in the wall….these aren’t drawn in, they are carved in. Most likely someone, a bunch of guys, had a business doing this for the pilgrims….the crosses also resemble the Armenian cross not the cross we general folk Christians use….these are the little things that make a visit like this so interesting.

People were praying everywhere. You cannot imagine religious fervor until you see it. The place that seemed to really stir people the most was the marble slab where supposedly Jesus was laid out prior to his burial. It is a large marble slab and people are pouring oil on the slab and wiping it up with cloths to take home with them….then they are buried with the cloths. People are leaning on this slab praying devotedly. It is moving to see.

The Wailing Wall or Western Wall is where we headed next. Benj and David donned kipas so they could go to the wall. Ashleigh covered herself up with her shawl, as she had in the churches, and we made our way to the wall to touch it. You must never have your back to the Wall so you walk backwards away from it until you are well removed from the site. Ashleigh was moved by the extreme praying going on there. The little nooks and crannies of the wall are filled with prayers and messages that are being sent straight to God on behalf of the devoted. One slightly interesting fact is that capers are growing out of the wall…little green bushes sprout here and there all over the wall.
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, deserves a lot of time to get through. Although Abe and I and Benuj have been before (and that was for three hours) we all went through it and felt we had seen completely new exhibits. It is always busy. If anyone can go through this museum and not be moved I would say they are not human. You can see notes people dropped from the cattle cars, testimonies people give on video as to their experiences, photos, shoes, jewelry taken from the victims, photos of all the families and babies annihilated….Ashleigh and I went through together and we both had tears. We ended by going to the Children’s Memorial…..it is a pitch dark room with candle light reflecting in glass to replicate the one and a half million children under the age of 15 who perished in the holocaust. Only 6 or 7 actual candles are used but the architect has made it look like each soul is represented by a candle. A continuous role call plays citing the name of each child, where they were born, and the age at which they died. It is so moving. A couple who survived the holocaust but lost their baby son are responsible for building this memorial. Everyone should see it.

By now we had put in a full day touring Jerusalem. Abe drove us back to Tel Aviv via the scenic route and we stopped at a small Lebanese café to have hummus, bread and a couple shishkebab, which come on lethal spears. The oldest tree I’ve ever seen was beside our table and the branches spread out over our heads creating shade for which we were very grateful.

The last couple of days have been filled with going to the beach. Every day has seen more people at the beach. We are finally seeing a bit of a tan line – given the incredible amounts of sun screen we are using I’m surprised we see any tan line. Abe and I went in for a swim today but Ashleigh has yet to dip in a toe – she is her mother’s daughter. Benj stayed home today as he lives on the beach in Spain and feels he needs a break from the sun. Ashleigh has gotten in some shoping – four new pair of shoes and a dress will have to fit in her luggage now.

Abe’s cousin is in town from London, England. She’s a journalist with Sky (sp?) news. She and her husband had their darling little baby with them….Maya. Maya is two and speaks Hebrew, English, and Serbian since she has a Serbian nanny. She was so sweet as she sang Happy Birthday for us very quiety. Her mom pretended to hold a microphone in front of her mouth and suddenly she sang much louder…hilariously cute.
We’ve done tons of laundry and are getting ready to pack up for our camel trip. We leave on Sunday. Hopefully it will go well. My niece has her ticket for the U.S. Benj has gone out for the night with Yael and they made their way to Jerusalem..doing what, who knows. Ashleigh just got picked up by our nephew David and they are going to some bar in downtown Tel Aviv. She changed her clothes a couple times and left looking great, as usual (who doesn’t look great at 22). Abe and I, the fuddy duddies, are ready for bed