Jerusalem - Part 2

The second half of the day in Jerusalem we spent in the old city.  Jerusalem is known as the City of David, and here he is playing the harp.

We visited many sites in the old city that were described by our guide as "traditionally, this is known as the site of <fill in the Biblical event>."  I have some pictures of these sites to show, but just keep in mind that no one really knows if this is the exact spot.  Pretty good guess you are within half of mile of it though.  :)  This is "traditionally" known as the Upper Room, where the Last Supper occurred.

This was part of the old city market ruins. 

The Wailing Wall - this is the only part of the last Jewish temple that still stands.  It is also known as the Western Wall.  The courtyard of the Wall is very large, but has only been this way since the 1960s.  The space was only 4 meters wide in front of the wall because the Moroccan quarter of the city was built in front of it.  This section was destroyed in order to create the current courtyard, where thousands can gather at once.  The place where you approach the Wall is segregated for men and women and this was the only place in Israel where I was explicitly asked to cover my shoulders. 

 

The Western Wall is one of the most holy sites to the Jewish people.  In the Old Testament, God lived within the Temple and now they believe that the Wall is the closest you can come to God.  Many people come to the Wall to pray and study.  It is also a tradition to write prayer requests on small pieces of paper that are tucked into the cracks of the wall.  There were thousands of them and I had a hard time finding a spot to place mine!

Most of the old city is made up of tiny streets like this one.  It was difficult to know which way we were going and to have any perspective on how big the old city is. 

We walked a portion of what is "traditionally" known as the Via Dolorosa.  They have these "stations of the cross" along the way, commemorating events that took place the day of Jesus' Crucifixion.  This was station 5 - where Simon helped carry the cross. 

The last few stations are all inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  It is "traditionally" thought to be on the site where Golgotha or Calgary stood.  This is the courtyard outside the church.  Most of my pictures inside are too blurry or dark to use.