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Behind Jaffa Gate is the main plaza of Old City Jerusalem. It is always busy and full of energy here.
St Mark Church in the Armenian Quarter of Old City Jerusalem is one of the two sites that contest to be where Jesus had his last supper. It is why this church is also referred to as the Upper Room. This church did not seem open for visitors at the time I was there.
Jerusalem was ruled by the Roman Empire between 63 BC to 313 AD. Signs of Roman rule can still be seen in the city.
The streets in Old City Jerusalem were built by the Romans. Even though the Romans tried to give the stones some texture, they were still quite smooth. If you happen to be walking on these streets when they are wet, you are an accident waiting to happen. I fell down at least once walking in the Old City. However most old towns in Israel are paved by the same kind of stone. The advice is to walk slowly and pay attention to your steps.
Western Wall of the Temple Mount, often called the Wailing Wall, is where Jews go to mourn for the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD. On the Temple Mount are the Dome of the Rock (golden dome on the upper left), the second holiest site in Islam, and the mosque Al Aqsa (grey dome on the upper right), the third holiest. The wooden bridge on the right is Mughrabi Bridge, the only way for non-Muslim to enter the Temple Mount. At the time of writing, only Muslims can enter the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa. The construction in the foreground is renovation and the excavation (hidden by Mughrabi Bridge) near the Western Wall is archeological excavation of the City of David.
Holy Sepulcher Church is probably the holiest site for Christians. It is one of the two places that claim to be site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. According to tradition, Golgotha, the rock on which Jesus was crucified, and the hill over Jesus' tomb, were removed to build the church.
Edicule is a chapel that contains the actual holy sepulcher itself.
Inside the Edicule, this slab of stone could be the place where Jesus' body was laid.
According to tradition, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha (hill of the skull). The skull belongs to Adam and is thought to be buried here around the Chapel of Adam inside Holy Sepulcher Church. The window shows a crack in the rock that is thought to be caused by an earthquake when Jesus died.
Golgotha Altar on the first level above ground in the Holyy Sepulcher Church commemorates the crucifixion of Christ.
Other than religion, Old City Jerusalem is also well known for shopping.
Israel is full of contradictions. Here is an example. Judaism forbids me to enter the Temple Mount because it is too holy. Muslims can enter anytime because the Temple Mount being the site of the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa is Islamic territory. Israeli police lets non-Muslim in twice a day. So why bother putting the sign at the entrance just before I go in there?
Mughrabi Bridge is the only way for non-Muslims to enter the Temple Mount.
From Mughrabi Bridge, one can observe the excavation of the City of David close-up.
The temple mount is currently controlled by Palestinians. Muslims can enter anytime. Limited number of non-Muslim tourists are allowed to enter each day. Israelis do not enter the temple mount at all. In fact Israelis are not allowed to enter any Palestinian territories.
Dome of the Rock (second holiest place in Islam). Hypothetically speaking, if the Dome is demolished to make way for the Jewish Temple, this site will be the holiest place in the world for the Jews. Christians believe that the temple has to be rebuilt before the second coming of Christ.
Behind this door is a gigantic rock underground--the holiest place on earth. According to Islam, it was where God created the world. According to the Bible, this general location (Mt. Moriah) was also where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. The Dome is the exact location of the holy of holies of the former Jewish Temple. It was where God talked to his people through the priests in the glorious days of Israel. Now this site is an Islamic holy place. Only Muslims can enter this door.
Hypothetically speaking, Al Aqsa also needs to go if the Jewish Temple is rebuilt. But it is a beautiful building and full of history. A typical thing to do in the Holy Land in the power struggle among Christians, Jews and Muslims is to commandeer some or parts of the buildings of another religion to be used as a worship site in a different religion. However the religious Jews takes holiness very seriously. It is doubtful that they will keep any parts of Al Aqsa in the third temple to be built sometime in the future.
The temple mount in its current Islamic form is full of history and beautiful in its own right. But the Bible predicts that the third Jewish Temple has to be rebuilt before the second coming of Christ. It means all these structures currently on the temple mount has to go sooner or later. It is good that I could be here before all these go away. In a sense, it is a shame that they have to go. On the other hand, history does not stand still. Change is an inevitable part of history.
Religious Jews lament everyday by the Wailing Wall of the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD. The third temple is important to the Jews because it is an identity of being Jewish and is also important to Christians because it fulfils a prophecy as a prelude to the second coming of Christ.
Although I did not seem to be wailing in front of the Wailing Wall, I did count its a blessing to be here. Soon wailing will be turned to rejoicing.
On the bottom of Mount of Olive is the Gethsemane Church (Church of All Nations) that commemorates the agony of Christ before the crucifixion. This church looks relatively new because it is. It was rebuilt in 1908. The remnant of the old church can be seen on the right side of the new church.
Next to the Gethsemane Church is the Garden of Gethsemane where eight 2000 year old olive trees supposedly witnessed the agony of Christ prior to his crucifixion. According to tradition, it was the place where Christ was betrayed by Judas and arrested.
