We hang a bit in the apt waiting to take the Mount of Olives tour at 2 pm.
We arrive at the Jaffa Gate at 2 and find quite a crowd, there were people waiting to take the Tour of the City of David and those waiting for Mount of Olives. The groups were separated and instead of the 15 that were expected, there were suddenly 24. That was the first indication that there was a need for organization.
Our tour guide (and I use the term guide in the loosest sense of the word) was Shir. She gathered us and headed down to the street below. However, she did not know how to manage a group and sped off down the stairs without giving the large group instructions as to where we were headed to get the transport over to the Mount of Olives. The first group arriving at street level were relatively young, but the second group was spearheaded by an older foursome from Britain, a couple and her elderly parents. (The mother had sight issues and was not surefooted) Shir went back up the stairs to corral
the stragglers who had headed into the Mamilla mall.
Once assembled at the street, it occurs to Shir that the van holds 15, but there is a group of 24, so she needs another van. It is very confusing, we don't know if we should just grab a cab, or she is ordering another van. About 10 minutes go by, and another van has been procured and we head off over to East Jerusalem.
Traffic is very heavy and the roads quite twisty, but as we pass the Damascus Gate, Bill and I notice a whole new side to Jerusalem, the Arab Area! It reminded us of Cairo and we wanted to explore it further.
Up the hill we went and finally stop at the very tippity top of the Mount of Olives. We exit the van and cross the street into a small crusader era enclosure. Inside is a small chapel and outside is a ring of stone walls.
This is the small chapel within the stone walls. It was part of the original church of the Ascension where Jesus was reputed to have ascended to heaven. There is a stone which is said to bear the marks of his feet. I'm not so sure, there are 2 depressions in the rock, but it kind of feels like the ancient astrological figures....3 stars makes the belt of Orion....not much else can be "figured" out from those 3 stars...same here! I guess that is what makes faith, belief that those 2 depressions are the imprints of Jesus's feet as he ascended.
We head down the street, (which is only wide enough for 2 donkeys but cars come in both directions speeding around blind corners), and head into another church built by Helena, mother of Constantine, and is now run by the Carmelites. The grounds are beautiful, gardens everywhere and the Lord's Prayer written in every language posted all over the walls.
Bill in front of some of the Lord's Prayers
Another view of the domed roof of the church proper.
We gather again outside the church, and once again, start out without the whole group knowing where to meet. We meet at a stone wall over looking the City and the HUGE Jewish Cemetery, which is right on the busy narrow road AND there are tons of tourists ooohing and aaaahing over the view and stepping right into traffic to get that perfect selfie or friends photo. A mess. However, the view was spectacular.
At the far left middle of the photo you see a small gray dome, that is the Al Aksa Mosque, the golden dome in the middle is the Golden Dome both are within the Temple Mount, and behind the gold dome, you can barely make out 2 smaller gray domes, that is the Holy Sepulcher Church in the Latin Quarter of the Old City. As you can probably tell, it is clouding over and starting to sprinkle, plus, it is late in the afternoon, around 3:30 or so.
We wander down the slope and Shir takes us into the tomb of the Prophets. This lies on private land, and the owner graciously agreed to let us come in and he gave us the tour of the burial crypts or sepulchers that were in the cave. It was kind of spooky and eerie as there were no lights, just a candle. This is reputed to be the burial site of 3 prophets....Malachi, and 2 other guys as well as their disciples.
Heading down the slope at a break neck speed. This almost makes the older British man fall as he slips on the stones and starts sliding down one of the rock walls. Luckily, his son-in-law was there to catch him before he fell down completely. We end up at the Jewish Cemetery. WHICH IS ENORMOUS! You really can't fathom how large it is until you see it from both sides of Jerusalem. This is part of the steep path that we were walking on. As you can see, there are no sidewalks and there are cars speeding in both directions.
We could see into the cemetery through a gate, the small square cuts in the stone work is for a candle.
To the left and right this is all you can see, and it stretched down the hill as far as you can see as well. As night descends, you can feel the magic of the place.
We then head into St. Peter's church yard. This is a crusader age compound and it is the only Church in the world that doesn't face east, it faces west as that is what Peter did...push Christianity out into the Roman world.
The Orthodox Church at the base of the hill
The view from the church yard towards the Temple Mount
Looking up at the City walls
Interior of the Orthodox Sanctuary above, and below
We then finished up walking down the rest of the hill and up again into the Old City.
After the tour, we peeled off and hit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This place is always crowded, as well as confusing in order to find the last couple of stops on the Via Dolorosa. Some are upstairs, and some are on the 2 lower floors.
To the left is the carpeted nave of the church
To the right is the stair case leading from the lowest level up to the 1st floor
To the right is another view of the nave.
