I try to avoid places that everyone else, on the contrary, wants to get to first. Jerusalem is the center of the world. A city that was in the sphere of interest of almost the entire ancient world, and even today many are ready to fight for it. And it is extremely difficult to write about it.
Before I began to prepare for my trip to Israel, it seemed to me that all there was to see were churches and bazaars. In fact, that’s how many who have been here see the city. But this is not the case: the Old City, where everyone crowds together, is one tenth of the city. By the way, the largest in Israel. Shall we take a walk?
Old Jerusalem
But since it is Old Jerusalem that draws all the visitors, and if that is where all the tourist treasures of the universe are concentrated, then we will go there too. You can start anywhere, but keep in mind, Jerusalem is not a city where you have to drive. And inside the walls is a pedestrian zone. Finding a hotel with parking is very difficult and expensive, so think about it beforehand. In the Arab part of the city (East Jerusalem) hotels are somewhat cheaper, and physically located closer to the Old City. But keep in mind – you do not want to return home late at night there.
Every square inch of Jerusalem has a story to tell. Who would have thought that this natural rock near the bus terminus would be of great significance to a large group of people? The fact is that it is Golgotha. Yes, yes, the mountain where Jesus Christ was crucified. If you say it is inside the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre, you didn’t know the story. Then listen up! This Temple is divided into a huge number of aisles and almost every denomination, and Christians have dozens of them, is allocated a special place, a nook. Almost everyone, just not the Protestants. Well, it just so happens that this current emerged much later than the entire temple was divided among themselves.
There are a lot of interesting things to do around Old Jerusalem, and you can spend a single day in this city in a hundred different ways. For example, walking along the walls: it’s real, but you have to choose whether to go left or right. Unfortunately, you can’t go in a circle – the Temple Mount is in the way. We go inside, through the Shechem Gate. Shechem is Nablus, the Palestinian city. Also read how to login to sams club account.
Different Nations
The people of the different nations walk around peacefully, but there are clashes. To prevent them, dozens of plainclothes policemen and private security guards are swarming among the tourists. And to demonstrate calmness, border police officers are on duty. They are not directly involved in protecting the borders, but the army is in charge of that.
Jerusalem has changed hands many times, but the Christian Mecca was established long ago. All of Jesus’ stops are now numbered and even marked with a picture. According to the Gospel, at the fourth station he met Mary, his mother. The Virgin Mary decided to overtake the procession and wait for her son. Here they met for the last time. Many tourists weep when they read about it in the description.
The largest and most colorful quarter is the Muslim quarter. This is where most people live. Right in the Old City, in the middle of all those ancient walls. Yes, it’s dirty and smelly, that’s a fact. They say it’s especially important to look up in this part of Jerusalem: it’s the only place where the real treasures are preserved: the walls at human height are scribbled and filthy. Above this are murals, bas-reliefs and other delights of the Maluku period. Perhaps this rule applies not only to the Arab part of Jerusalem, but simply look up more often and notice the details.
Temple Mount
There is a place you are unlikely to be allowed into unless you are a local Arab. Several doors are carefully guarded by police officers. This is the entrance to the Temple Mount: where the big golden dome is now, visible from almost any part of Jerusalem. If not everyone knows, this is not a Jewish or Christian shrine, but one of the world’s first mosques. True, many people got it all mixed up and thought it was the Second Jewish Temple. The Crusaders, for example.
The Temple Mount belongs to the Muslims today: both they and the Jews believe that it is there, below, that there is the first stone from which the creation of the world began. Religion is as hot a topic as politics. Maybe even sharper. That is why, in order to avoid skirmishes, fights and armed clashes, the police do not let in anyone but Muslims. No fooling around for tourists because the guards know the basics of Islam pretty well and can check you.
The Wailing Wall
If you turn through the arch on the left in the previous picture you will reach the no less interesting place, the Little Wailing Wall. What is that? It’s actually the same wall called the Western Wall: the holiest place in Judaism: this wall is essentially all that’s left of the Temple today: this wall props up the mountain where it stands. But if the “main” wall is crowded with tourists, you have to stand in line and go through the metal detector frames, here you may not meet people at all, because almost no one even knows about it.
Millions of people come here every year just to leave a note with a message for God and put it in the wall. But very few people know that the wall is not self-sufficient: it is simply the place where the Jewish Temple once stood. The wall does not work miracles: many orthodox Jews may not go near the Wailing Wall at all, but pray at a distance, because they represent the former Temple there: while tourists pray to a simple wall.
By the way, do you know what happens with the notes? They are collected every day in a big pile and buried in the ground like a person. Not burned, but buried.
Here comes the “big” Western Wall. There are a lot of tourists here, it’s crowded. But here, too, I decided to show the alternative, which is usually not seen. After all, everyone is interested in taking pictures of bearded men in black robes. And then there’s the other part, the women’s part: there’s a lot more different colors, and plastic chairs in the back if you get tired.
That’s it, we’ve had enough of the Old Town. When we go out of the gate, there is a traffic jam. After all, the decision to walk was the right one. There is not a hint of the blue morning sky left, it was all covered by a gray blanket. It was the hamsin, the hot wind blowing sand from the Arabian Desert…