Above the Gethsemane Church is the Church of Mary Magdalene. It was closed the day I was there. But it was enough to have a good look from the outside coming down on Jericho Road.
Across the street from Gethsemane Church is the Tomb of Mary.
The actual "tomb" inside the Tomb of Mary.
According to tradition, Mary's body was laid on the rock inside this enclosure.
Outside the east side of Old City Jerusalem is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. Across Jericho Road from Gethsemane Church is Absalom's Pillar at the start of the trail down the Valley of David. It is not related to the Absalom (David's son) in the Old Testament who dated back to the first century BC. Archaeologists dated this tomb to first century AD instead.
Next to Absalom's Pillar is the Tomb of Hezir (a wealthy family in the second century BC) and Zechariah's Tomb. Zechariah was the prophet in the Old Testament who foretold the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and a return to a Jewish state in Jerusalem. In the picture were four religious Jews climbing up to visit Zechariah's Tomb.
Above the bottom of the Valley of David is the Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter (wife of Solomon). This tomb is now completely surrounded by Palestinians.
Many of graves in the world's oldest Jewish cemetery are restored. But in many cases, only fragments of the original tombstones can be found.
Outside the south side of Old City Jerusalem is Mount Zion. According to tradition, the Tomb of David is on the ground floor of a building there. A few rabbis were praying when I was there. I was required to cover my head to show respect. They provided disposable paper kippahs (head cover for Jewish man) for tourists like me for that purpose.
The floor directly above the Tomb of David is the Cenacle--the room where Jesus had the last supper. The Cenacle is one of two sites currently competing for this honor to be the true Upper Room. The other is St. Mark Church inside Old City Jerusalem. It is obvious that Jesus did not have the last supper in a Gothic looking structure. This building had been torn down and rebuilt over the centuries. The most that it can claim is that it was the location (not the actual room) for the last supper. No matter whether it is the true site for the last supper or not, both the Vatican and Israel are fighting to control the Cenacle.
No matter whether we get the history right or not, it is always good to be a part of history by being there.
Church of Nativity in Bethlehem (Palestinian territory) is another favorite site for Christian pilgrimage. Bethlehem was where Jesus was born. A mass is held here every Christmas Eve.
What is unique about the Church of Nativity is that the main entrance is a very small door called Door of Humility. However, if you look closely, you see that the small door is built underneath a bigger original entrance. Rumor says that Ottoman did not want anyone to be able to ride a horse through the church door as a show of Christian power during reign of the Islamic Ottoman Empire.
Church of Nativity is relatively simple looking inside.
Like many historical buildings in Israel, the Church of Nativity had been built and rebuilt. What is unique here is that they keep part of the original floor in the middle of church for display.
The center of Bethlehem is a local market and Church of Nativity. Shawarma is a favorite way to prepare meat (usually chicken and turkey in Palestine). The way to serve the meat is to cut it off the roller, dice it and stuff it inside pita bread with the option of adding salads and hummus. You can tell that the food is good when the locals are lining up to buy it.
Israel is a desert but is doing a good job in turning the desert into forest and farmland. Apparently Palestinians are also very clever in this regard because of the abundance of fruits and vegetables found in the market.
An upside-down wok is used to make pancake. As soon as the batter was poured on the pan, bubbles would spontaneously emerge. The cook used a small pillow (the beige pillow next to his right arm) to flatten the bubbles.
This boy walked around with a coffee pot to sell coffee from door to door or just anyone whom he could intercept. He intercepted me outside of this hardware store the first time. I turned his offer down. I felt bad because he seemed so disappointed. I ran into him again later and bought a cup from him. The locals probably pay him a shekel or two for his coffee. He could not speak English and could not tell me how much he wanted to charge me. An older passerby helped him by telling me to give him 5 shekels. I thought it was too much but gave it to him anyway. I wanted to help this poor boy to make a bit more money.
Palestinian areas everywhere are always dirty and often chaotic. This gate in the market where cars and people compete for a narrow passageway is a good example. Cars are driving so close to the pedestrians that I had to constantly look to make sure that the tires of the cars were not running over my feet. Having said that, Palestinians are very friendly. Men would talk to me randomly on the streets. Some of them randomly said "welcome" and "good morning" as I walked in the market. I guess it was clear that I looked like a tourist and the locals wanted to make me feel welcomed.
My favorite picture of this trip. When there is a will, there is a way. A Palestinian man sold cotton candy out of the trunk of his car in front of the Church of Nativity--the main tourist spot in Bethlehem.
A rabbi whom I met on the plane from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv told me that the sky over Israel looked different. I was not sure that I agreed. Nevertheless sunrise in Bethlehem was not too bad.
Driving along the Dead Sea reminded me of the desert in America. The only difference is that the Judah Desert in Israel is so dry and arid that I did not see even a single blade of grass.
I came across a big group of gazelles while driving along the Dead Sea. I wonder what they eat in the Judah Desert. There is almost nothing green there.
