Pictures from Jerusalem

Finally downloaded the pictures from our visit to Jerusalem on Sunday, with Budd and Doris. Some nice pictures, I think, so sharing them here today. Be warned - picture heavy post today. My apologies to those on dial-up!

We started our tour with a panoramic view over the Old City from the observation point at "Armon Ha'Natziv". Check out the golden mosque in the middle - that's the Dome of the Rock.



Another part of Jerusalem from the same place:



IsraeliDad and myself posing ;)





The view from another place, where you can see the desert of Judea (the Dead Sea is in that direction as well)



We visited the Wailing Wall, and this is what it looks like from the women's side (women and men are separated when approaching the Wall.



Inside the Old city, walking in the alleys of the bazaar:



We walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where according to tradition, Jesus was laid to rest and buried. This is us talking at the entrance of the Church. Being a Sunday, the place was full of people, especially pilgrims.



We joined a line of pilgrims inside to see the Tomb of Christ. We had to stand in the line for almost an hour, and eventually Doris and myself entered and were lead by one of the priest into this tiny room. This is what the entrance to the room looks like -



You have to really mind your head as you have to bend over to get inside. Once inside, most people get down to their knees anyway (although I had no problem standing up inside and I'm 5'11''). Inside you have a small space, which you share with 4-5 other people who were let inside on the same round. There's a marble plate, with some candles and dozens of incense lamps hanging from above. Naturally, the people entering are extremely moved. Watching these pilgrims lay their hands on the Tomb of Jesus was quite a sight. Here's a picture of the tomb itself:



I really loved the atmosphere of the church. Something very authentic and medieval about the place. Lots of incense and chanting all the time (it being Sunday afternoon, there were services performed by various Churches, one after the other). Here are a couple of pictures from the Church, where you can hopefully get a sense of the dark medieval feeling -



If you look closely, the monks there are actually carrying light bulbs... so much for medieval authenticity ;)



Outside the church, we strolled through the market some more. It was so colorful and the visuals so enticing, I can't help but share a few pics here:













By the time we walked out of the Old City it was getting dark. I managed to take this pretty picture of the Walls of the City and the Tower of David -



We ended up walking through this lovely arcade, filled with very modern shop, back to the car and back home:



Whew, lots of pictures! If you made it so far, wait for the next post where I plan on sharing a clip or two from our day in Jerusalem. I took some nice movies, inside the church too, where you can hear the chanting and get some more visuals.