ON TO JERUSALEM
In my last post on this thread (CLICK HERE TO VIEW), I had just finished a week in Tel Aviv. Now for the biggie.
Thirty-nine miles and a few thousand years separate secular Tel Aviv from pious Jerusalem. Now it's time to make that journey. Thursday, January 30, 1992. It's raining. And cold. Not wanting to wait for a bus, and feeling flush, I took a taxi the whole distance. The road is straight, hemmed in on both sides by the Palestinian West Bank, and goes steadily uphill as it climbs from sea level into the mountains.
Since it was the middle of winter, hardly tourist season, I didn't bother with making a hotel reservation. Big mistake. How was I to know about the worldwide medical convention in town? After several attempts to find a room, I took out my list of all hotels and started calling ones in Arab East Jerusalem. Luck was with me — the Hotel Alcazar had a room, in fact they had many rooms. A nice, big room with bath for only 30 dollars a day, including breakfast! Very nice people, too. They couldn't do enough for me. And it was within easy walking distance of the walled Old City.
Sacred to the three great monotheistic religions, Jerusalem is the repository of some 3,000 years of turbulent history — a cultural cauldron still bubbling away. Ironically, this world center of spirituality is also the focus of ancient animosities that remain unresolved to this day, but that's what makes this such a vibrant, dynamic place. You may love it or hate it, but you can only gain by sampling its infinite experiences. A successful visit here can well be one of the highlights of your life.
The photo above is of the Damascus Gate, one of several entrances into the walled Old City.
The first two days were spent exploring the Old City. On foot, of course. The "streets" here are extremely narrow and often stepped. I entered through the Jaffa Gate, next to the Citadel built in 24 BC for Herod the Great, then strolled through the quiet Armenian Quarter and into the more lively Jewish Quarter. This is home to the Western Wall, often called the Wailing Wall, which is all that remains of the ancient Temple Mount. Male visitors here must wear a yarmulka (provided free) and go to the shady mens' section (women use the sunny section). Immediately overlooking this is the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount itself, home to the Dome of the Rock, built in AD 691 on the spot where Muhammad took off on his Night Journey to Heaven. The third-holiest place in Islam, this was also where Abraham came to sacrifice his son, and where the ancient Jewish Temple stood.
From here I wandered into the crowded Muslim Quarter, and walked the length of the Via Dolorosa past various Stations of the Cross and into the Christian Quarter. The historic route ends in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, supposedly the very spot (photo, left) where Jesus was crucified and buried. Actually, some Christians believe that the Crucifixion and Burial took place elsewhere, in the Protestant Garden Tomb in nearby East Jerusalem — a very quiet and contemplative place.
Other highlights in the city included the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the extremely orthodox Mea She'arim neighborhood where visitors must dress and behave according to their rules (click on the photo, right, to enlarge and read these clearly). In the Western New City lies the Knesset (Parliament) and the Shrine of the Book, a modern cave-like structure (photo, below) where visitors can come face-to-face with the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I took a bus ride outside the city proper to the most eloquent and moving of all Holocaust museums, Yad Va'shem. Then it was off to Bethlehem, which although only six miles from Jerusalem is an Arab town in the West Bank. The sole attraction here is of course the Church of the Nativity, built in AD 531 on the supposed spot of Jesus' birth. The exact location of the manger was determined in AD 325 by the Roman empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. This is now the Altar of the Manger (photo, left) in the Grotto of the nativity.
Did I mention that it was cold? On February 4th we were hit by a wicked snow storm (photo above). So I made daytrips to warmer climes, namely the Dead Sea at Ein Gedi and that cornerstone of Israeli national identity, Masada. The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth, and Masada more than 1,400 feet above it in a sheer vertical climb. This was the luxurious refuge of King Herod the Great, a spot to which he could flee in the event of an uprising. The Jews of Palestine revolted against oppressive Roman rule in AD 66 and were defeated. Some of them, called the Zealots, escaped and took over the mountain refuge, holding out there until the Romans finally trapped them in AD 72. According to legend, they chose to commit collective suicide rather than become slaves. The photo on the right is of Herod's Palace, or what's left of it. The mountains in the background are in Jordan.
NEXT, the scene moves to Haifa, my favorite Israeli city.
The guidebook I wrote from these experiences, Daytrips Israel, went through two editions (1993 and 1996) before increasing terrorism made do-it-yourself travel less attractive and effectively killed the market for it. Maybe someday there can be a third edition.
Interested in photography? Check out my "Assisting Avedon" blog.
SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2013? Why, just the most challenging one of them all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
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