Ein Gedi is a famous tourist attraction on the coast of the Dead Sea. It has a spring in the valley called Wadi David. ("Wadi" is Arabic for "valley".) There are a lot of caves along the stream. You can see a couple of them in this picture. These caves were probably dwelling places for early settlers in the area.
Desert guinea pigs in Ein Gedi do have more vegetations to enjoy.
Ein Gedi is the home of the ruins of the oldest synagogue in the world.
Tell es-Sultan ("tell" means "mound") is thought by many to be the site of ancient Jericho. According to Bible, the walls of Jericho collapsed on its own after the Israelites marched around the city for seven days. The wall system of old Jericho was made up of 25 feet high upper and lower walls. The lower wall stood on top of a 15 feet high retaining wall (or revetment wall). The middle area between the upper and lower walls was used as no man land. This picture shows a section of the upper wall still standing on the northern end of Tell es-Sultan. Due to over-population, some citizens of ancient Jericho lived in the no man land between the walls. It is thought that Rahab lived there too. Archaeologists have found ruins of houses in this area. The Bible is always consistent with archaeology.
The 15 feet high retaining wall (revetment wall) on the south end of Tell es-Sultan. Imagine a 25 feet high lower brick wall on top of this retaining wall and another 25 feet high upper wall behind it. The Israelites were right in thinking that they could not overcome ancient Jericho. In this case God performed a miracle to destroy ancient Jericho (Joshua 6).
On the west side of Tell es-Sultan is the Mount of Temptation. According to tradition, Jesus fasted for 40 days on top of one these mountains and was tempted by the Devil afterwards.
Palestinians are doing well with growing food and planting trees in Judah Desert. Israelis and Palestinians take advantage of the water efficiency of drip irrigation. In the case of Jericho, there is the additional advantage of a spring. The red brick roof in the picture covers a pool from spring water. In the Old Testament, Joshua cursed anyone who would try to rebuild ancient Jericho after its destruction. Ancient Jericho was just a mound of 6 acres in size. Modern Jericho is a big city many hundreds of times bigger than ancient Jericho. Joshua was right in his curse in that the site of ancient Jericho was never rebuilt even though the surrounding area have been developing since the curse.
Driving along Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Dead Sea, you can see the Bedouin people (a nomadic desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group) living on the hillside.
Entrance to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. You can see some of the Dead Sea scrolls here but cannot take pictures of them.
Beside the Holy Sepulcher Church, the Garden Tomb just outside Damascus Gate of Old City Jerusalem is another site that claims to be the tomb of Christ. Protestants favor this site as the real tomb of Christ. Garden Tomb is staffed by volunteers. A lot of the volunteers sounded like Americans on the day I was there.
Jesus' body could have been laid here inside the Garden Tomb. The good news is that Jesus was risen. There is no body.
Jesus was crucified on Golgotha (Skull Hill). A short distance from Garden Tomb is a hill that resembles a skull. You can barely make out the two eye sockets of a skull from this angle. If it is the correct location, Jesus would have been crucified right on top of this hill. Ironically the Muslims have taken over the top of the hill and are building something there right now.
The beach is one of best things about Tel Aviv. When the sun is out (which is most of the time in Israel), people are walking, biking, fishing, swimming and doing just about everything fun in the sun. The sand of Tel Aviv beaches is fine like powder. The water of the Mediterranean Sea is as clear as glass. You can still swim and walk around in shorts and T-shirt around Christmas time. My guess is that winter is the best time to visit Israel because the summer is probably too hot. The bell tower in the background far away is the landmark of Old Town Jaffa.
There is no limit to what you can do on the beach of Tel Aviv. An example is building rock sculptures.
Old Town Jaffa is an tiny ancient seaport. It is a major tourist attraction in Tel Aviv. The port does not have too many fishing boats. The few boats that were there look very unique.
The bell tower in Old Town Jaffa is a landmark. Sometimes Israel looks more like Europe than the Middle East.
The old and the new are blended in one part of Jaffa by the seafront.
On the west side of Jaffa is a famous flea market. You can buy all kinds of interesting junks here. If you don't want to buy any junks, it is still fun to walk around and take pictures.
One nice thing about the shops in the Jaffa flea market is that shopkeepers are very lay back. They don't harasses you to buy stuffs from them. You will feel very free to just walk and enjoy the culture.
The beach and Jaffa are really the best parts of Tel Aviv. The rest of the city is quite urban. Some of the main streets like Ben Yehuda have a lot of interesting stores, good coffee shops and bakeries. It is fun to walk along those main streets during the day. The night time is pretty dead.
Along the happy upbeat seafront of Tel Aviv, a sight of the sadder past is still visible. In 2001, a Hamas suicide bomber killed himself and 21 teenagers inside this structure of what used to be an upscale Dolphinarium. This complex was never rebuilt and has been abandoned since then. It is a visual reminder of the current situation in Israel despite of the appearance of well being.
When you are driving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Highway 1 over the mountain, you will sometimes forget that Israel is a desert. The high altitude helps to catch some of the rain water. In general, Israel is also doing a good job in turning the desert into forest and farmland. Ridges dug along the hillsides for tree planting can still be seen.
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