The Temple Mount

Jerusalem is a beautiful place, especially inside the city. The buildings are rectangular with minarets popping up now and then, domes are either brown in color or covered with gold. Many levels of hills and mountains undulate across the landscape in the distance, dotted with tall, spindly evergreens and gnarled olive trees. Stones and boulders pop out of the ground and remind one of new-born lambs trying to get up and walk. I fell in love with Jerusalem and the surrounding areas!

We entered the Old City by the Dung Gate (guess you can imagine why it was called that!) The Old City walls were built by the Turkish sultan Suleiman in 1542. The Crusaders had rebuilt some of the city on the old Roman foundations. Numerous excavations have discovered constructions dating all the way back to the time of Solomon. There are seven gates in the wall: Jaffa Gate, Zion Gate, Damascus Gate, St. Stephen's gate, the Dung Gate, the New Gate, and the Golden Gate (it's not really gold -- it was a mistranslation!) The Golden Gate is closed; it's the gate through which the Messiah is supposed to come according to Jewish belief.

We went first to the Church of St. Anne to visit the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Mary, full of grace, was sinless because of her Immaculate Conception. The acoustics are great here! Then we walked up to the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Mount and the Al Aqsa Mosque, sacred to the Muslims. This is their third most holy site. The King of Saudi Arabia (now dead) paid for the gold to be inlaid on the dome. The temple is completely covered with gorgeous mosaics and inscriptions. We were not allowed to enter.

We passed the Western Wall, where devout pilgrims place their prayers in the cracks. The Western Wall was built by Herod in 20 BC, and is a retaining wall of the Old Temple. Later on, our pilgrims were able to pray at this "Wailing Wall."