Tooling around the Old City in Jerusalem

April 24, 2011 - 8:49 AM by

We decided to spend part of the day on Shabbat in Jerusalem’s Old City – just walking around and taking in the sights and sounds. It also just happened to be the same day as the holy fire ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the pinnacle of Easter week for thousands of Christian worshippers.

Jaffa Gate was a mass of humanity, as local Christians and pilgrims waited for hours to get through security checkpoints to enter the Old City manned by about 1,000 policemen.

We snaked around to Zion Gate and walked right into the Armenian Quarter and on to the Jewish Quarter. Access to the Christian Quarter and the church was blocked, so we walked around through the Jewish Quarter alleyways, said a prayer at the Kotel, and walked on rooftops of the Muslim Quarter overlooking the shuk down below.

When we needed a rest, we stopped at a shady park bench and people-watched. Despite having been in the Old City countless times, it was still amazing to see the mix of Jews, Christians and Muslims bustling around, with groups of tourists from dozens of countries passing by with wide-opened eyes, spying the wonders of the ancient city for the first time.

We started a game of trying to guess which country the tour groups were from before we heard them speaking, based on their dress, walk and group discipline. We didn’t guess correctly too often, but we ended up seeing people from Sweden, Russia, the US, Scotland, China (granted, they were easier to spot) and many countries ending in ‘stan.’

Even though we usually take it for granted, driving past it on the way to our daily lives, the Old City is indeed a treasure that we need to be reminded of once in a while. Wandering aimlessly around there can be a perfect way to spend a beautiful spring day.

Tags: • Category: A New Reality, coexistence, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Religion 

Comments

3 Comments on Tooling around the Old City in Jerusalem

  1. Thomas on Mon, Apr 25th 2011 3:39 PM

    2. Yeah, it was an amazing few days in the Old City. I went myself on the Friday and caught up in the Good Friday processions along the Via Dolorosa. Depsite being a non-practising Christian it still gave me a buzz to be surrounded by so many people enthralled by the mere fact of just being there and believing they are following in the footsteps of Jesus.

    I was also able to take some nice photos which I’ve put onto my blog if anyone fancies checking them out (http://thomasinisrael.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/sights-sounds-of-easter-in-the-holy-city/)

  2. Lauren Helfand on Thu, Apr 28th 2011 1:29 AM

    3. Jerusalem is amazing! Of course, for me, it’s easy to spot Americans from miles away, even before hearing them speak, whether its English or Hebrew.

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    4. [...] post about Jerusalem, courtesy of Israelity, during the weekend of Easter reminded me of my own experience during my first year in Reform [...]

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