Top This is the guide to my group , he studied history in Uni, very prfessional.
The back drop i the Old City wall
Middle 1 Temple Mount over and the Dome of Rock ( the Golden top )
Middle 2 People will write down their wishes on small pieces of paper then
squased them into the cracks between rocks
Bottom I stood infront of the Wailing Wall
Day 7 The Old and the New City – a history lesson
To day I went to a guided tour for the Old and the New Jerusalem City . The old city means everywhere inside the city wall. The surrounding area is the new one.
Compared to yesterday, today was a very fine day with blue sky, and not so cold, but it was still a bit windy. I took the lesson from yesterday, that I brought a thick overcoat and a thin jacket with me to suit different kinds of weather conditions.
The arrangement was in a little bit chaos yet it was fixed eventually.
The group was about 20 odd people. We had a guide who is an Israeli young man. He spoke English and Spanish to the group very fluently. The coach took us right to the Jaffa gate. And the tour started there. I video the whole tour, since no way I can remember every word he said. We entered the city through the Jaffa gate, Passed through the city of David , then entered the Armenian quarter, then the Jewish quarter. In there we visited the famous Wailing Wall. That is the oldest remnant of Judaism’s holiest place which was built some 2000 years ago. There was very tight security. When my backpack was scanned, they wanted me to show them my harmonica! I passed through without any problem. People went in the Wailing Wall area should cover their heads somehow, by caps, hats. If you don’t have one, no worries, there was a tray with small Jewish ‘hats’ in there. You just pick one, put on your head and here you go. Me? Yes , I need one, because my HK cap, which Lee Sai Ho gave me, at last time when I was in HK, was left in the bus when I came from Tel-Aviv. That little white hat was silk. It is very light and when it was put on my head, it stayed very well. When you leave this area you just return it to the tray. Men will go to the right and women will go to the left with a row of fence to separate the 2 genders. People have got anything to talk the God, he can write it down on a piece of paper, and then squash it into a crack of the wall. Then his words are heard.
We are continue meandering the narrow street. Then we entered the Muslim quarter. At one of the gates, I don’t know the name, I saw people queue up to enter the city. They all have to show some sort of ID before they can enter the city.
Then we entered the Christian quarter. It was here where the famous Via Dolorosa starts. We didn’t start from the 1st station, but from the 7th. We passed small chapel, and also some places where Jesus took rest while he was carrying the cross. At last we came to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is here where Jesus was believed to be crucified, buried and resurrected. When we entered the church, there lied a long, flat piece of stone and it was believed that people put the body of Jesus on the rock and rub oil on to his body before he was prepared to be buried. People now still put oil onto this rock. Pilgrims touched the rock with their palms, hands, heads…. Some kissed on that. Some used other things like cross, pictures, handkerchiefs, you name it, to touch the rock, and hopefully they will be blessed. We went to the left of the church, there was a small chamber. It was here where Jesus was resurrected. On the top of the church, there was a small Ethiopian village with a small chapel.
Then we are brought to a shop where the sales that claimed that all merchandise sole there were genuine and with certificates issued by the XYZ authority. Group customers were given XY% off. The situation was so familiar with. Yet no body was watching if you had bought anything or not. We had lunch then. We were again bought to a road side food shop, not restaurant, we have 2 choices. I don’t know how to spell them. One was 30, and the other was 40. Food was come with a soft drink. I am cheap so I took the cheap one. By the way I have never seen A Chinese food place until now.
Then the afternoon programme started. This time we got out of the city wall, and walked to the tomb of the Virgin Mary. There was a picture that Virgin Mary was carried a baby in the arms of Jesus. Usually what we can see is the other way round. Why was that? It described that when Virgin Mary slept eternally, she didn’t die, her soul ascent to the haven where Jesus held her in arms like carrying a baby.
We went to the City of David . Here was the origin of Jerusalem . It was built some 3000 years ago. It was much older than the Old City .
We passed through the east Jerusalem , a hill city. It is a Muslim settlement. It was built along the steep hill slope.
Then we hopped up to the coach to Mt Olives. It is here that God will redeem the dead on the judgement day.
Here we saw the Christian cemetery on one side of the deep valley, and the Muslim cemetery on the other side.
The tour ended here. And a taxi was hired, at their cost, to take me back to the hostel.
That is it.
This hostel I am staying is very near to the Hebrew University . The Wifi signal is strong enough to reach here. So I can have free internet access.
cya
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