And one last morning in the Old City

I had really hoped that there would be an opportunity to get back to the Temple Mount but it quite clearly wasn’t to be: it’s closed to non-Muslims until 19th June for ‘security reasons’. This covers Eid-ul-Fitr and the end of Ramadan celebrations and is a time of year when feelings run high: hence the caution.

I decided to go down through the Old City though to see what was happening and was pleased I did as there were a few interesting things going on. I was early enough for the souks to be empty – not even set up as I wandered through for the last time: strange to see after the hustle of Saturday night!

Arriving at the Wall I was pleased to find a reasonable number of men saying the morning prayer fully clad with prayer shawl (tallit) and phylacteries (tefillin) . Acouple of young boys were being taught how to wear tefillin, presumably in preparation for their Bar Mitzvah. In fact, I spoke with one mother from a nearby town whose son was being shown how to dress and it was interesting to see and hear her reaction to her ‘little boy’ becoming an adult with religious duties as indicated by his becoming ‘bar mitzvah – a son of commandment’ and so personally responsible for fulfilling religious law. I felt a bit of an intruder always taking photographs over the male/female divide but she said ‘Please do’ when asked if it was OK, so I snapped happily for a while before moving on.

Concentration!

Preparing to br ‘Bar Mitzvah’

After a while the time came to leave. I felt the need to go to one of the churches and debated about going to the service at Christchurch – I didn’t because I remembered being told that there were festivals at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre so I decided to see what was going on there.

I was so glad I did!!

This was before reaching the main focus of the basilica – the place of the grave itself. What awaited me there was different from anything else I had seen on earlier visits.

To begin with, the sanctuary in front of the tomb was bright and edged with worshippers

Then, at the other side of the shrine a group of Armenians were holding a service.

So much going on and yet still space for those who wished to to sit and reflect in silence.

As I left the area, I noticed the carvings in the pillars of the huge doors;

The Greek Orthodox Church I had visited a couple of days earlier sounded active so I walked around to see what was going on and was again impressed by the structure itself as well as those worshipping regularly in such a public, sometimes, I fear, disregarded, place.

On this last journey I found the short way back to the hotel – a five minute walk rather than the fifteen I had been doing and as I did, happened across a couple walking through the Old City in their wedding finery with the videographer in tow – a nice last moment in a city I have enjoyed revisiting.

Back to the hotel, checkout, meet Holly and off to Even Yehuda to start the next part of this adventure – ordinary life in an Israeli town with a couple of American ex-pats.

Two days later, I’ve already sampled two – no three- of the best eating places in the country: delicious falafel, amazing chocolate – so much that there’s always been a ‘doggy bag’ at the end of the meal!

And Hannah has graduated so it’s time to see more of the country……