TDay 6
Our tour is officially over and we have a day at leisure. Sandra and Lynn decide to have a lie in and the go back to the American Colony Hotel for lunch and to use their pool. Carol and I and the rest of the group take up the guide's offer of more sightseeing and shopping time.
Our first stop is the Church of the Visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Both women were pregnant and as they embraced, both babies quickened. The church is beautifully decorated with frescos but again, not particularly old and an American pastor was holding a service for his group of pilgrims doing the Holy Land tour as well. We have seen them at other sites. It is strange how masses or services are carried out impromptu, except at the Greek Orthodox churches where as I said, the priests are very stern. The church is in a beautiful peaceful area which translates as the Spring of the Vineyard and it is green and fertile all around. Overlooking this church is another smaller one which houses the rock where Elizabeth is said to have hidden John when Herod's men came round to kill all the baby boys. In the courtyard of the church the Magnificat is written on mosaic plaques in dozens of languages
The sculpture depicting Mary and Elizabeth meeting in the courtyard of the Magnificat
The Magnificat in English
Back to Jerusalem old city and we passed the Vad Hashem memorial again and this time we could see one of the wooden railway carriages used to transport Jews, brought here from a concentration camp.
We entered the city by the Zion Gate which is covered in bullet holes acquired during the 6 Day War in 1967 when Jordan held power inside the city. This gate now leads into the Jewish quarter which was closed yesterday because of the Sabbath but open today.
Zion Gate with bullet holes You can see drivers who are foolish enough to take their car into the old city, have to make a very tight 90 degree turn, ( to stop invaders on horseback charging in)
We walked along the Cardo which was the main colonnaded street in the old city in Roman times 2000 years ago. It is in ruins now but at least 7 or 8 metres below modern street level. Above it are shops and houses. The name Cardo signifies that it was the heart of the city. There is a wonderful mural depicting street life as it would have been in Roman times. This area of Jerusalem has a much more modern and affluent air to it. Property prices are astronomical. A modest two bedroom apartment would cost roughly £1 million. Land is at a premium here, hence the building over previous buildings that has gone on over the centuries. The reason land is so expensive in the Jewish quarter is that it is nearest to the Mount of Olives and that's where the Messiah will come from, so you can get to the front of the queue to get resurrected. You also get a good view of the grey wall which separates Israel from West Bank Palestine.
The Cardo remains today
The fresco depicting life on the Cardo in Roman times
On then to a building on Mount Zion which is holy to all three major faiths. On the second floor is the room where Jesus held Passover, the Last Supper. It is a bare modernised room and I didn't realise I had seen it till I had left. Of course it is not the real room or even the real building where the Last Supper was held, that went centuries ago. I suppose nowadays we are used to seeing interactive, hologram, animatronic displays etc so the reality can be a bit of an anticlimax. But below is the Tomb of King David. Of course no one knows for certain but there is a story that during the 6 Day War, 2 Israeli soldiers hid nearby as the Jordanian soldiers advanced. They felt certain they would die so they prayed and a small boy with red hair, carrying a harp, came out of the house. They were convinced then that it was David. Anyway a tomb about 8 feet long is laid on a catafalque but a screen divides it into two viewing areas. Men look at the tomb from one side and women from the other. It is hugely holy to the Jews yet you can touch it and photograph it if you like. There is also a mosque on the site, hence being a holy place for all three faiths.
King David
King David's Tomb, the women's half
That's about it for the sightseeing. We went shopping then and soon found that the shops in the Muslim quarter were much cheaper but also the shop keepers were cheerier and more friendly. That's not to say that the Israelis were unfriendly but they were definitely more reserved and less open to chatting. We had some great conversations with young men in the scarf shop and the Dead Sea skin products shop, which he assured me was a factory outlet and therefore prices could not be cut - before offering me a discount because I looked like someone he knew and he was robbing himself at that price.
Interesting facts. All Israeli young people are conscripted into the army at the age of 18. Boys for 3 years and girls for 2 years. The army representatives visit schools when the young people are 16 and find out what they are good at so they can be deployed effectively. Also all conscripts must go to Jerusalem for a cultural tour to learn their heritage. The young people we spoke to all spoke positively of the experience and certainly we never saw any gangs of drunken or loud youths anywhere. However, young people are leaving Jerusalem because they cannot get work but also because it has become old and very religious. They go mostly to Tel Aviv which is much younger and cosmopolitan.
The current Prime Minister Netanyahu has a private residence next to an ice cream parlour and it emerged last year he had spent 80,000 shekels of taxpayers' money on pistachio ice cream. His fat wife immediately went on a serious diet.
Taxation pays for education and a health service. From the time you contact a doctor you must be given an appointment within 48 hours but you might wait 2 years for surgery
The first Prime Minister of Israel, Ben Gurion, said that Judaism could be summed up in the sentence, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Is that working?
I would love to tell you about the Mamelukes but I can't remember except they were kidnapped children taken by the Muslims and brought up to fight for them. Information overload. However, here is a fountain that the Mamelukes installed in the old city. This had been a sarcophagus which they turned upside down to hold the water for the horses to drink from. Great recyclers.
Well that's it, last night tonight and as we are getting our wake up call at 4.30 am, I think an early night is called for. I will however write an epilogue tomorrow when I have gathered my thoughts about the whole experience and maybe finally post my photos.
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