The Old City of Jerusalem: Part One

What a day we had! A full walking tour of the Old City, holy to Jews, Christians & Muslims. Our guides did a great job of explaining the historical significance of the sites tinged with quite a bit of sadness about the ongoing political conflicts that tear this place apart.

Above is the Old City as seen from the Mount of Olives outside and above.

In the foreground is a Jewish cemetery where some Orthodox Jews were paying respects.

Instead of leaving flowers, Jews leave rocks on the tombs. I don't know why.

Also on the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane which is home to olive trees that are over 2000 years old and still produce olives each year.

Next to the Garden of Gethsemane is the Basilica of the Agony, a Roman Catholic Church that houses the rock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest and crucifixion.

 

We then drive from the Mount of Olives to the Lion's Gate, one of several gates to enter the walled city. The wall, interestingly, was built in the 16th Century by the Turks when the Ottoman Empire ruled this area.

As we enter, we first visit the Temple Mount and the Muslim Quarter. Above is the Dome of the Rock, a shrine located on the Temple Mount of the Old City. This shrine was built in the 7th Century by a Muslim caliph, and is considered sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike (a real recipe for conflict).

The rock inside, poorly seen here due to ongoing renovations, is said to be the Foundation Stone where Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. (God then gave Isaac a reprieve, and a lamb was slaughtered instead.) later, this is the site upon which King Solomon erected his temple. Muslims believe the rock is where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Christians believe this to be the place where Jesus will return to earth during the End Times prophecy. It's amazing to me that one site can be claimed by all three religious traditions, and makes me wonder if peace can ever be had. Interestingly, this site (the Temple Mount, in which the Dome of the Rock and also the Al-Aqsa Mosque sit) is run by Jordan! Why? Prior to the Six Days War in 1967, Jordan controlled this section of Jerusalem. After Israel won this territory (and the West Bank) from Jordan, Moshe Dayan decided to leave control of the Temple Mount in Jordanian hands.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque, seen here from the Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest shrine in Islam, after shrines in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

It is mostly empty on a Sunday, but every Friday this carpet is flooded with Muslims in prayer.

In a reflection of the conflict and sadness of this place, Muslims keep old tear gas canisters, fired by Israeli soldiers into the mosque during times of disturbance, on display, just above a stack of korans.

 

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On the road to Israel

Not quite the road to Damascus, but it'll have to suffice. Today was pure travel -- no pics, sorry. Up early in Addis Ababa, head to the airport. Wickedly thorough security <sigh>. Then we fly to Lanarca, Cyprus! where we deplane and let the Cypriots inspect the hell out of our plane before it can continue to Israel. Apparently the Israelis don't trust us, or the Ethiopian security -- who knows. But we survive that, and land in Tel Aviv where we actually had a pretty easy time going through immigration. We had heard horror stories. Drive by bus an hour to Jerusalem, and here we are at the King David hotel with a great view of the Old City. Tomorrow we tour the Old City and all the famous places (check back tomorrow) and then Monday we tour first Bethlehem and then the Israeli Knesset. Pretty cool itinerary. But now: time for sleep.

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The Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela

King Lalibela had eleven churches built in the 12th century, entirely by carving them out of the existing rock, rather than building them. A most unusual sight (and site).

The interior

An entrance

The churches have paintings on many walls and are still actively used and maintained by the priests. While the edifices are gorgeous and amazing, the priests exude holiness that is more interesting to photograph.

 

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Lalibela and its people

Today we flew up to Lalibela, a very rural area high (8000 ft.!) in the mountains of north-central Ethiopia. Why? Because there are some spectacular Christian churches hewn out of the rock ca. 12th century to see. But first, some comments on Lalibela. it is an arid, desolate place. In the above picture maybe you can make out three grass huts built by the farmers here. What they farm I can't tell. All looks like dirt.

There are some animals -- donkey, above -- so there must be a way to eke out an existence.

And goats!

This is the "town" of Lalibela. About 30,000 people in total, we're told, but it sure is spread out. There's no town that I can see. No buildings or businesses, just a dirt road winding along the mountainside.

But the people! Very friendly, warm, and interesting. So I'll finish this post with a few more people pictures.

I bought this small carved lion from this nice man.

 

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Ethiopia and Lucy

We flew all day from Sri Lanka to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Through the magic of time zone changes we picked up enough time to tour the National Museum and see their fabulous exhibit on paleontology, including exhibits of fossils uncovered here that trace the origins of mankind.

This is Lucy. (Actually, a casting ... The real bones are in a safe laboratory here in Ethiopia.). Lucy was unearthed in 1974 and was the first discovery of her species, an early ancestor of the genus homo. Her brain was small but she walked upright and she helped scientists figure out more about how Homo sapiens eventually evolved. If I remember right, she was a Time Magazine cover girl!

Ethiopia is widely believed to be the place where Homo sapiens first appeared about 200,000 years ago. The skulls above are the earliest known finds of Homo sapiens, providing strong evidence that Eastern Africa is our ancestral home.

 

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Street scenes of Sri Lanka

Traveling through the countryside we see lots of villages with small shops that line the street. A few snaps ...

Jungle safari, anyone?

A roadside fruit stand.

I'm not sure what these guys sell.

This looks like a supermarket.

As does this one. They appear to sell Popsicles! In this heat it'd be welcome.

And the local bank is quite busy.

I saw this sign and thought it might be worth checking out for dinner one night. If they list a telephone number then perhaps they take reservations.

Hmm.... or maybe not.

 

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Even more monkeys!

Can't help myself. Don't see monkeys every day. This is a different species: the Gray Langur. Gray fur and coal-black face. And nasty yellow teeth!

A family of gray langurs playing together.

Yep, it's a boy! So proud ...

 

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