Hmm… My last update went a little tangential to what I intended to write on. Sorry. Here’s some stuff I’ve done.
We spent 10 days in Jerusalem in an apartment close to the old city, which gave us a great opportunity to see most of the lots and lots of sites in the city. The old city is split up into four ‘quarters’, named after the inhabitants of each: Jewish, Christian, Armenian and Muslim. Most of our days were spent walking up and down the windy, narrow and cobblestone paths which interlink the main sites. Religious monuments with intruiging histories and stories attract hundreds of pilgrims from all around the world. The most well known, the Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) pokes out of the center of the city and it’s golden dome can be seen from all around. The site itself is extraordinary, with fascinating arabic calligraphies and architectures adorning the Mosque. The Arab markets stretch out from this center to East Jerusalem, separated by the Damascus gate and makes the world seem like I was in Cairo again. People everywhere, rubbish scattered on the ground and a strangely hospitable environment. This side of town is clearly treated as a second class citizen, and it would help if the Mayor of Jerusalem cared. It really could be lifted from slums.
The Jewish quarter is very new and renovated, as it was destroyed by the Jordanians when they pulled out from the 1967 war. There are Synagogues with histories which date back to the middle ages, and the area is just about a living museum. Orthodox Jews gather at the Western Wall (the Kotel) to pray as it is the closest remaining place to the once existing Temple of Solomon on the mount. Yeshivot, Beit Midrashim and other places of Jewish study are piled one upon each other, and one can tell from the piety of those people which live there.
Outside of the walls is the modern day Jerusalem – which shows the economic and thriving culture of Israel, though masking the many social problems in the society. Although, it’s hard to see if you don’t look for it. Most of my time was spent looking at the wonderful cake shops and getting fat!
