Got up at 7:00 and by 9:00 we were at Eli’s office. I had coffee, called Greece and made arrangements for my ticket to fly back to Greece. I then headed for the bus depot to catch the bus for Jerusalem. It was an easy ride and in about one hour we were at the central bus station of Jerusalem. Kind of disheartening though. What took me the best part of a day, that is ride from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, was done in less than one hour by bus. But such is life. From there I took the urban bus to the old city
I entered the city from Jaffa gate, the closest one to where the city bus left us.
A nice young girl that was riding the bus came up to me and started a conversation by asking me if I were a biker. I told her I was and really perplexed I asked her how on earth she knew. She pointed at my shoes. Really once you spot the shoes I wear, the only pair I had with me in the trip, you can tell. She was from Germany and had been several months in Jerusalem and was about to return home. She was interested in doing something like what I did. Hence her knowledge and interest about bikes. In return I got a lot of info about the city from her. Especially helpful was when she told me that the tourist organization office was next door. After parting with the girl I promptly went there and got info and a couple of very helpful brochures.
My first destination was the Holy Sepulcure in the X-ian quarter. I followed the map and on the way I saw a store with Greek inscriptions.
I thought I would get more accurate info from them and went in. The shopkeeper was indeed Greek. His family had been in Jerusalem since 1922 when they left Asia Minor to save themselves and got permanently settled in Jerusalem. He had studied architecture in Greece and his Greek was very good. To my surprise he spoke Greek, Arabic, and no Hebrew at all. When I asked him how he can live in a Hebrew speaking state without knowing the language, he said that in the Arab quarter where he resides he doesn’t really need Hebrew. He gave me information about Jerusalem and when the time came for me to continue he showed me the way to the Holy Sepulcure, which turned out to be really close.
The interior is imposing.
I followed the crowd which at the time happened to be a group of Russian “pilgrims.”
I stood in line waiting to enter the holy of holies (my religious education is rather poor and my description may be inaccurate)
One Russian man taking me for Russian spoke to me in Russian in a rather irate tone indicating my fliers which, he was right, were not buttoned up, so I buttoned them up. Next that same man reprimanded me for taking photos. When my turn came to enter, I asked the monk that was regulating traffic and could speak Greek whether I could take pictures inside the Sepulcure. He told me that I may, if I am quick. In turn, the monk asked me why I was with the Russian group, if I were Greek. I told him that I was freelancing rather than traveling with a group and I just mingle with crowds. Next I entered the Sepulcure with that man and his family and I did take pictures.
After that I wandered around in the church and took some other pictures of objects that the crowd was treating as holy which myself did not know what they were or what they symbolized.
Next I followed the Via Dolorosa
Which led to Lion’s gate:
I exited from Lion’s Gate and proceeded towards the Mount of Olives.
I went back into the city form the same gate and walked by the Greek Patriarchate
The next stop was the Wailing or Western Wall
Women’s section
Waling Wall with view of the Dome of the Rock
I then walked to the nearby Dome of the Rock. Unfortunately the mosque was closed to the public to reopen tomorrow. Nonetheless, the guards allowed me to approach the gate and take a couple of photos.
It was time to return. So I reversed morning’s trajectory back to the central bus station. I took the bus to Tel Aviv and was there in about one hour. I was so tired that I slept during the entire ride. I went to Eli’s office and from there we drove to his palace in Herzaliyya. The rest of the evening was uneventful.
I entered the city from Jaffa gate, the closest one to where the city bus left us.
A nice young girl that was riding the bus came up to me and started a conversation by asking me if I were a biker. I told her I was and really perplexed I asked her how on earth she knew. She pointed at my shoes. Really once you spot the shoes I wear, the only pair I had with me in the trip, you can tell. She was from Germany and had been several months in Jerusalem and was about to return home. She was interested in doing something like what I did. Hence her knowledge and interest about bikes. In return I got a lot of info about the city from her. Especially helpful was when she told me that the tourist organization office was next door. After parting with the girl I promptly went there and got info and a couple of very helpful brochures.
My first destination was the Holy Sepulcure in the X-ian quarter. I followed the map and on the way I saw a store with Greek inscriptions.
I thought I would get more accurate info from them and went in. The shopkeeper was indeed Greek. His family had been in Jerusalem since 1922 when they left Asia Minor to save themselves and got permanently settled in Jerusalem. He had studied architecture in Greece and his Greek was very good. To my surprise he spoke Greek, Arabic, and no Hebrew at all. When I asked him how he can live in a Hebrew speaking state without knowing the language, he said that in the Arab quarter where he resides he doesn’t really need Hebrew. He gave me information about Jerusalem and when the time came for me to continue he showed me the way to the Holy Sepulcure, which turned out to be really close.The interior is imposing.
I followed the crowd which at the time happened to be a group of Russian “pilgrims.”
I stood in line waiting to enter the holy of holies (my religious education is rather poor and my description may be inaccurate)
One Russian man taking me for Russian spoke to me in Russian in a rather irate tone indicating my fliers which, he was right, were not buttoned up, so I buttoned them up. Next that same man reprimanded me for taking photos. When my turn came to enter, I asked the monk that was regulating traffic and could speak Greek whether I could take pictures inside the Sepulcure. He told me that I may, if I am quick. In turn, the monk asked me why I was with the Russian group, if I were Greek. I told him that I was freelancing rather than traveling with a group and I just mingle with crowds. Next I entered the Sepulcure with that man and his family and I did take pictures.
After that I wandered around in the church and took some other pictures of objects that the crowd was treating as holy which myself did not know what they were or what they symbolized.
Next I followed the Via Dolorosa
Which led to Lion’s gate:
I exited from Lion’s Gate and proceeded towards the Mount of Olives.
I went back into the city form the same gate and walked by the Greek Patriarchate The next stop was the Wailing or Western Wall
Women’s section
Waling Wall with view of the Dome of the Rock
I then walked to the nearby Dome of the Rock. Unfortunately the mosque was closed to the public to reopen tomorrow. Nonetheless, the guards allowed me to approach the gate and take a couple of photos.
It was time to return. So I reversed morning’s trajectory back to the central bus station. I took the bus to Tel Aviv and was there in about one hour. I was so tired that I slept during the entire ride. I went to Eli’s office and from there we drove to his palace in Herzaliyya. The rest of the evening was uneventful.
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