Today, some friends and I decided to do a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and the City of David with a licensed tour guide. Although I have seen many of these sites before, I figured this would be my last real opportunity to see them again before my departure. Fortunately, the day was beautiful and our tour guide was fantastic. Here are some pictures from today's adventure:
An amazing view of Heichal Shlomo, former seat of the Chief Rabbinate, and the Jerusalem Great Synagogue.
Walking towards the G-d's city. We were fortunate to have an absolutely incredible day for a walking tour of Jerusalem.
We started our tour with a walk on the Old City ramparts.
The view form the ramparts. The big building in the background is the King David Hotel. The buildings in the foreground are part of the Mishkenot Sha'ananim, the first neighborhood to be built outside of the Old City walls in 1860 by Sir Moses Montefiore.
Inside the Old City walls, the Armenian Quarter contains a big barren grassy lot. One can only imagine what type of artifacts and ruins lay under this land! Unfortunately, the Armenians do not want the Israel Antiquities Authority to claim this spot as a Jewish heritage site.
A Christian cemetery outside of the Old City walls on Mount Zion.
A view of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in between the white dome of the Churva Synagogue and the gold dome of the Dome of the Rock.
The Broad Wall is a First Temple period city wall dating back to King Hezekiah.
The ruins of the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, destroyed by the Jordanians in the 1948 War of Independence. Notice the beautiful stonework.
One of the few Karaite synagogues in the world. Karaite Jews only believe in the Torah and do not follow any additional oral laws.
A magnificent view of the Western Wall.
Balloons at the Western Wall added some magic to an already beautiful day.
A Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall.
G-d's presence at the kotel. There is a sign at the entrance to the plaza that says, "The Divine Presence never moves from the Western Wall.
Excavations of the cardo right behind the Western Wall plaza.
A bagel menorah!
A view of the excavations at the City of David.
A view of the Silwan neighborhood and the Kidron Valley.
Excavations of what is thought to be the palace of King David.
The entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel, an ancient aqueduct that was built around 700 BCE to connect the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam (and which continues to do so today). We did not want to get wet, so we took the dry tunnel instead.
The end of Hezekiah's Tunnel.
The Pool of Siloam, which collected water from the Gihon Sping for residents of the ancient walled city of Jerusalem.
Tombs of Jewish kings from the Davidic dynasty.
Disheartening moment of the day: a Fatah flag (with some pretty violent imagery) and a Palestinian flag flying in the Silwan neighborhood. There were some Hamas flags, too, but I was not about to get close to those.
Empowering moment of the day: a flag of Jerusalem, Israel, and the Tower of David flying proudly over the Old City.
Tonight, Esther, Fara, Rachel, and I plan to go out before Rachel heads back to the United States tomorrow. I cannot believe the moment has finally come!
Until next time!
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