Jerusalem is a cacaphony of noise, and not just because my children are here. There are mezzuns 5 times a day. Church bells ringing at all hours. Fireworks at various times. Our hotel is right in the middle of it and we are on the top floor so it is all very loud here.
We went exploring today. No destination, just wandering in the old city. It is very compact but easy to get turned around because of all the souks that run through the middle of it.
We ended up at mt Zion and David's tomb. That was also the sight of the Last Supper and a beautiful church with amazing mosaics. Steve then gave the kids a lesson on how Popes are elected. It's been crazy the way topics come up and where we have been when things have been explained. Things like eclipses, the history of the formation of Israel, condom use, how everyone wore hats in the 50's, and the freezing point of salt water. There has been a lot of togetherness and we are on the verge of cracking because of it.
We ended up at the Tower of David and paid the admission to go in. It was great. It started with an animated video of the history of Jerusalem that even the kids really liked. Many images of heads being chopped off. There was also a great pamorama view of the city and the displays were very well done and interesting. We spent a lot of time there.
In the late afternoon we wandered again and ended up at the Damascus gate. Again, lots of shops and people. It is a wonder anyone makes any money here because there are so many shops and they all sell the same things.
Steve and I walked to the bus station tonight to get our tickets for the airport. We are starting to think about the logistics of coming home. The walk took us through the new city area. It could be any hip neighborhood in a big city. Very clean; full of young people, cafes, and bars. Much different than other places we have traveled.
Sunday morning we got up with the intention of doing the walking tour in the guide book but got sidetracked almost immediately. We wanted to go onto the Temple Mount early but it was closed until after noon, so we wandered out the Dung gate and around the outside of the city walls. When we finally did make it up there The Dome of the Rock was beautiful to look at from the outside, but visitors are not allowed in so the whole experience was rather anti-climactic.
Now we are just taking an afternoon rest. Our feet are tired and there is only so much we can take of walking around. Maybe sitting on a plane for 13 hours tomorrow won't be so bad.
Just after I typed that we decided to start the Ramparts Walk. Gluttons for punishment. We were actually able to walk on the old city walls. At first it was a bit dull, but as we progressed we got to areas where kids were having basketball practice and then a bit further on a soccer match was being played. The way people really live here. At one point Cora found a really nice camera sitting on a ledge. The kids thought it was "finders keepers" so we had to burst that bubble. We couldn't find any ID on it anywhere so were about to take it back to the ticket office when a guy we recognized from the photos came around the corner. Poor kiddos. No more found camera.
Tomorrow is our last day here. It will be a long one though. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
We went exploring today. No destination, just wandering in the old city. It is very compact but easy to get turned around because of all the souks that run through the middle of it.
We ended up at mt Zion and David's tomb. That was also the sight of the Last Supper and a beautiful church with amazing mosaics. Steve then gave the kids a lesson on how Popes are elected. It's been crazy the way topics come up and where we have been when things have been explained. Things like eclipses, the history of the formation of Israel, condom use, how everyone wore hats in the 50's, and the freezing point of salt water. There has been a lot of togetherness and we are on the verge of cracking because of it.
We ended up at the Tower of David and paid the admission to go in. It was great. It started with an animated video of the history of Jerusalem that even the kids really liked. Many images of heads being chopped off. There was also a great pamorama view of the city and the displays were very well done and interesting. We spent a lot of time there.
In the late afternoon we wandered again and ended up at the Damascus gate. Again, lots of shops and people. It is a wonder anyone makes any money here because there are so many shops and they all sell the same things.
Steve and I walked to the bus station tonight to get our tickets for the airport. We are starting to think about the logistics of coming home. The walk took us through the new city area. It could be any hip neighborhood in a big city. Very clean; full of young people, cafes, and bars. Much different than other places we have traveled.
Sunday morning we got up with the intention of doing the walking tour in the guide book but got sidetracked almost immediately. We wanted to go onto the Temple Mount early but it was closed until after noon, so we wandered out the Dung gate and around the outside of the city walls. When we finally did make it up there The Dome of the Rock was beautiful to look at from the outside, but visitors are not allowed in so the whole experience was rather anti-climactic.
Now we are just taking an afternoon rest. Our feet are tired and there is only so much we can take of walking around. Maybe sitting on a plane for 13 hours tomorrow won't be so bad.
Just after I typed that we decided to start the Ramparts Walk. Gluttons for punishment. We were actually able to walk on the old city walls. At first it was a bit dull, but as we progressed we got to areas where kids were having basketball practice and then a bit further on a soccer match was being played. The way people really live here. At one point Cora found a really nice camera sitting on a ledge. The kids thought it was "finders keepers" so we had to burst that bubble. We couldn't find any ID on it anywhere so were about to take it back to the ticket office when a guy we recognized from the photos came around the corner. Poor kiddos. No more found camera.
Tomorrow is our last day here. It will be a long one though. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
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