A Day in the Old City

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Today's itinerary took us to the Old City of Jerusalem, of which there is a Jewish quarter, an Arab quarter, a Christian quarter, and an Armenian quarter. Everywhere you look there are very old things to be seen -- like these Roman columns which had been knocked over and buried but now have been restored.

I looked down at the stones beneath my feet and was somewhat in awe that people had walked on those very stones thousands of years ago.




What I find very interesting is the juxtaposition of very old and very new. Check out the satellite dishes in these ancient neighborhoods.




There is a vibrancy in Israeli society, partly from all children who are everywhere. School field trips take them to the many places they study.




Chassidic Jews predominate in the Old City. Once again we see a man dressed as he might have been hundreds of years ago holding a cell phone to his ear.




A must see in the Old City is the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, sacred to Jews, who have come there to pray since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The photo below shows just the corner of this prayer wall below and to the left of the gold dome (Dome of the Rock).




The southern and western walls have gone incredible excavation in the last few decades, revealing historic knowledge of how this area looked thousands of years ago. You can see the top of Robinson's Arch protruding from the wall below. Below was the cardo, or walking street, lined with shops.




We were hot and tired of walking by lunchtime. A plate of hummus with pita and salad was just the right thing to give us strength for shopping.

Location:Jerusalem