srettig24 Dome of the Rock with Mount Olives behind it
The Holy Land. I feel like I have been hearing about it my whole life. The holy land for three different religions. I have always been curious about what Jerusalem was like. I am excited to share what I saw, and my experience in this special city.
This post took me a long time to put together because I went to Jerusalem on three separate occasions. Each time I was able to do and see something different and was able to get a stronger sense of Jerusalem.
Western Wall
People come from all over the world to see the Western Wall. When I came to Israel I had a vague understanding of the Western Wall but learned more after arriving. Below is a summary of why the Western Wall is important in the Jewish Faith. It’s important to note that the Western Wall is also important to Christians.
Jewish people believe that the stone from this wall created the world. They believe that the binding of Isaac took place on it, and that King Solomon built the first Temple. The temple was later destroyed by the Babylonians. After 70 years the Jews returned to Jerusalem and created a new temple until it was destroyed by the Romans. The Jewish people were not able to return and rebuilt and slowly the only remains left was a small section of the wall. With the creation of the Israeli nation- Jewish and Christians now can pray and worship here freely.
Gates
There are seven gates to the old city of Jerusalem. Below is a photo of the Damascus gate, and underneath is the Jaffa Gate. A road stretched all the way to Damascus from this gate- which gives it the name Damascus. The Damascus gate one of the main and most popular Gates into the old city. You can see that the Jaffa Gate is built as a watch tower. Jaffa Gate is located near the Tower of David. If you look closely you can see Arabic script on the Jaffa Gate which says “In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Great Sultan, King of the Turks, Arabs and Persians, Suleiman son of Selim Khan—may Allah make his Kingdom eternal—gave the order to build this blessed Wall”.
The Old City Market
The old city market in Jerusalem is a maze of small stalls selling goods and food. Some areas of the market are very crowded with goods spilling out into the center aisle. It is easy to walk in circles in the old city. It can also take deceptively long to get somewhere in the old city, as the streets are narrow and winding.
Make time to get lost in the old city of Jerusalem
Jaffa Street
Jaffa street is one of the oldest roads in Jerusalem but you wouldn’t expect that based on how it looks today. Lined with trendy coffee shops, bakeries, and clothing stores this modern city center has everything you would expect from a downtown area. There is also another indoor/outdoor stall market in this area if you can’t get enough of a market place.
Tower of David
The Tower of David is located near the Jaffa Gate. The Tower of David or Citadel was built in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods. Like many buildings in the region, the Tower of David is built on the remains of the Hasmonean, and other buildings which were destroyed by the Crusades. The Tower of David is now a museum of the history of Jerusalem. Using different multimedia this museum covers over 4,000 years of history in Jerusalem!
King David’s Tomb
The tomb of King David is located just outside the walls of the old city. This is not considered to be the real resting place of King David. It is where Jesus’ Last Supper occurred and was the early Christian meeting place in Jerusalem.
The Outer Edge of the Old City
I encourage you to wander around a city when on vacation or exploring a new place. Sure, sometimes you can end up at a dead end but at others you will end up with a new perspective off the beaten track. I got some good views of the city and captured some photos of these white city walls while wandering around.
I took a little stroll on the outdoor In the photo directly above- you can see people standing out on the old wall looking out at the city. While I did not do it, the Rampart Walks seem to be a great way to see the city. There are two different walks, North and South.
Mount Olive
It’s important to imagine Mount Olive as it once was- looking more like a mountain and covered in olive groves. Mount Olive has been used as a Jewish Graveyard for over 3,000 years and holds about 150,000 graves.
Temple Mount
Temple Mount during the winter is open for very limited hours. There was only a handful of tourists at the security to go to Temple Mount at 7:30 AM on a Thursday. In order to access Temple Mount, you go to the Western Wall lower security area but go to a special line, after being checked you walk up this wooden bridge.
Below is a photo gallery of The Dome of the Rock and surrounding Grounds
I found Temple Mount to be my favorite experience in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock was unbelievable. All I could think about was how lucky I was to be able to see this in my life. Given how controversial and charged Temple Mount I was surprised by how quiet and serene the grounds were.
Just to Mention…
If you plan on going to Israel anytime soon, this website was a great resource, the information was correct and well-written.
I did not go to two museums that Israeli people most commonly recommend. The Israel Museum contains the Dead Sea scrolls so I was a bit disappointed in not seeing those. The Israel Museum also contains several exhibits on Israeli culture and history. The second museum would be the Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. These two museums are located about an hours walk from the old city and you need to get some other transportation to them.
What a memorable Thanksgiving! A- Thanks for sharing this experience with me. S- SO HAPPY to see you again, had a fun night with you and E
