Jerusalem, Israel
Making it across the border from Amman to Jerusalem is a bit of a pain, because despite being only 80 miles apart or so, you have to change buses 3 times and go through multiple security and passport checks. I finally made it around 1PM, after arriving at the Amman bus station at 6AM.
Making it across the border from Amman to Jerusalem is a bit of a pain, because despite being only 80 miles apart or so, you have to change buses 3 times and go through multiple security and passport checks. I finally made it around 1PM, after arriving at the Amman bus station at 6AM.Jerusalem is even colder than Amman, with current highs around 50 and lows around 38. Plus I just found out that my $30 room in the Ancient Walled City (Old Jerusalem) has no heat and is basically a sieve of cold currents. Doah!
Today I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – the church built on the site which is widely believed to have been the site for Christ’s crucifixion, death, resurrection and his body’s resting place. There are some parts of the church from the 1st Century AD, but it had been wiped out twice by the Byzantines and Romans so the current structure is from the 15th Century. There are multiple shrines to each path of the cross, from where Jesus was anointed, to where he was nailed up, where he died standing on the cross (the shrine there has a hole where you stick your hand in to touch the rocky hill the cross stood on), and where he was finally buried (in the inner Sepulcher itself). I can see why devout Christians feel it is the most holy place in existence.
After the church I visited the Wailing Wall, the most sacred place for the Jewish people. It is part of the original retaining wall that held King Solomon’s First Temple, so the wailing refers to the remorse at having seen the First and Second temples destroyed.
After the church I visited the Wailing Wall, the most sacred place for the Jewish people. It is part of the original retaining wall that held King Solomon’s First Temple, so the wailing refers to the remorse at having seen the First and Second temples destroyed.The wall itself supposedly belongs to the Muslims as part of their holy Temple Mount above, but all Jews have complete rights to pray at the wall (and of course the security is entirely controlled by Israeli troops). I am glad to have been able to walk around the old City in between the constant rainstorms of the past 2 days and with the visits to the 2 key sights I am satisfied with my visit.It is the middle of a 4-day Muslim holiday, so the Muslim sights are all closed until Sunday. I wanted to head into the West Bank to see some of the Palestinian settlements, but between the massive rain and the holiday it is not a good time, so I will have to skip that and will instead head to Tel Aviv for a day or two.