Jerusalem - The Holy City
The holy city of Jerusalem! We arrived early in the morning from Tiberius to a massive bus station in the new city. Since our hostel and almost all the sites are in the old city, we caught a bus that took us to the Jaffa gate. Our hostel was right inside. We dropped off our things and headed out into the city. The old city is entirely walled in, so we went up on the wall and took a walk around the city, looking at the churches, dome of the rock, etc. as we went. It was a great way to get a feel for the city, and our walk took us right to the entrance of the Wailing Wall. It was neat to see all the Jewish people praying at the wall, as it is the only remnant of their temple to God. From the Wailing Wall, we thought it a good idea to head through the old city to find some lunch.
After eating lunch, we headed back towards the Wailing Wall and took the ramp up to the Dome of the Rock. This muslim dome sits today where the Jewish temples of old once stood. We walked around for a good while and got some great pictures of the dome from the outside. It seemed that only muslims were allowed inside and we just didn't look the part.
From the exit of the Dome of the Rock, we walked over to Via Dolorosa - the way of sorrows. This road is also known as the path Jesus walked when He carried the cross to the crucifixion site. There are 14 stations on the way of sorrows which I will talk about a bit later. Via Dolorosa starts at the site where Pilate's house once was and the place Jesus was flogged and beaten. Near this site were the baths known as Bethesda, where Jesus performed many miracles, such as healing the blind and the lame.
Next, we wandered through the souq again, getting hopelessly lost. Finally, a young boy showed us the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a church built on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried. What a powerful place! To see the empty tomb...what a way to end our first day in Jerusalem!
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