Holiest City in the World

It was questionable whether or not we would actually make it to Jerusalem after our first full week of working on the site. Originally out plans to visit the city were called off because we traveled through the Galilee on the previous weekend when we were supposed to work. The new plan was to work at the site on Saturday since we had only excavated for four days. Luckily, Byron put his foot down and recognized his own and our need for some R and R away from the Kibbutz. Plus, working over the weekend would complicate and possibly compromise some of our travel plans. Friday afternoon, after a morning of working at the site, we headed down the Jordan River Valley for Jerusalem. We watched the scenery out the van window change from somewhat fertile land to complete desert. We came close enough to the Dead Sea to view it from a distance from about three hundred meters below sea level, and then climbed up to the city on the hill, five hundred meters above sea level.
The Israelis have set up checkpoints throughout the country to control traffic during high risk times. The situation is highly complicate, but in trying to prevent terrorism, the Israelis have also made everyday life a struggle for many. Our driver, Jimmy, the same one who greeted us at the airport, has been barred from a specific region of the country because he is Arab. As a result, he hasn’t seen his parents in over five years. Through the few checkpoints that we have passed with Jimmy, I have noticed it in his face; he truly hates the soldiers at the road blocks for the trouble in his life.
Anyway, we almost finished out climb up to Jerusalem when the van overheated and stalled while in line for one of the checkpoints. We then proceeded to carry our bags to the checkpoint where we were greeted by a few suspicious Israeli soldiers. The Israeli government has not had the best history with strange people with bags, so understandably, we were questioned and asked to present our passports. After waiting for five Israeli minutes (ten or fifteen minutes real time), a new van drove us into the city and then to the Seven Arches Hotel. The Seven Arches sits on top of the Mount of Olives, and has an amazing view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the eastern side.
Almost every city in Israel is split into two sections, an Arab side and an Israeli side. Out hotel sat on the Arab side of town. When we started hearing loud bangs around the city, our American, media-driven minds first thought “violence.” It turns out that fireworks are very common within the city, and shooting a gun into the air is a completely acceptable gesture of celebration in Middle Eastern culture. Crime rates are actually much lower here than they are in the States. I even often jokingly yet truthfully point out that I am more concerned about spiders, scorpions, yellow jackets, and snakes at Khirbet Qana than I am about terrorists in Jerusalem. As you can imagine, the Israeli side of Jerusalem is more Western or European while the Arab side is Middle Eastern. The Arab side of town’s economy struggles, and the Israelis have almost completed one of many barriers in Jerusalem that cuts off the two sides of town. The only thing is, this wall was placed several kilometers into the Arab side instead of at the actual border. But you don’t need a wall to tell you what side of town that you are in; you can tell the difference by just looking at your surroundings. Sorry for the long explanation, but I’ve already learned so much more about the political and cultural conflict that is destroying this country. Expect more later, but back to my experiences…
After resting a little at the hotel, we were off in a taxi to an Arab restaurant. Most Arabs are extremely hospitable, and the food and service were the best since the Lufthansa business class. The food that we have at all the Arab restaurants is generally the same, but it never gets old, and it certainly provided us with enough energy for the next day. In the morning, we wasted no time getting started after breakfast. We walked down the very steep Mount of Olives, stopping at a Church which displayed an Early Roman tomb complete with authentic ossuaries. We also noticed the many many many graves surrounding the Temple Mount of the Old City. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beliefs, the entryway to heaven will be at the temple mount. These graves are just the first row seats to the Resurrection or end of days. We also stopped at the Church of All Nations which was just as beautiful as the previous and the next Churches; it even boasts that it contains the garden in which Jesus prayed and was arrested.
We proceeded to walk up to the Old City and entered Saint Anne’s, a French Church that sits next to Roman ruins, supposedly where the healing water basin mentioned in the New Testament was located. As we made the trek through the city to find a good place for lunch, we were hit with the various shops and souvenir stands that are slammed side by side up and down the many narrow streets. After getting our fill of shawarma and falafel we headed up to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This Church is shared by six denominations. It is very dimly lit inside yet extremely beautiful. There are many things within the Church that are believed to have a connection with Jesus, like his burial chamber and the stone slab on which his body was laid after being removed from the cross. It was especially interesting seeing people praying over the slab with pictures, crosses, and letters. Of course I don’t believe that the Church actually possesses these things because I have to be very critical while studying archaeology, but it was still amazing just being at an international center for Christians. Plus, the artwork and architecture can leave one speechless, like mosaics, paintings, and the huge dome.
Our original plan included seeing the Western (or Wailing) Wall of Herod’s original Temple Mount, but since it was Saturday, we would be unable to take pictures. Instead, we decided to cut our day in the Old City short and relax at a café just a short walk away. We were able to kick back and rest with a nice cup of Turkish coffee after a long day of walking. We then proceeded to walk back to our hotel after a long talk about the explosive, complicated situation occurring in this part of the world. Hiking up the Mount of Olives is a lot harder than walking down. I believe that our time was about nine and a half minutes, which is a time that we continually improved upon.
After a couple hours’ rest, it was time for dinner on the west (Israeli) side of the city. The Arab and Israeli sides of town are worlds apart that happen to be right next to each other. There is so much space and the buildings are more modern looking on the Israeli side. We arrived at Zion Square just after sunset, and the streets were completely empty. But we knew that the city would soon come alive as the Sabbath was just ending. We went into a restaurant for some pre-dinner drinks and came out to see the streets packed with people, all between the ages of about eighteen to twenty-five. This just might be my kind of town. It felt so weird to eat western food for the first time in about two weeks, but I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying my pizza at Gent’s Bistro and Bar. We had a little trouble hailing a taxi to return to our hotel for the night because we needed to go to the Arab side of town. The first two drivers obviously saw it as the bad side of town as they refused to take us. We finally had luck with the third and were able to turn in for the evening.
Early the next morning we taxied and raced our way over to and through the Old City to attend Sunday service at the Church of the Redeemer. The Lutheran Church was very welcoming, and we were even able to introduce ourselves during the service. There were even some other visitors who were excavating at the Roman city of Hippos. I became envious of them; however, I was immediately forgiven because I was in a Church. For the rest of the day we were able to shop around and bargain our way into getting souvenirs while Byron filmed more of the documentary at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Later in the afternoon, we dropped by to watch some of the behind the scenes filming. We all had a great laugh when we were informed that someone mistook Byron for Mel Gibson earlier in the day. The Discovery Channel crew even joined us one day at our dig site earlier the previous week. I don’t think that I was filmed, but I may have slipped into a shot while hauling dirt. We became tired again during the day and returned to the same café that we visited the day before to enjoy a Taybeh, a very good Middle Eastern beer. Before we knew it, it was time to drive back to our Kibbutz in Galilee. It wasn’t hard leaving the city as we knew that we would return the next weekend.