Journey Through Jerusalem


From Tel Aviv we made our way to Jerusalem; the eternal city, the holy city, the golden city.

Right from the beginning, I just want to mention that we felt safe at all times. There were soldiers patrolling all areas of the city, but there was no feelings of tension at any time. As we all know, the media tries to spin things in order to sell, but it’s sad to see that the tourists are staying away when things are calm.

Of course we wanted to learn as much as we could about the city that means so much to so many people. Earlier last year, we went to see the Imax movie Jerusalem at the Toronto Science Centre so that we could learn more about it and make our visit a rich one. The movie focuses on 3 teenage girls who each come from a different part of the same city (Muslim, Jewish and Christian). They share their perspective of Jerusalem.  The idea was to focus on the similarities of their lives despite their heritage, as the media always seems to focus more on the differences.  It is also hoped the movie would generate ideas on how to bring peace to this area.  Here is the trailer for the movie.

Mikhaila and Zoe even made a video about bringing peace to Jerusalem and entered a contest, (they lost to a 6 year old – but he was adorable!).

We decided to take a number of tours through our usual free tour company – Sandeman’s and they didn’t disappoint. We signed up for a Jerusalem overview, the Mount of Olives, and the Holy City tour. They were all amazing and you can read about them in the next few blog postings.

Our overview tour began outside of the Jaffa gate where we learned about the extensive timeline of the city. Our tour guide was great and gave us all a “cheatsheet” of which empire controlled the city throughout the ages. It is unbelievable how many times it has changed hands!

View of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock
View of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock
Crusader Richard the Lionheart and Saladdin meeting outside the walls of Jaffa Gate
Richard the Lionheart and Saladin meeting outside the walls of Jaffa Gate

The Tower of David was especially powerful in demonstrating which empire/group was in control. The layers of rock and the technology used to build it directly related to the different empires. For example, there was dry construction techniques used during one era as well as larger rocks with mortar from another. This is how archaeologists have been able to determine which group was responsible for the difference sections of the palace.

One evening, we went back to the Tower of David to watch the Light Spectacular. It was a 3 D sound and light show that told the story of Jerusalem over the past thousands of years. It was a great place to watch such a presentation and the effects of the lights on the rocks was really amazing. We even had the chance to walk the ramparts around the old city – the views were spectacular!

What was interesting for us is that back in Rome, we found the Arch of Titan with the picture of the menorah being taken from the Temple back to Rome. In David’s Museum, they also have a display about how the Romans took the menorah. The girls had a better understanding when the saw the same pictures and images – just told from different perspectives.

At one point, when the Romans had control of the city, they built what they called the “Cardo”, or the heart of the city. It is still there today and the ruins can be seen and walked through. As the girls have seen the Roman Empire in action throughout Europe, it was no surprise to also see them in this city.

 

We then went through the 4 different quarters of the old city: The Armenian, The Jewish, The Muslim and the Christian. All of the areas had their own characteristics and very distinctive buildings. It was very interesting to see the contrast of the different sections.

The Armenian quarter seemed to be quite private…not a lot happening outside of the monastery and their religious buildings.

The Armenian Quarter
The Armenian Quarter

The Jewish section was bustling as people were visiting the Hurva (Ruined) Synagogue and the Western Wall. This part of the wall is the only part of the retaining wall left from the second temple. Jewish people go there to pray and leave notes for God.

 

The Muslim area was busy with vendors trying their hardest to sell you the latest souvenir or shwarmaa, (delicious).

 

Of course one of the dominant buildings of the Jerusalem skyline is the Dome of the Rock, one of the main symbols of the Muslim religion. It is their belief that Mohammed ascended into Heaven from this location. One of the major problems between the religious groups is that the Dome of the Rock is built upon the Foundation rock for the Jewish people.  They believe it is the rock where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son to God.  This is one of the major reasons why the two groups are in conflict – both want to have this location for their own.

Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock

 

The Christian area focused on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is the church built above the tomb of Jesus.  The vendors around it sold everything related to the church and Jesus.

 

We are ready to learn as much as we can about this amazing city…the history is just incredible! Stay tuned for more details as we uncover and discover the secrets of Jerusalem!

Our tour guide sharing the stories of Jerusalem.
Our tour guide sharing the stories of Jerusalem.

 

 

 


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Comments

11 responses to “Journey Through Jerusalem”

  1. Beverley Cude Avatar
    Beverley Cude

    What an interesting city! and it was nice to hear that you felt safe there.

    1. Hi Bev,

      Yes, we did feel quite safe. Our host families told us to always look for the soldiers…if they were around, there wouldn’t be any problems.

      Kat:)

  2. Thanks Katina, this is so interesting. I’m looking forward to the next instalments, maybe from the girls now that we’re back to school 🙂

    1. Hi Chris,
      Yes, it’s back to school time and the girls will be writing up a storm again. They had their holidays – now it back to work! Actually, we took a week after the heavy touring of Israel and have focused on Math!

      Cheers,
      Kat:)

  3. Jennifer spent Christmas here in 1969! I wonder what the changes are…sounds like you had a wonderful experience. Hope you are enjoying Cyprus as much! Love Doreen

    1. Hi Doreen,
      It’s hard to say what has changed in the last 40 years, but from what we learned, people originally did not want to move outside of the walls of Jerusalem. As a result, there was a lot of crowding and heavy reliance on the infrastructure. It took some years and $$ to make people comfortable to move into the suburbs. Outside of the walled city, It now looks like any other big city we’ve seen in our travels.
      Cheers,
      Kat:)

  4. Thanks for sharing, Katina. This was very interesting! I’m glad that you felt very safe! Love, Mom

    1. Hi Mom,
      We have really enjoyed learning so much about this city and experiencing the culture. It has been fascinating!
      Kat:)

  5. What beautiful pictures and so much history to absorb! Nice to hear your perspective on safety as we often hear very different things. Glad that things are calm and you are able to spend time in this important place!

    1. HI Ginny,
      I never listen to the media anymore…all they teach is fear. Not saying that one doesn’t have to be careful and cautious, but if we listened to every incident that happened in Toronto, we would never want to visit there either. Sometimes bad things happen….but I personally think there are 95% good people in the world and that’s who we should focus upon. But I guess that doesn’t sell:(
      Cheers,
      Kat:)

  6. Hi, Katina, I am a bit late in reading the blog, and I read your posting several times. The history of this country plus the photos are totally amazing. I am glad to be along for the tour, Opa and I were talking the other day about all your postings, and that we receive a totally changed few because of the tours you take through the different quarters (with photos) and the research you do. Unless we would travel to Israel we really don’t have a deeper understanding of the different religions and people. Thanks for this posting