Jerusalem

Arriving at Night

We arrived to Jerusalem at night. We thought it was going to be easier if we got there late, rented a car, drove to the hotel, rested and started fresh the next morning. What we didn’t account for is that entering into Old Jerusalem was going to be chaotic. Indeed, traffic around the city seems to be very complicated at all times, but when it comes to Old Jerusalem is impossible. A drive that was supposed to be 10 minute ride turned into more than hour. The worse part is that Old Jerusalem is enclosed within walls and inside its mostly designed for pedestrian access: the streets are very narrow and not paved but rocky. Therefore, everyone walks in the middle not caring for traffic.

Don’t get me wrong: It doesn’t sound like it, but I actually got a good first impression. Jerusalem has its own style and its magnificent. I just wasn’t prepared for that kind of adventure late at night. The good news is that we got to breathe the magic of Jerusalem at night in all its splendor. The lights that bright parts of the wall, the locals in their very peculiar dresses going around with their big families, shops, attractions, altogether a sense of historical and almost mythical value.

However, the night wasn’t over. I wish! After traffic, the next challenge that awaited was finding parking and finding the Hashimi Hotel. Turns out, you cannot park inside Old Jerusalem. I could see that coming! Besides spending all the time going in, we had to find our way out of the gates to park. If that wasn’t bad enough, we followed Google Maps to find the Hotel and guess what? Of course, we couldn’t find it! Turns out that Old Jerusalem is a complete maze. You can completely get lost through all its alleys. The lack of light didn’t make it any better and I started to freak out a little bit. It was very late and the few people outside didn’t seem very friendly. We ended up almost going into a private home, because that was where the PIN was located for this hotel. Crazy!

Then we decided to start asking around the businesses because Old Jerusalem is just a big Market. Although most of the stores were closed (and they do close early around 6 pm) there were a few cafeterias and hotels around that were open. Finally, it was a competitor that pointed where our hotel was located!

Although you would think that was finally the end of the day, it wasn’t. Even the check in was an experience. This Hotel is managed by a very conservative Muslim family. As soon as we got into the place they looked at us and the first question for my husband was if we were married. We laughed and nodded along. The guy stared suspiciously and then explained that they don’t allow male and female to be in the same room if they are not husband and wife. It’s a hotel policy. That’s when I started laughing! Of course to myself, on my inside! Ha!

The Western Wall

I was so excited the next morning that we decided to start with the Western Wall, better known as the Wailing Wall. Besides being very famous, it has also been very intriguing for me as it is a Holy Place for Jews and Muslims. The rituals that occur within the place are surreal. Locals love to assist, they know what to do. Everything looks organized and works even with the massive crowds that attend on a daily basis. Women and men have separate entrances but at the very end, follow the same tradition. They pray solemnly (some of them touching the wall) and at the end they place slips of paper containing prayers to God into the cracks of the wall. What an spiritual experience!

Practically across the wall stands the iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. To get in is fairly simple. Some guards check your bag and you attire. I was wearing a pair of black leggings and apparently it was still revealing, so they got me skirt!

There is no way to miss this place. Is definitely a must see. In the outside, of course. There is no way that you can go in as a tourist, but I did ask! This mosque is located within a big complex. It is glorious and mesmerizing. The best time to go is certainly the morning, the lighting is great and the crowds are still not in.

The only downside is that guards around the perimeter are always under alert. Not specifically just for violent attacks but apparently as well for romantic camera action. What I mean by that is that if you are a couple you cannot show ANY kind of affection when taking your own pictures. Unfortunately, my husband is the one that automatically hugs me for selfies (easier to take). We have always done it! Well, we got all those guards chasing us around. They didn’t even let us have our faces closer because it didn’t seem right. Weird!

Mount of Olives

We were feeling pretty good and the day was still young so we decided to take a hike to Mount of Olives. After all it looked like a 20 minute walk. With that chaotic traffic? We might as well use our feet!

I do exercise on a regular basis and felt confident about doing an uphill, no problem, no questions asked. However, I didn’t anticipate to be an uphill with no sidewalk in a very narrow street that had -for the first time- no traffic. Therefore, the experience wasn’t great. It felt forever because we were trying not to get hit by cars that passed us as high speeds and still we were fighting a physical battle trying to reach the top as fast as we could in a hill. The worse part is that at the very end is extremely inclined and I was feeling the exhaustion taking over me!

The Chapel of the Ascension by itself is fairly simple and crowded. Very small entry fee for what it represents: the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Next to it stands a massive cemetery and down, kind of in between were the Tombs of the Prophets. Basically, a cave with different openings. The guard at the entrance collects a small fee and offers you a candle so you can go around and look inside.

Very close to the Tombs of the Prophets stands the Church of the Pater Noster. The building is not big and does have the Pater Noster in most of the languages exposed all around. You can also go in for a small fee and enjoy the panoramic lookout over the Holy City.

On our way down, I started looking for the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene. It was not part of our itinerary but I was very curious as you can see the bright golden domes standing pridefully out of the slope. I couldn’t stop staring at its beauty. No regrets! Once we got there it turned out to be outstanding. Its inside is quite simple, but still very beautiful.

