JERUSALEM
Saturday, September 14 (continued).
The traffic from Bethlehem to Jerusalem was heavy, and we did not get to the checkpoint into Jerusalem until 2:00. The bus
then took us
south to see the US, Embassy, moved to Jerusalem in May 2018. By then it was
2:45.
From the Embassy, the bus then drove north to the Old City and around the city walls. dropping us near the Dung Gate. We walked to the Western Wall Plaza for our first close up visit to the Western Wall. The golden Dome of the Rock was visible above the wall, at least from a little distance back. There were separate sections of the Wall for men and women, so Jane went to the right and Darrell to the left. The crevices between the huge stones were crammed with folded papers containing individual petitions or prayers.
Darrell found that the Wall continued, out of sight from the Plaza, beyond the left corner. He walked through a large arch near the corner and found himself in a wonderfully cool, dim room, away from the blistering hot sun outside. It was a huge reading room with many chairs, desks, lamps, bookshelves and newspaper racks. But the Western Wall continued on through the room, just as accessible as, and no different from, the Wall outside.
Reassembling about 3:35, our group took the steps up from the Western Wall Plaza and walked
to Hurva Square in the Jewish Quarter. This is usually a bustling place with crowded restaurants
and shops, but now it was 4:00 p.m. on the Sabbath, so everything was closed, including the Hurva
Synagogue (rebuilt 2010 in the style of an 1864 predecessor). A large golden menorah was on
display in a bullet proof glass case in front of the Synagogue. (It was constructed by the Temple
Institute to specifications from the Book of Exodus. It weighs 1,000 pounds, 10% of which is
24K gold plating. It is estimated to be worth $3 million.) The Plaza was almost empty, and we had half an hour to leisurely explore its environs. There were narrow lanes, stone steps and beautiful old doors. We even came across a row of Corinthian columns (with no explanation of their origins). It was the most pleasant time we spent in the Old City..
We caught our bus at 4:45. By this time, there was almost no traffic, and we were at the hotel in 15 minutes. It had been a hard day and we welcomed the opportunity to rest. We were late for the 6:30 buffet dinner, and most of our group was already gone. There was a group meeting at 8:00, but we just were not up to it. We retired very early. | ||||||||||
