Today we had the opportunity to visit the city of Jerusalem. Although we
would have liked to visit Bethlehem, we were not able to, as it lies in
Palestinian territory. Therefore, we went to a a hill overlooking the
town instead to take some pictures. This further emphasized the
significance of borders, whether cultural or official, in the region.
Next, we went to the Israel Museum of Jerusalem, where Mr. James Snyder, a
Mercersburg Alum, gave us a tour. Unfortunately, we were could not see all
of the Museum, because much of it is under construction. Then, we
rushed off to the Western Wall. There, our guide Dovev, brought us through
the Western Wall Tunnel, an underground passage running along the Western
Wall and underneath the Muslim quarter. We were also able to see the
Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, above ground. It was a truly
moving experience seeing the hundreds of people crowding around what is
left of the Temple, offering up their prayers. The sheer variety of
people, from Orthodox Jews with fur hats to tourists with paper yarmulkes,
was amazing. After lunch, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchure. It
was interesting to see the different styles represented by the different
sects of Christianity that occupy the Church: the Roman Catholics, the
Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and the Coptic Christians. We
finished the day shopping in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters.
Unfortunately, I found that by bartering skills left much to be desired...

Posted by at November 29, 2007 10:00 PM

Comments

Thu-An Kecskes email -

I enjoyed reading your posting (as well as Aaron's and John's). Thank you. Please tell Lauren I'm sorry I missed her call.

TrackBack Link