From Amman to Israel.... An ABSOLUTELY incredible epic tale.

From Amman it was across the border into Israel. Was a bit of a tough decision to come here or not, not because of the safety stuff but for political/ethical reasons I thought I shouldn't come and contribute to the economy. But, I decided to come after all and I am really really glad I did after spending some time in the West Bank in Palestinian areas behind the outrageously illegal and inhumane 'security wall' (I'll elaborate later!). There were MANY security and military checkpoints along the roads between Amman and Jordan and a fairly long wait on the Jordan side for a bus that had security clearance to do the distance between the two borders. All up it took about 4 hours to cross, which wasn't as bad as expected given the recent flotilla issues in Israel (they have closed all flights in and out of Turkey for example!). So got in a shared taxi mini-van thing once through the Israeli immigration and headed for Jeruselem. Arrived in Jeruselem and on first appearances it looked like most middle-sized middle eastern cities - dry, dusty, rustic, old .. very very old. The cool thing about Jeruselem is that the entire old city which is pretty much were all the 'sights' are (the new city is mostly just business type district), is all within the confines of huge old fort walls (built in 1520) which are entered and exited to and from by these massive gates - the Zion gate which leads out to Mount Zion where Jesus had the Last Supper, Lion Gate, Damascus Gate, Jaffa Gate which faces Mount of Olives, Dung Gate and Herod's Gate. The gates themselves are a spectacle, huuuuge iron and wooden gates which protect the MASSIVE insides of the entire old city, which is like 220 hectares in size. The old city is sectioned (not by walls or anything) into 4 sections - The Jewish quater, the Muslim Quater, the Armenian and the Christian Quaters. You instantly get the feeling that not only are you walking through a place where 3 of the worlds main religions (Island, Judaism and Christianity) intermingle, collide, crash and intergrate, but theres a feeling of simply ..... walking through history. The cobbled stoned walk ways and alleys which make up the streets inside the walls (no cars can come in, the pathways are too narrow) are so worn with peoples feet that they are smooth, slippery and look kind of wet in the sunlight - some of these pathways have been around since Jesus was here. The hotel I am staying in as ONE THOUSAND years old ... can you imagine?! I cant. The streets a few alleys down from here is the Via Delarosa, the street where Jesus had to carry his cross to his death. Walking the 20 minute stretch of the Via Delorosa was truly amazing. People walk the stretch crying, singing praises, and some even carry a huuuuge wooden cross like Jesus did. Even me, someone with no specific faith, cant help but feel inspired, maybe a little envious too.. but mostly just really challenged by it all in the greater context of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, of the Muslims, of the Arabs. I spent a few days sight-seeing. Went to Mt Zion which houses the traditional sight of King David's Tomb and the Coenaculum, where Jesus had The Last Supper, which was really cool both in temperatue in the location! The stones of the dining room are worn so smooth now that they are shiney and slippery, I LOVE how rocks to that after millions and millions of feet have walked them. Also here is a holocaust museum .. which was as you'd imagine - moving, sad, unthinkable.. but also gave me a lot of food for thought because I predict that possibly in the next 50 or so years that the Palestinians may feel about the Jews as the Jews do about the Germans ... words like 'apartheid' and 'ethnic cleansing' have been thrown around in relation to both the Holocaust AND whats happening in Israel with the Palestinians. Interesting huh.

Also went to the Mount of Olives where christians beleive that Jesus ascended to heaven and where he spent lots of time thinking, in the bible it says he sat here to cry over the city Jeruselem, it is also the place now where over 150,000 Jewish people are buried. Also on the Mouth of Olives is the Tomb of Zachariah, Mary's Tomb (which was unfortunately closed the day I went so could only see it from the outside), The Church of Mary Magdalene (which is the one with the gold roof) and also The Church of All Nations - also called the Church or Basilica of Agony, its a Roman Catholic dig and is said to be the place where Jesus came to pray before his arrest. The church itself is really really beautiful but the most impressive part is the Olive Trees outside and around the church, which are as old as Jesus. SO COOL! Olives trees as old as Jesus. I love it. From inside the walls of the old city - went to Temple Mount - a place which is important to both Jews, Christians and Muslims and a very contentious place as a result.. Temple Mount is beleived by all 3 religions to be where the first building block of the world started - this is possibly the CENTRE OF THE WORLD! Soooo AMAZING. Within this area, there is the Wailing Wall which is a 20 metre high wall which is the only remnant of the 2nd Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E - it is now the most holy place in the world for Jewish people. The wall, which was re-named the wailing wall by non-jews due to the amount of crying and sincerity of prayer, has thousands of little bits of paper stuffed into all of the little cracks and crevices - prayers and wishes to God. Watching people pray here is a pretty full on experience, people are crying and wailing and rocking as they recite the Torah... its kind of spooky to watch. Right behind the Wailing Wall is the Shrine called the Dome of the Rock (which Ive got photos of on here) and the al-Aksa Mosque - both built in 7th century. The Dome of the Rock is built on the rock that Abraham began to sacrifise his oldest son Isaac in the ultimate test of faith (God intervened luckily), it is a very sacred place for Muslims... and a really beautiful building. This is also the place where Mohammed ascended to Heaven, making this place the 2nd most holy to Muslims after Mecca. Around the rock is called the Well of Souls, where all souls are beleived to congragate after death. I couldnt go inside the Dome of the Rock because it is only open to Muslims, I beleive this rule was imposed after a psychotic orthodox Jewish man opened fire in the grounds in opposition to any Muslim ownership over .. well anything really it seems. The orthodox Jews want to rebuild a temple off the Western (Wailing) Wall and hence dont want the Muslims to have jack shit of this very mutli-denominational spiritual land. Went also to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is revered by Christians as the site of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In the 4th century, Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine and a convert to Christianity, traveled to Palestine and identified the location of the crucifixion; her son then built a magnificent church. The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The building standing today dates from the 12th century. It was a very VERY lavish church, lots of gold and silver, was all very grand.. ofcourse. I think Jesus must have left a large sum of money in his will for someone to use gold and silver for all his buildings! So, after spending a few days in Jeruselem, I decided to head into the West Bank to Bethlehem. Which will be my next blog!

So pics ... from the top - the first one is the courtyard where Jesus was actually nailed to the cross, and the next 3 after it are from the inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was impailed and also houses the tomb where his body was kept ... many religious groups beleive that this is also where Jesus rose from the dead (not on the Mount of Olives where most Christian groups believe it happened).

The next shot is of the Church of All Nations, the 2 after that are of the view over Jeruselum (including the huge amount of Jewish graves) from the top of the Mount of Olives. The next two of the golden domes is looking over the top of the Church of Mary Magdelene. Next shot is of the inside of the Holocaust Museum, some of the memorial plaques for the 6 million Jews killed aroud 1934. The next shot is of King David's tomb (who is actually inside it). Next one (12th down) is of the place where the Last Supper took place. Next three are of the Dome of the Rock, one of them is a little boy washing in the huge communal wash area for Muslims to use before they pray. Next 3 are of the Wailing Wall - note the little notes (prayers) stuffed into the cracks and the Jewish woman crying and literally wailing her prayers ... The last 3 are of the Via Delarosa, the path that Jesus walked carrying the cross that he was to be nailed to.