Around Jerusalem

For the record this is for Thursday 16th June

We started today by waiting.  After 2 phone calls to our tour company and some concern the van finally arrived for us - the your guide had not been informed of our change of hotel and had bees searching for us.

With time tight and road closures for Ramadan looming we raced off to Bethlehem.  As this is in the Palestinian Territories our Israeli guide was not allowed to drive us through the town or to accompany us.  After a tortuoius route to use the least troublesome checkpoint we drove up a dismal back alley with dusty concrete waal and rubbish lying around the gutterrs.  Here we transferred to 2 8 seater vans and travelled through a winding route that at time was up streets in the old town that were barely wide enough for the van between the buildings, let alone the pedetrians who squeezed to teh side.  The shops here are mere cubbyholes with the front open side to side, or shut with metal shutters when closed, which mamny of them were for Ramadan. Most stores appeared to be about 2.5 m wide and 4 m deep and the merchandise display is across the street frontage.  Much of the goods displayed are hung from the lintel meaning that access to the shop is difficult.  However that is only my impression as we drove through these streets without pause.

Arriving at Bethlehem square we found the church of the nativity on one side wth the council offices and a mosque on the other.  The church is a crusader church and was under major renovations.  When we went in and headed for the crypt containing the reputed stable, we found that we had been delayed too long and an Armenian mass was in progress and access was blocked, so we were loaded back in the van and herded into a "christian"souvenir store where we were assured that all proceeds went to support the local christian community.. Later on, on the way out of Bethlehem the van driver stopped the van to collect an envelope that obviously contained the guides commission.  Anyway we headed back to the church and our guide told the police that one of our party had an urgent toilet need so our group could duck in the exit to view the crypr which contained a 14 pointer star in the floor and a replica manger.  The police were not impressed but didn't stop us.

After a trip through slightly more civilsed streets we met up with our usual guide and drove back into Jerusalem for a walk through the old city.  Gillian opted out and spent the afternoon at the hotel where she caught up with some washing.

The walk started at the Jaffa gate where there is a large breech in the walls that was opened in the 1890's to allow the German Kaiser to enter the city in a coack with 6 horses.  Just inside the gate are 2 graves reputed to be the engineers who designed the city wall who were executed by the Sultan at the time either because they left Temple  Mount outside the walls or to signify that their work was perfect and he did not want them to build anything better.  At least they were given pride of place foir their graves!

Once in the old town there are small narrow and slooping streets leading down towards the Temple Mount, but we followed a road just wide enough (and no more) for cars to the reputed site of King David's tomb.  First we visited an upstairs room supposed to be the site of the last supper, a bare room with the ceiling supported by arches which our guide claimed were the oldest surviving examples of the gothic style./

Going downstairs we entered the area supposedly containng the stone over King David.  The crypt has not been excavated due to religious sensibilities.  The staone is about 3 m long and 2 metres high shrouded in a heavy embroided cloth.  To see this we had to run the gauntlet of a group of Orthodox Jews praying in an antechamber - they were bobbing thei heads and dancing back and forth in their fervour, but each seemed to have their own idea of what was required.  Access to the stone is segregated by gender with a cloth suspended over the middle of the stone.  In models of the city in biblical times there is a large temonument built over this spot, but it is now part of a mediaeval urban area.

The old city is separated into sectors reflecting the religious affiliations of the majority of the occupants.  These ones that were identified to us include the Moslem, Christian, Armenian and Jewish quarters, but it is difficult to figure out while in the citty as the maze of roads makes navigation difficult.

We walked down to the area along the Western Wall.  I found that the wall that is so important to the Jews  is actually the remains of a retaining wall built by Herod to suoort the second temple which was built over the site of the temple built by Abraham. Again access to the wall is segregated by gender, though I understand that there is an area for the reformed Jews who can pray together.  However what we saw was several dozen orthodox all individually praying aloud and continually bobbing their heads.  While it is obviously deeply moving for them, it does look slightly comical and similar to a bunch of penguins.

We dived into the narrow alleys of the Muslem Quarter which are lined with stalls full of colour and selling absolutely nothing I want to buy.  On one unremarkable corner we stopped and our guide pointed up the side road to an archway which he explained is the location of stations 1&2 of the cross and we were standing at station 3.. We turned around and followed the Via Dolorosa past stations 4-10 to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  It is ironic that a tour of Israel chosen on the basis that it was not specifically religious turned out to be peopled by a variety of christians and focused largely on the places of importance to the christian community.  This was not an issue for us - as after all this is the Holy Land.

The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre has an unremarkable entrance with one of the two archways blocked up.  On the second level up stands a ladder apparently placed there at one stage by the Sultan of Jerusalem to illustrate the only access available for one of the denominations involved with the church if they did not stop bickering about their rights and privileges while the church itself fell into disrepair.  Each denomination now have sectors of the church under their control, but since divisions remain, the key of the door is held by a muslim family. The church starts with a climb to view the reputed rock of Golgotha followed by an endless series of passages and chapels until you reach the shrine of the tomb.  Unfortunately the area was razed to build the church in the 4th century so it is difficult to determine the accuracy of the location.  I failed to be convinced, but that does not matter.

We walked back to the Jaffa Gate through the bazaar with several stall holders trying to entice us in.  While the stalls are colourful and inviting the constant attention of the sellers is off-putting.

Back to the hotel and hard decisions about the style of dinner for tonight.