Since Christian and I were only in Israel for a short time, we spent every spare minute going into the Old City and just walking around. I was surprised how filled it was with vendors and shop owners. I guess I expected an old city that was mostly empty; this was not the case at all. At first I was a little disappointed thinking that they had changed the city, but then I realized that it was probably filled with vendors and store owners in Jesus’s day too.
It was neat to walk down the Via Dolorosa and realize that Jesus walked down this very street. I loved just exploring the city and looking at all the old architecture. It was like a maze but after a few days we were able to figure out where things were and navigate through each of the four quarters (the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter, and the Armenian quarter). The GPS and compas on Christian's iPhone was definitely a big help.
The wailing wall was probably my favorite thing in the old city. Christian and I spent some time there just praying for the city and the nation. I prayed for peace and reconciliation in the land between the Jews and the Palestinians, and for the salvation of the Jews. I also just spent some time reflecting on the historical significance of the country and the people. It was a powerful moment. I then spent some time watching the Jews pray and observing their traditions.
It was neat to walk down the Via Dolorosa and realize that Jesus walked down this very street. I loved just exploring the city and looking at all the old architecture. It was like a maze but after a few days we were able to figure out where things were and navigate through each of the four quarters (the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter, and the Armenian quarter). The GPS and compas on Christian's iPhone was definitely a big help.
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| The Via Dolorosa. |
The wailing wall was probably my favorite thing in the old city. Christian and I spent some time there just praying for the city and the nation. I prayed for peace and reconciliation in the land between the Jews and the Palestinians, and for the salvation of the Jews. I also just spent some time reflecting on the historical significance of the country and the people. It was a powerful moment. I then spent some time watching the Jews pray and observing their traditions.
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| A close up of the prayers stuffed in the cracks in the wall. |
Some other neat and interesting places I saw in the Old City were the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Since we weren’t allowed inside the mosque, there wasn’t that much to see, but it was a beautiful building, though I think I expected it to be larger. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the other hand was huge! I couldn’t believe it. It just kept going and going and going. We rushed to get through in an hour, but there was definitely more we could have seen.
The Old City was definitely a highlight of the trip and I wish we would have had more time to look around. Christian and I enjoyed spending one morning just shopping and picking out gifts for our wives. And of course we enjoyed eating falafel.
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| Enjoying our Falafel with veggies, french fries, humus, and awesome sause wrapped in pita-like tortillas. |
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