Team Sullivan's Adventures in Warsaw: Our Christmas Adventure....Part III...Jerusalem!

We woke up a bit tired from our late midnight mass evening...but quickly regained our energy as we started our AMAZING day long tour of Jerusalem. We had an awesome guide, Dvir, that had come recommended by some friends. As he started recounting the history of Jerusalem it was almost difficult to process all the monumental religious events that have happened for the three biggest religions in such a small area...Wow! Tom and I spent the entire day simply mesmorized and excited to witness all of it! We started in the Armenian quarter of the old city. This is a fairly small part and the Armenians tend to keep to themselves more or less. They have lived in Jerusalem for hundreds and hundreds of years and are seen as the peacekeepers in the area. Next we headed into the Jewish quarter. The architecture and scenery were beautiful and it was my favorite part of the city...no bias here, I promise. We learned about the different groups of Jews that live in the area. Its amazing the diversity within all of the religions. So many people assume that it is only the extremists that live in Jerusalem, but that is not the case. We had the chance to go and pray at the Western Wall. This is one of the holiest sites for Jews. This wall was one of the walls of the original temple built and then destroyed many many years ago. The Jewish people visit this wall and pray at it. It is tradition to write your prayers on small pieces of paper and push the folded papers into the crevices of the wall. The wall is still segregated by sexes, per the tradition of Othodox Jews. So, Tom and I each went on our own to check out the wall. After the wall, we headed to wait in line to enter the Muslim area and the Dome of the Rock. This area is only open for two, one hour increments each day to non-Muslims. And, when going through security they check for religious artifacts. You are not allowed to bring any religious item that is non-Muslim. This is simply due to the fact that tensions can be so high and the simplest thing could cause a major catastrophe to break out. Therefore, instead of worrying about someone accidentally offending this very holy Muslin site they keep all other religious items off of the site. The area itself is beautiful. Its full of lots of green space, many public buildings used by the Muslim community, a mosque and the Dome of the Rock. This building is a shrine to the Foundation Stone...a rock that was said to be incredibly holy and the foundation of the Muslim religion. As non-Muslims we were not even allowed to go inside this building. Although, it was amazing to see the grounds and the exterior...as they were beautiful.
When you stop and think about it its pretty ironic. The Dome of the Rock sits on top of the exact place where the original Jewish Temple was built and destroyed. And, in fact, one of the exterior walls of the Dome complex is the Western Wall. And, the original Jewish temple was built on the site where Abraham showed his loyalty to God by taking Isaac there to sacrifice him. Luckily, we all know it was a test of fate and God saved Isaac in the end. So, on just this one small area in Jerusalem the key foundations of two major religions exist!
We were working up our appetites...so we grabbed lunch at a small, hole in the wall place with the most amazing food ever. We shared hummus, Israeli salads, and pita bread...delicious! We continued our afternoon exploring more of the Muslim quarter and the Souk, the traditional markets.
And, we spent the final part of our tour in the Christian quarter. It was rather interesting that we took our tour on Christmas Day, but you would have had no idea it was Christmas unless you were in the Christian quarter. Kinda amazing! The Christian quarter had carols playing and plenty of Christmas lights and decorations. We entered the Christian quarter through the Via Doloroso...this the is the street/path that Jesus walked on his way to crucifixion. This was the path of the 12 stations of the cross. There were a number of religious pilgrims following the stations..it was very moving to watch them. We followed the stations til we made it to the Church of the Holy Sepluchure. This is an incredible church in so many ways. It houses a shrine and the spot where Jesus was crucified, the slab of rock where Jesus's body was cleansed after death and a shrine to the rocks/cave where Jesus's body was placed. Since it is now a huge and gorgeous church it is almost impossible to imagine that these cruel acts could actually take place here. Not surprisingly, the church was packed with visitors but it was still an experience we will always remember.
We finished up our tour checking out the Damascus Gate..the gate leading into the Old City of Jerusalem. The day was amazing and we learned so much..it'll definitely be a Christmas we never forget!
We spent our Christmas evening enjoying dinner with the lovely couple that we had met the night before on our trip to Bethlehem. It was wonderful to share dinner with others and trade stories of travel and family.

Starting in the Armenian Quarter

Now, into the Jewish quarter

The Main synogauge in the Jewish Quarter

The old walls and a map showing the change in boundaries over the years

The view of the Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock in the bakground

Prayers folded into the Western Wall

The sides are segregated by the sexes

A deeply spiritual place

Of course, Tom had his own spin on things and had to show his team pride!

The division between the men's and womens' sides

Waiting in line to go through security to enter the Muslim area and the Dome of the Rock. We could only enter at two different times during the day since we were not Muslim.

View of the Jewish Quarter from the Muslim quarter

The third holiest place in the Muslim world - the Dome of the Rock

Beautiful grounds on this holy site

The view from the Dome onto the Mount of Olives

Entering the Christian Quarter

Outside the Damascus Gate

Lot of yummy spices including an Israeli version of oregano

Our favorite Israeli lunch....different kinds of hummus and salads with pita...and fresh pomegranate juice

Walking through the Christian quarter you are able to walk along the Via Doloroso, the exact route where Jesus walked and the stations of the cross. There are many religious pilgrims who follow this route and carry across with them...as Tom is modeling!