I used my sketch book for the first [and only] time on the bus this morning, when we saw a soldier on the bus next to us (at a red light) picking his nose extensively, oblivious to all of us watching and laughing! Ely told us on the bus that we won't be seeing him all day, because he grew a monster zit overnight and is embarrassed about it. He's such a funny guy.
We arrived at the gate to the Armenian quarter [the Zion gate], and entered the Old City on foot. Nim gave us a quick rundown on the city wall, built during the Ottoman Era (c. 1000 CE), then we went right on to the Jewish quarter. On the way, we saw this cool garbo with a really big freaky smile. I was gonna sketch him too, but didn't have time.
As we entered the Old City, I noticed there weren't that many people around: I expected there to be more! The streets were either empty, or filled with more big groups of tourists just like us.
Ruins at the cardoOur first stop was the 'Cardo', an ancient boulevard built in Roman times; used first as a procession avenue, and then by the Arabs as a flea market. There are impressive Roman arches and columns, all in a deep pit dug after the '48 war. During this war, Nim told us, the Jordanians burnt the entire Jewish quarter to the ground. All the houses there today are reconstructed, none more than about 50 years old.
All of Academy 2 in the Jewish quarter.We went down the Cardo, past some lovely Judaica souvenir shops; and completed our tour of the old city by visiting a few more places. We saw a Kolel - a 'union' for immigrants of the same nationality - built by Dutch Jews in the 19th century. We also saw the ruins of two shules, both of which were bombed to the ground by Jordan in 1948.
Ani, v' shtayim soldierim randomimAt lunchtime, we harassed heaps of soldiers, and took many photos with them. Ari saw some 'girls in uniform', and tried to chat them up.
There were many beggars in the Jewish quarter, most of them religious Jews asking for tzedakah. I gave one of them a few shekels. Another harassed our group constantly: wouldn't leave any of us alone, even when the madrichim told him to. Also, the old city seems to be full of cats - as Ely says: "Every year we pray that they'll survive the winter".
We walked down the hill from the Jewish quarter. Strolling down, the Al-Aqsa mosque was clearly in view, and the Dome of the Rock came into view near the end. Then as we rounded a bend, we had a sweeping view of Mt Moriah, and I saw the Kotel for the first time.
Froom blokeI stopped and stared. Tears welled in my eyes. I never really imagined before, what it would be like to actually be at the Kotel. I felt a great joy rise up in me; an awe that I had not felt for moments far grander and more beautiful. When I saw the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe, I smiled and shot happy snaps; when I come home to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, I feel a warmth at being home again; but the holiest place in the world: nothing even comes close to comparing.
My first ever view of the KotelOf course, even here people were shooting photos, tourists that we are; so I had to end my tranquil dream to take some too.
We walked down to the plaza entrance, and went through security checks and metal detectors. The space in front of the wall itself is closed off into a shule, with men on one side and women on the other. I saw bocherim and chassidim davening everywhere as I walked in. I went up to the wall, stood right before it, put my head against a massive stone and kissed it. I left my head resting on the stone, and said the Shema.
Yobboes at the kotelThe holiness of the kotel was, shall we say, interrupted by our loud photo shoot. In honour of our now famous water bottle, "Jerry", we all screamed it out when the photos were taken. We met some soldiers at the kotel, and we talked to one of them (I don't think the other 2 spoke passable English) for a while. I jokingly wished him "LeShana Haba'a B'Australia".
Leaving the Kotel behind for the moment, we went to a really cool institute next door where we saw this 3D computer simulation of the Beit Hamikdash as it was after King Herod renovated it. It was actually much smaller when first built (the second one, that is), but after the renovations, the Temple Mount was the largest plaza in the world at that time.
We had a look at some ruins at the southern end of the Kotel, and saw the remains of the largest archway into the temple - it was built without any cement, and relied entirely on physics to stay upright.
[Our afternoon activity,] the tour of the tunnels, was fascinating: the entire Muslim quarter is built upon a maze of stonework, to make it far above ground level and on par with the Temple Mount. It was like another city under there; but then Jerusalem has many layers, and every layer is really a city in itself; ruins built upon the dust and grit of other ruins.
Chanukah, Erev Shishi, at the KotelThen, after the tunnel tours (after we sang Ma Oz Tsur under the giant menorah at the Kotel), on our way back to the bus, a little adventure happened. Myself, Ely, and one other guy had lagged behind to take photos. Once the photos were done, I raced ahead to find the others. I found four others, but then the 5 of us found that we were separated from the rest of the group, and Ely was not behind us! We were seriously worried.
Luckily, we managed to call Ely, so we rendez-voued with him and got back to the bus. We then went on a virtual ride back in time through Jerusalem: one of those rides with the fake acting and the seats that move; as if we hadn't had enough history of Jerusalem for one day.
It's been a long, intense day, one of the most important on the trip, and certainly among the most important in my life. We did so many things, and it is truly a miracle that I have bothered to spend so many pages [15] recounting them! But the biggest miracle of all was our trip today to the Kotel, the holiest place in all the world.