Travel notes: Jerusalem - a collage of old and new

Jerusalem has always held a mystical image in my head. Having read the bible and heard stories of Jerusalem in the church, the picture I had in my head was that of a 1st century BC desert city as one can see in movies like Prince of Persia. And I was all set to encounter the mystery soon. The excitement I had as I booked the tour for Saturday 11th December 2010 is very difficult to put in words. It was akin to the excitement of a school kid going to an amusement park the next morning.

Israel Flag

I got picked up at 7 am sharp from my hotel in Tel Aviv and guess what - I was waiting since 15 minutes. I was so eager to get going. We picked up a few more tourists from other hotels. Post that, we were taken to the Ramat Gan bus station from where we boarded the actual bus which was to leave for Jerusalem. We were about 18 of us in total. It was a multinational group with Americans the most followed by Brits, a few Scandinavians and a single Indian (me) plus a humble Korean who couldn't speak English. I am saying humble because for every question of mine including 'How are you', his response was a bow and a smile.

Tel Aviv Marina

The bus left sharp at 8. Our guide was a lady in her late forties may be. She spoke good English, unlike most of Israeli's who prefer communicating in Hebrew. Jerusalem is about 60 kms from Tel Aviv towards the east. Tel Aviv has a complete European look as the Jewish settlers who founded the city wanted it that way. Tel Aviv is a perfect party place with excellent pubs, numerous coffee shops, excellent local transportation and clean n clear beaches which showcase a lot of activities like kite surfing, beach volleyball and other water sports. As you get out of Tel Aviv you see a lot of small villages with acres and acres of farms. The image I had in my mind that Israel will also be mostly covered by desert, like the other middle eastern countries was proven wrong. I could see a lot of green forests along the highway. My guide explained that Ben Guiron (The first prime minister) of Israel had the vision of a green Israel. So he started a country wide initiative to plant trees, adopt trees, and contribute to a green cause. It’s his effort that today you see Israel different than the other countries around.

Temple Mount (Temple for God built by King Solomon)

Tel Aviv is to play and Jerusalem is to Pray. This is how Israeli's define the two cities as. And that's exactly how the cities are in context to each other in Israel. Jerusalem is one of the oldest continually inhabited city in the whole world. The other city that comes to mind is Benares in India. Jerusalem is the city chosen by God and hence all the 3 Semitic religions (Jewish, Christianity and Islam) hold Jerusalem as their holy place and hence Jerusalem has a bloody history of capture and recapture by various sects and kings in the last 10000 years. As a matter of fact Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times and captured/recaptured 44 times.

One of the Suburbs of Jerusalem in the Hill

Jerusalem is in a hilly terrain and each hill, kind of houses a village or Suburb. It’s a spectacular sight to see the white and off white houses in the hills. The white house’s are new and the off white are old and assume that color due to the sand winds in the region. Jerusalem has grown quiet a lot since the ancient days and now you have a New city of Jerusalem and Old city of Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is modern and looks like a proper city and acts as a business center after Tel Aviv. Its vibrant and young. The Israeli Parliament is here. The Old city of Jerusalem is where you have the ancient walled city of Jerusalem, the temple of god, the biblical locations, the archaeological sites etc. Coming from Tel Aviv, we first crossed the New city. We took a halt at King David Hotel, which had an impressive building - don’t confuse yourselves with King David's construction. I collected a few souvenirs, had my breakfast and was the first to board the bus to go and visit the JERUSALEM I so eagerly wanted to see.

Church on Mount of Olives

As we entered I felt like I am being transported back in time. It’s a very humbling feeling to be in the Gods selected city. The Old city still maintains the ancient construction and charm. The first thing that I noticed and took the picture of is the Wall of Jerusalem. This isn't the wall that was constructed during the biblical times but a far recent one. However it stands around the exact same location where the ancient wall was built. In fact we can see the 3000 year old walls if we go down and visit the archeological sites.

Graves on the mount of Olives opp the Northern Gate

We first went to the Mount of Olives. The place from where Jesus ascended to heaven post he resurrected from the dead and met his disciples. The view that you get of Jerusalem from here is just breath taking. It was windy and cold and I was shivering while taking some pictures from the top. I got a bird’s eye view of all the important sites that I would be visiting soon. The slope of the Mount of Olives has a lot of Jewish graves. Tombs of notable Old Testament prophets like Zechariah and Malachi is located in the Mount of Olives. Exactly opposite to the Mount of Olives is the Northern gate of the Wall of Jerusalem from where the Jews believe that the Messiah will come and the ones buried in these graves will be the first to be brought to life. Interesting! Did I just miss a second chance to life?