The next stop was The Garden of Gethsemane, near the foot of the Mount of Olives: the place where Jesus went with his disciples to pray the night before he was crucified. The site is completely enclosed for a good reason and its area is around 1,200 square meters. This places looks as if time didn’t go by. Just a piece of paradise!

Right next to this garden stands The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony. Inside, it enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. The inside of this Church is dark but at the same time, really colorful and with a lot of detail.

Closing our visit to the Mount of Olives was The Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary, also  known as the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. This place is believed  to have been the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The site is quite intriguing. It doesn’t really look or feel like a church. Basically you go down into a cave filled with incense and then you get in line for a memorial built to honor her. Again, quite a unique spiritual experience!

Back to Old Jerusalem

On our way to the Church of the Flagellation, we stopped at was supposed to be Mary’s birthplace. A more home looking site with no one around, in which you basically go three floors down to find a cave with a monument that they built as a memorial.

Just a few steps further we came into this small complex where the Via Crucis started. The Flagellation Church is the one I remember the most, as it may be one of the most impactful scenes that stuck in my memory since I was child. The place is very humble but it does have a very bright gold roof. As we were interested in finding all the 14 stations of the Cross, we started noticing sites around the market that we hadn’t before. The one that surprised me was the Prison of Christ. Not many people go into this site either, but it does look like a cave inside with different rooms. Turns out that the smallest and the darkest was the one assigned to Jesus.

Finding the Stations of the Cross in no easy task. The only way of recognizing them is trying to find them within the walls of market as little round plaques with a roman number. Very few have a little memorial around them. To be honest, nobody even care to notice. We looked weird just taking pictures of them and we are not even that religious!

Our next stop was the Church of he Holy Sepulchre. The church contains the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified and Jesus’s empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. The place is usually very crowded and looks like a maze. The two must-see site have long lines that will take around an hour. How do you not wait? The funny fact is that inside Jesus’ tomb there is a guard that only allows four people to go in at the same time for about 10 seconds. No pictures are allowed. The other one is in the second floor and kind of the same thing happens. You can’t take longer than a few seconds. The difference is that you go in one by one and you can take a picture.

The Tower of David has converted into a Museum and an Event Center. The day we wanted to go in we had to pay for the ticket for a concert so we decided not no. Instead, we headed up to Mount Zion. The first must-see was the King’s David Tomb. According to the New Testament, Jesus is considered to be a descendant of King David’s dynasty. David has been considered as a warrior king of Israel who is traditionally credited with composing many of the Psalms.

Just up the stairs is the second must-see of this site: The Cenacle is known to be the room for the last supper. Filled up with roman pillars, you will find as the main highlights a Tree in one side, The Mirhab on the other and s small canopic dome up the stairs, representing how Christianity, Judaism and Islam have come together.

Our last stop was Abbey of the Dormition, one of the most prominent churches in Jerusalem due to its size, beauty and location that overlooks the old city.  It’s interior is impressive, with a mosaic floor.  We decided to go all the way down to the underground hall- the Crypt, with Maria’s statue at the center, that is depicting her in her last sleep. According to the Christian tradition, Maria did not die as a common person. She fell asleep forever and ascended to the skies, where she rules the universe alongside her son Jesus.

The rest of the day was spent going around the Old City. Visiting some bakeries around the area, contemplating the mystical beauty of the City Walls. As the nighttime approached, we hurried to the Mount of Olives viewpoint. No better way of closing this chapter than with the magic and splendor of Jerusalem under its lights.

The very next day was going to be new Jerusalem. We woke up early and went straight to the Holocaust Museum. Its hard to describe the feeling. I didn’t expected it to be that gigantic, detailed and respectful of what happened. Beautifully built and perfectly organized. It is easy to go through and spend a few hours. You just get lost within the facts, the pictures, the clothing, the footprints of a past that will never abandon Israelies. This museum is a memorial, a must-see!

Our next stop was supposed to be the Israeli Supreme Court and the Parliament, but once again there was a secret Holiday that we didn’t know about so they were closed for the day. With no time to waste we headed to the Monastery of the Cross. Legend has it that the monastery was erected on the burial spot of Adam’s head—from which grew the tree that gave its wood to the cross on which Christ was crucified. Not very crowded as it does have an entrance fee. Inside, it is very traditional Eastern Orthodox, full of images and mosaics.

The Israeli Museum turned out to be very diverse. Very big site to visit with all kinds of exhibitions. As we didn’t have a lot of time, we decided to go to the Dead Sea Scrolls and to Jerusalem scaled model, that reflected the city at the time when Jesus lived.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek. Most of them were written on parchment, with the exception of a few written on papyrus.

The end of our day was reserved for the Masada Fortress. This  is an ancient fortification located on top of an isolated rock plateau, on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built two palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE to prevent invasion from Roman Troops.

He succeeded until the siege of Masada by Roman troops that took place from 73 to 74 CE. The story sadly ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarii rebels who were hiding there as they knew their fate.

The site is a must- see attraction. It can get crowded and extremely hot. The only way to reach it is through a cable car or hiking. People that walk do it at sunrise because the site closes the trail in extremely hot days. There is a closer hike that is completely doable, but it adds more than an hour drive. The place is incredible inside. A magnificent architectural challenge! A true delight!