STOP 3 | Israel: Exploring the Christian Jerusalem and more

Saturday was a super intense day, I did a lot, without resting, not even for a bit...I came to Israel for archaeology, but I still did not want to miss the chance to explore as much as I could. I missed all the Palestinian territories, unfortunately. But I will be back here, for sure!

Exploring the Christian Jerusalem

I decided not to take another tour, as I wanted to be more flexible with time - as I had also booked tickets for the Israeli Museum and the Tower of David (entrance at 15:30). Shiri gave me some suggestions on what to do at my own pace. I still woke up pretty early and at 8:40 was already out, getting a taxi to the Mount of Olives, probably the place most connected to Jesus in the Bible. The taxi driver ripped me off, but I contacted the company and got about 10 USD back, and the taxi driver will be disciplined (sorry, dude, but don't rip-off "tourists", as not all of us are stupid). Still unbelievable for me to see with my own eyes, something I've heard of since I was a kid. I took the chance to see Jerusalem from top.

On the Mount slopes there is a big Jewish cemetery, which is considered to be the largest and holiest Jewish cemetery on earth. According to Religion, this is where the Resurrection of the Dead will begin, hence many Jewish people would like to be buried here (a tomb may cost up to $ 100K or more).

I then left the panoramic point and went down to Gethsemane, also known as Garden of Olives. This is were Jesus got arrested the night before his crucifixion. I cried. I am not a believer, but bI did cry: that place reminded me my childhood, and I felt pain. It was magical indeed, a small garden, with "Peace" written with some stones. No matter if you believe it or not: it touched my hearth deeply.

 

Had a sneak pick at the church close to Gethsemane - the Church of All Nations: the funny thing was that I had to remove my hat, in sign of respect, while yesterday I had to put on my hat at the Western Wall, in sign of respect. It intrigues me so much's so how Religion Respect varies. This church has a bedrock where Jesus is believed to have prayed before the arrest.

I then left and reached the Lions Gate, starting point for Via Dolorosa, the path taken by Jesus on his way to crucifixion. I did all the stops, till the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the last 4 stops were. I lighted up a candle for my family - probably it's stupid, but this is the culture I grew up with, so I felt like the right thing to do.

Overall, it took me about 3hours to explore the Christian Jerusalem, which by the way is in the Muslim quarter in Jerusalem, but that's another story. It was magical, I cannot find any other words.

The Israel Museum and the Tower of David

I exited the Old City, trying to find a taxi directed to the Israeli Museum. The Israel museum is HUGE. It contains a pretty big part dedicated to Archaeology, and then Judaism and Fine Arts, on top of the temporary exhibitions. I forced myself to stay awake (I almost fell asleep while watching the video of the Mayan cocoa, as I was seating really comfortably). I could have spent days in the museum, but unfortunately I had only a couple of hours: I focused my attention on the archaeology section, where I was able to find Stephanie (from the Archaeologic dig), as well as the Ekron inscription, basically the same as the one it is supposed to be buried in Tell Es-Safi/Gath.

I spent then really little time in the Judaism section and the Fine Arts, as I had my appointment with the Tower of David. After fighting a lot with the Gett app, I found a driver who picked me up. He didn't speak any words of English. He also picked up a woman on the way, despite he let me pay my full ride: I didn't complain (eventually, this is my experience with Israeli taxi drivers). It was really hot and I was starting losing focus :( - the experience at the Tower of David was really cool: there were a lot of models of the evolution of the city of Jerusalem and some other exhibits. I walked towards the citadel and was able to take a view of Jerusalem from another angle.

Arabic Dinner

I ex exI would have met Stephanie for dinner in about 45 mins, so I walked around trying to find a good ATM that didn't charge me more than 8 NIS as a withdrawal fees. I found the one, but unfortunately didn't work. The plan was to have a quick dinner in the Muslim quarter - it's Shabbat, so the Jewish quarter was entirely closed for business - and then to walk towards the Western Wall. It was the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem's temples, a really important day for the Jewish community so we expected big crowds over there.

Touching the Wall

It was not crowded at all around 19:30, but since it was still Shabbat (it would end at 8:26PM) I was reproached by a Jew for using my phone (not even in the square), just to check the map: lesson taken. ☺

We met Professor Jeff there, who explained to us so many things about the Jewish culture - he even showed us a portion of the Wall where modern orthodox (usually outside Israel) go to pray, without segregating men from women. Both Stephanie and I went down to the Western Wall, though our respective sessions and I was able to touch the Wall. It is stupid, I know, it may be just a wall, but at the same time it was magical as well.

I don't think I even remembered I touched the bed. I fell asleep immediately after getting home (not before enjoying a ice-cream together with Stephanie, just to celebrate our Saturday's end). A new week of digging was approaching and I needed to rest.