Jerusalem: The Old City

If you have not already done so, please read the introduction to this trip: Efo Sherutim

Jerusalem: The Old City

The Jaffa Gate in the wall surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem.
This wall was built by the Muslim Ottomans about 500 years ago.
It's the newest of the city walls.
Archeologists have unearthed walls from both the First Temple (3000 BP)
and Second Temple (2000 BP) periods.

We visited Jerusalem several times during our month in Israel. A day trip, an over-nighter and a five-day weekend on our return from the Dead Sea. In this post, time will be ignored and items will be presented out of chronological order.

We stayed in the Old City in the historic New Imperial Hotel near the Jaffa Gate and could walk to anywhere in the Old City in a few minutes. "Built in the 1880s, this was, in its time, the most luxurious hotel in Jerusalem." (Fromer's Israel, 2011) At this location, the Roman (LEG X) Tenth Legion camped for more than 60 years to keep Jews out of Jerusalem. The LEG X marker was discovered when the hotel was being built.

The Western Wall

A little more than 2000 years ago, King Herod the Great created a platform for his expansion of the Second Temple. After the Romans destroyed the Temple and other structures on the Temple Mount (circa 70 CE), only the walls of the 37 acre platform remained.

We visited the Western Wall so many times during our visit that I lost count. (And had to go through airport-style security each time we entered the Western Wall Plaza.) On one occasion, we toured the base of the wall in the newly excavated tunnel which runs parallel to the wall. There is a Roman-era shopping center down there, but the vendors are gone, not like the rest of the old city where the shops stay open as long as there is money to be made.

The Wall is 'open' 24/7 and there is no time that someone isn't there. Historically it is as close as the Jews have been allowed to get to the site of the Holy of Holies since the Romans expelled the Jews from Jerusalem. The Christians kept the Jews out of Jerusalem, too; the Muslims let them back, but the Jews may not pray on the Temple Mount. (The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem says that Jews should not even go up there until the Messiah comes, but we visited it anyway.)

Many people do not know that one can get closer to the site of the Holy of Holies in the tunnel, but the space is really small as you can see in the photo to the right.

Notes in The Wall

The Wall was built without mortar. Many people put notes into the crevices between the stones. Workmen pull out the notes and sweep them up. As people are at the Wall 24/7, the workmen have to move people away to do their job.


There will be more about the Western Wall in a future post about Ancient Jerusalem.

There are many other things to see in Jerusalem and we saw lots. There are numerous excavations in the Jewish Quarter which were made possible by the fact that the Jewish Quarter was almost totally destroyed during the 1948 War of Independence and was rebuilt making the Jewish Quarter the part of Jerusalem with the most modern buildings and the most ancient artifacts because excavating foundations for rebuilding unearthed many discoveries such as a section of wall from the First Temple period and homes from the Second Temple period.

And there are shops. You cannot go anywhere without passing shops where very friendly merchants try to entice you to buy from them before you have the chance to buy from someone else. One cannot dawdle in front of a shop. After about 20 seconds, you discover that you have a new best friend.

Temple Mount

The golden dome (re-gilded in the 1950s with real gold by the king of Jordan) of the Dome of the Rock seems to dominate the city. This is the site that the three major religions are so hot about. The rock is the peak of Mt. Moriah, which sticks above the Temple Mount.

To Jews, it is the site of the foundation of the world, where patriarch Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son Isaac and where the Ark of the Covenant sat in the Holy of Holies in the Great Temple of Jerusalem. To Muslims, it is where patriarch Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son Ishmael and the rock from which Mohammad left the Earth during his night journey to heaven. Events took place there which are important to Christians, too.

Technical note: I took this photo from the bell tower of the Church of the Redeemer using telephoto.

Built circa 690 CE, the Dome of the Rock is the oldest structure on the Temple Mount. It is built on the site of the previous Jewish temples. This building is the oldest existing Islamic monument. It is not a mosque.

Also on the Temple Mount is the Al-Aqsa Mosque (above). The present structure was built in 1035 as a mosque, it became a church in 1099 when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem. It became a mosque again when the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem 150 years later.

City Streets

The Romans built intersecting market streets through the center of the city when they controlled things. This divided the city into quarters. Over time, Christians settled in the area closest to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; Muslims closest to the Dome of the Rock; and Jews closest to the Western Wall.

There is no official restriction as to who can live where, it is just a historical pattern. And if you want to eat the kinds of foods that you are used to, you want to live in the areas where these foods are sold.

