VISITING THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM

Travel Quote  "There are no foreign lands.  It is only the traveller who is foreign"  Robert Louis Stevenson

Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center

The Notre Dame has a truly impressive entrance.   It is located just steps away from the entrance to the New Gate in the Old City and is the Catholic Center for Jerusalem (the home of the Pope if he were to visit).  The towering French Cathedral/Guest House has magnificent stonework inside and out.   It was built in the 1880s to increase the flow of pilgrims to Jerusalem and was in a part of the area called the French Compound.

Entering the Old City stimulates not only your visual sense but also awakens one's sense of smell and hearing.  Chaos, clatter, clamour, commotion and mayhem.  Unknown tantalizing aromas of spices, coffee and food vendors, along with a earthy moistness in the air, are a pleasant assault to the nose.  Children running and playing while at the same time tiny tractors come to collect stacks upon stacks of cardboard and garbage.  Life is a constant pulse here in the Old City and one can only imagine the history that goes with it.

In the Jewish Quarter we had to go through a metal detector before going to the Western Wall.  Men and Women are segregated and although the men's side is much larger, the women outnumbered the men from what I could count.  The worshippers were praying, some out loud while others were davening in a rocking, back and forth rhythm.  I noticed more women would exit the Wall backwards with the intention of purposely not having their back to the wall while I noticed less men had that particular practise.  People were placing little scrunched up pieces of prayers and requests and wedging them into the crevices of the wall.  This square was alive with children.  I loved watching the children play amidst the bustle of activity.  Of course, I had to wait for my husband to complete his prayers in Hebrew and write his prayer for peace and place it in the wall too. 

We had arrived at the end of the afternoon of what was probably a busy day. The Christian and Armenian Quarter seemed to be winding down and closing shops while the Muslim Quarter seemed to be just starting to have fun.  This quarter is the largest and from what we could see the liveliest of all.  We had purchased produce before our 9 PM meal with the intention of assuming the shops would be closed afterwards.  After we ate, the stores were just as busy. I asked for permission to take a photo of the soldiers and I was surprised he agreed.

In the Armenian Quarter the hand painted pottery  reminded me of Ukrainian handiwork.  So pretty and colourful.  Scarves and paintings, candy stores and bakeries line the colorful streets. The bakeries had massive trays of tiny desserts cut up into hundreds of pieces of baklava and other desserts unknown to us.

Kids having fun in the Jewish Quarter

Taking photos of devout young men preparing to say their prayers at the Kotel (Western Wall)

And the same young men again now wearing their Kippah.   Guess who is the foreigner?

Leaving the Western Wall and entering the Muslim Quarter.....El-Wad Street

Corner of El-Wad and Suq Khan Ez-Zeit Street. We bought oranges here and if you look closely you can see women vendors in the center where we bought little vegetables that resembled zucchini

The Muslim Quarter was the most lively and I don't find it coincidental that it was the only Quarter that had armed soldiers.

Worlds apart in the Armenian Quarter

The Christian Quarter.  Our first sight upon entering

Vendors at the Damascus Gate. We bought the most fragrant strawberries here.

In the middle of the Muslim Quarter we found Al-Nasser, a charming little restaurant with Arabic food.  
At Al-Nasser, we were first given appetizers to sample.  The Lebanese salad was our favourite.  We had kebabs that were done on a Hibachi near our table.  Of course  most Arabs are Muslims, so wine was not on the menu.  It seems though however that most men smoke which was something you have to get used to in this culture even while eating in a restaurant.

Friday April 19

We returned to walk in the Old City again tonight for the third time.   The Christian and Armenian Quarter were almost deserted while the Jewish Quarter was abuzz with devotees going to the Western Wall.  For the first time tonight we noticed different headgear worn by the Ultra Orthodox Jewish men.  We were waiting with a large group of these men with their families at the pedestrian stop.  I would have loved a photo but my timing was inappropriate.  The headgear was something of a curiosity to us and very striking.  Shaped more like a fur lined circular thick disc, it definitely looked Russian.  I found out that they are called Shtreimel which is a fur hat worn by many married Hasidic Orthodox Jewish men on the Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath).

In the Muslim Quarter, surprisingly even though it was Friday which is the Islamic Day of rest, there were still a few stores open including several men's barber shops.

On a funny note on the way home tonight walking through East Jerusalem where we are now staying.  I figured I might have a problem trying to figure out what gas to purchase in Hebrew.

1. Self-serve for regular comes in at 7.57 shekels a litre, or around $2.50 in North American terms - in other words double the price practically. 
   

3.