I worked out a deal with a cab driver sitting in front of Dan Panorama for him to give us a ride around Mount of Olives, the Jewish Cementery, the Church of All Nations, and Hebrew University and then to drop us off at American Colony hotel. It wasn't easy to bargain with them since it was Shabbat and instead of being all by myself, I had to take in consideration with the number of people with me. (I thought it was kind of dumb since it wasn't like we were packing in the car like sardines). I wanted to give my family an overview of Jerusalem, a simple introduction.
The cab driver and I pointed out different sights along the way since he drove past the northern and eastern walls of the Old City including the New Gate, Damascus Gate, parts of East Jerusalem, and obvious buildings on Mount of Olives like the Church of Mary Malagene. We took pictures at a platform. It was very exciting for Dad since he was not allowed to be in this area in 1966, the last time he was in Israel. He really took in the view and used his map of Jerusalem to figure out what he was looking at. We had to drag him back in the cab! Then we went off to the Church of All Nations where the Virgin Mary was supposedly buried. Not surprisely as it was the day before Easter, the place was crowded. Then the driver showed us the Jewish Cemetery, where the Jews await the Messiah in their graves. Mount of Olives is currently believed to be the Messiah's first stop when He comes and these people want to greet him first. Finally, we went around Hebrew University to see the view of the West Bank. I pointed out the security wall- a very effective measure against suicide bombers. The security wall was very controversial at first, built by Ariel Sharon, because it was cutting off the Palestinians from their friends and families in Jerusalem and its surroundings. Nevertheless, since then, no suicide bombings have occurred in Jerusalem.
We arrived a bit early at American Colony so we wandered around near the hotel to visit St. Georges Catherdal. We tried to get in the Tomb of the Kings but the gates were unfortunately locked. The catherdal was beautiful and completely different. I noticed that unlike the ones I saw in Spain and Prague, there was no statue of Jesus at the altar. Mom explained to me that it was Protestant Church. I suddenly noticed the architecture and felt that it was much more simple but still beautiful. The walls were lined with Palestinian mosaic tiles- very well done. The church felt open and airy and definitely English in certain ways. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for its well known Shabbat lunch. The food was alright but the dining atmosphere was wonderful- we sat under an umbrella outside in a beautiful courtyard. We maintained Passover except for the crumbs of the cheesecake. The environment was so peaceful that I thought that if a bomb went off outside in Jerusalem, we wouldn't know about it! It was that tranquil.
East Jerusalem felt okay. I did not feel unsafe as long I was near the American Colony hotel. I think the American Colony area is probably okay to visit again. Maybe not the rest of the area.
After lunch and an unsuccessful bargaining with a cabbie, we went off to the Israel Museum. I took them straight to the model of the Old City during the 2nd Temple period. It was a magnifient project that took 4 years to complete. It was so incredible- I really admired the crafters who put this together. The model gave us an aerial view even if the current layout looked very different from this. After oohing and aahing of the model, I took them down to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. The story behind this was also quite amazing- some random Arab found these random scrolls near the Dead Sea and sold them to an American. Then an American decided to get rid of these and places an ad in Wall Street Journal in 1947ish to sell them. Then an archeaologist took a look at them and realized what they were. He paid probably half a million dollars for these scrolls. They were incredible well perserved because they were stored in clay pots and in the dark for nearly 2,000 years. The signficant of these scrolls was that they provided the earliest evidence of Judaism and the Hebrew language.
After the ancient history stuff, we wandered into the main museum and went through the Judaica art, including interior structure of temples that were once syngagues. I felt that I was back in Prague when I walked in these places!
Very positive first day for everyone.
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