The Cardo: An excavated section of a Roman-era market
street with shops in the Jewish Quarter.

Illustration of a Roman market street.

The modern markets sell the foods that the local people want.

[Notice the miniature Dome of the Rock on the mountain of spice in the below right photo.]

Whereas Tel Aviv is on a coastal plain and Haifa is on the side of Mt. Carmel, Jerusalem has seven (count them, seven) mountains (more like hills), but one seems to be always walking uphill or down.

The small ramps are for the wheelbarrows which are used to transport goods through the narrow streets

High Point

The observation deck of the 177 foot bell tower of the Church of the Redeemer provides great views of Jerusalem. A circular staircase in the square tower provides access.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is under the auspices of five different Catholic denominations. Since they all have to agree before anything can be changed, change is difficult. That is why the ladder against the right window has been there for years.

Within the church are the sites claimed to be the location of Jesus' crucifixion, the Stone of Anointing (the rock on which his body was rubbed with oils) and the tomb (sepulcher) in which his body was placed.

To the left is the sepulcher from which the church gets its name.

The sepulcher was originally a cave in the side of a hill. The hill has been removed and only the space is left. The present elaborate structure was built around the space.


The platform (right) inside of the sepulcher: It is claimed that Jesus' body was placed on this platform after it was prepared for burial.

Through the window in the photo to the left, one can see a hole which was claimed by St. Helen to be the site of the placement of the cross used for Jesus' crucifixion.

To the right is the rock on which, it is claimed, Jesus body was placed and rubbed with oils after he was removed from the cross.

Since all of these sites are within this church, the distances are smaller than one would expect. It was about 20 feet from the crucifixion site to the anointing platform and about another 30 feet to the sepulcher.

The various denominations have monasteries there and there is a schedule when each can have a service. We were there for several groups of monks chanting, etc.

Zion Gate / City of David

This entrance into the Old City from the area known as the City of David was the site of a furious battle in 1948 when the Israelis lost control of much of the Old City to the Jordanians.

The pockmarks on the wall were caused by bullets during the fierce fighting.

The Israelis regained full control of Jerusalem in 1967.

In the City of David just outside of the walls through the Zion Gate are several sites considered holy to Jews and/or Christians.

Dormition Abbey

The Dormition Abbey is where some Christians believe that Mary fell asleep before ascending to heaven, hence the term 'dormition' for Hagia Maria Sion.

Domes of the church

The statue of the sleeping Mary (left) is under a cupola with a mosaic ceiling (right) portraying biblical heroines.

Nearby is King David's Tomb. They know that this is David's tomb because a few centuries ago several workmen entered a hole and claimed to have been rendered unconscious; it was determined that what else could it be.

Above that is the room of the Last Supper (right) which, depending on which gospel one accepts, was a Passover Seder, or not. It looks as if it has been remodeled since then. They know that it is the room of the Last Supper because it looks just like it.

Bus groups gathered in circles and sang hymns. I was asked which group I was with, but didn't say. I didn't know if the dinner bill had been paid and didn't want to get stuck with it. As all of the supper attendees were Jewish and I seemed to be the only Jew in the room, as a relative I might have been held responsible. It's not as if archeologists found the credit card receipt.

[Please keep in mind that when it comes to the religious sites, often they are what they are only by tradition, not by any archeological evidence. After Roman Emperor Constantine (circa 300 CE) converted to Christianity, his mother took a trip to the Holy Land and discovered many relics and sites. Boatloads of relics were sent back to Rome. If she said that something was something, that started a tradition. She was saintified for this and there is a street named for her in the Old City.]

Synagogues

As one might imagine, there are many synagogues in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter, all relatively new as the Jordanians destroyed what was there in 1948.

I am sure that these synagogues have names, but for the most part I don't know what they are.

The one to the left is the Hurva Synagogue. Once the Great Synagogue of the Jewish Quarter circa 1720, it has been through hard times. Hurva means 'ruined'. It was rebuilt, again, only a few years ago.

Karaite Synagogue (left): Karaites follow the original Jewish traditions
that were abandoned by Rabbinic Judaism 2000 ago.

[There is only one Karaite synagogue in the U.S.]

Greek Catholic Church

I tried to see the Greek Catholic Church several times, but it was closed. I got in Sunday morning just before services began. As you can see, it is very colorful and worth a visit.

This post is 'Jerusalem: The Old City'. The 'New City' and the 'Ancient City' will follow.