To the left is the Holy Sepulcher. It is a large wooden box that fits over the Holy Rock on which it is reputed Jesus was resurrected
We decided to head out the Damascus Gate and ended up looking for a restaurant and ended up at a Chinese place, that served ramen noodles. Meh! It was interesting having a discussion with the owner on why he came to Israel. Strictly economic. He left Hong Kong and came to Jerusalem....doesn't seem like the usual path to escape oppression.
We arrive at the Jaffa Gate at 2 and find quite a crowd, there were people waiting to take the Tour of the City of David and those waiting for Mount of Olives. The groups were separated and instead of the 15 that were expected, there were suddenly 24. That was the first indication that there was a need for organization.
Our tour guide (and I use the term guide in the loosest sense of the word) was Shir. She gathered us and headed down to the street below. However, she did not know how to manage a group and sped off down the stairs without giving the large group instructions as to where we were headed to get the transport over to the Mount of Olives. The first group arriving at street level were relatively young, but the second group was spearheaded by an older foursome from Britain, a couple and her elderly parents. (The mother had sight issues and was not surefooted) Shir went back up the stairs to corral
the stragglers who had headed into the Mamilla mall.
Once assembled at the street, it occurs to Shir that the van holds 15, but there is a group of 24, so she needs another van. It is very confusing, we don't know if we should just grab a cab, or she is ordering another van. About 10 minutes go by, and another van has been procured and we head off over to East Jerusalem.
Traffic is very heavy and the roads quite twisty, but as we pass the Damascus Gate, Bill and I notice a whole new side to Jerusalem, the Arab Area! It reminded us of Cairo and we wanted to explore it further.
Up the hill we went and finally stop at the very tippity top of the Mount of Olives. We exit the van and cross the street into a small crusader era enclosure. Inside is a small chapel and outside is a ring of stone walls.
We head down the street, (which is only wide enough for 2 donkeys but cars come in both directions speeding around blind corners), and head into another church built by Helena, mother of Constantine, and is now run by the Carmelites. The grounds are beautiful, gardens everywhere and the Lord's Prayer written in every language posted all over the walls.
The plaque outside the Church and a view of the courtyard within the church walls.
Bill in front of some of the Lord's Prayers
We gather again outside the church, and once again, start out without the whole group knowing where to meet. We meet at a stone wall over looking the City and the HUGE Jewish Cemetery, which is right on the busy narrow road AND there are tons of tourists ooohing and aaaahing over the view and stepping right into traffic to get that perfect selfie or friends photo. A mess. However, the view was spectacular.
At the far left middle of the photo you see a small gray dome, that is the Al Aksa Mosque, the golden dome in the middle is the Golden Dome both are within the Temple Mount, and behind the gold dome, you can barely make out 2 smaller gray domes, that is the Holy Sepulcher Church in the Latin Quarter of the Old City. As you can probably tell, it is clouding over and starting to sprinkle, plus, it is late in the afternoon, around 3:30 or so.
We wander down the slope and Shir takes us into the tomb of the Prophets. This lies on private land, and the owner graciously agreed to let us come in and he gave us the tour of the burial crypts or sepulchers that were in the cave. It was kind of spooky and eerie as there were no lights, just a candle. This is reputed to be the burial site of 3 prophets....Malachi, and 2 other guys as well as their disciples.
Heading down the slope at a break neck speed. This almost makes the older British man fall as he slips on the stones and starts sliding down one of the rock walls. Luckily, his son-in-law was there to catch him before he fell down completely. We end up at the Jewish Cemetery. WHICH IS ENORMOUS! You really can't fathom how large it is until you see it from both sides of Jerusalem. This is part of the steep path that we were walking on. As you can see, there are no sidewalks and there are cars speeding in both directions.
We could see into the cemetery through a gate, the small square cuts in the stone work is for a candle.To the left and right this is all you can see, and it stretched down the hill as far as you can see as well. As night descends, you can feel the magic of the place.
We then head into St. Peter's church yard. This is a crusader age compound and it is the only Church in the world that doesn't face east, it faces west as that is what Peter did...push Christianity out into the Roman world.
The view from the church yard towards the Temple Mount
Descending into the crypt, it was illuminated by all of these candles which gave it an other worldly feeling.
After the tour, we peeled off and hit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This place is always crowded, as well as confusing in order to find the last couple of stops on the Via Dolorosa. Some are upstairs, and some are on the 2 lower floors.
To the left is the carpeted nave of the churchTo the right is the stair case leading from the lowest level up to the 1st floor
To the right is another view of the nave.
To the left is the Holy Sepulcher. It is a large wooden box that fits over the Holy Rock on which it is reputed Jesus was resurrected
We decided to head out the Damascus Gate and ended up looking for a restaurant and ended up at a Chinese place, that served ramen noodles. Meh! It was interesting having a discussion with the owner on why he came to Israel. Strictly economic. He left Hong Kong and came to Jerusalem....doesn't seem like the usual path to escape oppression.
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