OLD CITY JERUSALEM

Travel Quote....."It is better to travel well than to arrive"...Buddha

The Old City in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel and said to the be the oldest and holiest city in the world.  It's history goes back to the 4th millennium BCE.  The Old City is full of sites that attract Pilgrims from all over the world.  

Jerusalem was once thought to be the Centre of the World.

The Kotel or Western Wall

The famous ‘wailing wall’ which was once the Second Temple is the most sacred site in Judaism.  The Romans destroyed Temple in the year 70 CE, razed the city and much of the country. One of the  things to remain was the Western Wall.  There is a custom  to write down your prayer or request to God and then fold it into a tiny piece to wedge it into the crevices of the wall. Every so often, the Rabbis in charge of the Wall collect the prayers to make room for more and bury them. The wall is  an emotionally moving place for the tourists to come and get a firsthand experience of some common Jewish rituals.  I have just discovered that the Jewish people feel it is an insult to call it the Wailing Wall and call it  The Kotel in Hebrew and the Western Wall for the rest of the world.  Men and women are  separated.  If you go there on a Saturday which is the Sabbath (Shabbat in Hebrew), activities such as writing and photography are not permitted on this day.  At any hour of the day or night you will dozens and at times, hundreds of people praying here, their heads bowed against the aged stones worn smooth from centuries of hopes and sorrows.  It is not unusual to see a bride in a gown and veil in the women's section with her entourage of family and friends, stopping here to the wedding to pray, while another person may be sobbing their heart out over a personal tragedy.  It is an area full of joy and life while at the same time sorrows.  There are tables piled with worn prayer books in many languages but most people approach the wall with their own sense of prayer or intention.

Folded Prayers and Requests

  

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world.  Small in size, it is roughly one km. and has 11 gates of which only 7 are open.  The main entrance to the city is Jaffa Gate. Within these walls house four different quarters or neighbourhoods......Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim. I have tried to enlarge this illustration large enough so that you can see the quarters as well the names/locations of the gates.

The Quarters in the Old City

In my next blog page, I will go into more detail in other specific topics/areas such as Dome of the Rock.  Meanwhile we are in Scotland enjoying our time with Andy's family while celebrating his mother's birthday.

Muriel's 77th Birthday

Annan 

Biggar 

Lovely to find little magical side streets