Tomb of King David

The City of Old Jerusalem is in 3 quarters The Jewish quarter, Christian quarter and the Muslim quarter. You can imagine how sensitive the situation would be any given day. Though the interaction between all the 3 quarters is minimal, they live and pray as peacefully as possible today. King David's tomb was the first place that we visited as soon as we came down from the Mount of Olives. King David's tomb is on mount Zion and incidentally that is also the place where Jesus had his last supper with his disciples. The authenticity of this site being the place where King David was buried is still challenged by many.

Narrow Alleys of Old Jerusalem

When walking inside the walls of the old city, if you ignore the modern clothing of the people around and the electronics one can easily mistake them to be right there in history. The houses are made of stones. Many still look like caves. The old city is full of narrow alleys and lanes with some cramped up markets on the way. The manner in which they have preserved each and every artifact is really commendable. As the city of Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt many times, there are different layers of the city beneath. Where we walk is actually the most recent development. There are at least 2 - 3 layers below which is accessible and archeologists continuously work there.

4th Station on the 'Way of Cross' - Jesus meets Mary

The next on our tour agenda was to go through the 'Way of the Cross' or 'Via Dolorosa'. This is the path through which Jesus Christ was taken before being crucified. The path unfolds as a series of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the scenes as per what we read in the New Testament. The 3 times when Jesus fell while carrying the cross, a place where he held the wall to take support, the place where he met Mary on the way and finally the place where he was crucified and the tomb where he was laid. I was thankful that I could be there and see the place and walk the path that most of us only read about. Absolutely humbling!

The Muslim Quarter

The sight of the place where Jesus was Crucified and the Tomb where one can enter and take a look or pray is divine. The positive energy that you feel in those places is amazing. The Church over Jesus’ Tomb is the 'Church of the Holy Sepulcher'. This Church is split between the Orthodox and Catholic sects of Christianity.

While following the 'Way of the cross' we pass through the Jewish quarter, Christian quarter and the Muslim quarter. The Muslim quarter is very different in terms of the construction of their houses, vibrant colors used and also more hawkers around. It’s more like walking through Mohammad Ali road in Bombay.

The Cave where Jesus was Buried

The Wailing Wall

Not very far from the 14th station of the 'way of cross' is the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. This is another place of very high historic value and one of the most sacred prayer sites of the Jews. It is situated at the foot of the western side of the 'Temple Mount' (The temple of God). Jews aren’t allowed to enter the Temple Mount (as it is still under the Arab control), the exact place where Solomon had built the Temple for God. Hence this wall assumes a lot of value since it is the closest that they can get to the 'Temple Mount' and pray. I saw a lot of Jews praying by the wall and even more reciting the verses and lost in meditation. Some also write their wishes in papers and leave them at crevices in the wall.

I understood from my guide that only the most pious and religious Jews stay within the Jewish Quarters close to the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount.

We came out from the walled city onto the Jaffa Road Exit and moved to our next stop, the church of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane is the place where Jesus Christ was praying when Judas came with the soldiers and betrayed Jesus. Today there is a church built near that garden where Jesus was praying. This is the church of all nations, because all the countries had contributed to build this church at this location. The garden still has the rock by which Jesus Prayed (Rock of Agony) and some very old olive trees which some say dates back to 2000 years.

Agony Rock at Gethsemane - Place where Jesus Prayed last

Jerusalem has a lot of churches. Each one of them is distinctly different from the other in terms of Architecture. Some are built by the Greek Orthodox Church, some by Russians, Some by Armenians, some by Roman Catholics and so on. I found a Russian church with the dome in the shape of a mosque dome and a cross. The dome seemed to be made of gold. That’s also one of the most visited places in Jerusalem.

Since it was a Saturday we couldn’t visit Yad Vashem, the site of the Holocaust Museum. I was very tired and content by the end of the whole tour. While going back, we passed through the Syria gate of the wall. Its named since that gate opens up towards Syria.