I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Jerusalem while I was over in Israel. (Yes, that's where the misappropriated and somewhat mangled Handel lyrics of the post title were leading!) What an astonishing city, with an even more astonishing history, one that I started reading about properly a year or so ago when I bought a ‘biography' of the city by Simon Sebag Montefiore (long before any thoughts of visiting) and I believe I got to around the mid-18th century, bang-slap in the middle of a few hundred years of (surprisingly peaceful, all things considered) Ottoman control, and then I mislaid the book. It's here somewhere. I just can't find it at the moment to verify the place I left off...
But I digress. (In the first paragraph. I can't decide if this bodes well or not...)
We started what was to be an incredible walk around the Holy City on the balcony of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in north-west Jerusalem, where an unprecedented view of the old city met my gaze. I have to admit to being rather awestruck by the sight, and even more so when important landmarks were pointed out to me, and as much as I'm not a person of religion, the power of the stories, the power of history, was overwhelming! Here was the golden Dome of The Rock; over there was the tall Tower of David; the part of what was left of the ancient second century city wall swept itself in front of a swathe of dark green trees just under Temple Mount; and over there the twin grey domes in a direct line behind the huge light cream Rockefeller Museum were of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; and slightly to the left was the tall bell tower of the Church of the Redeemer; further left was the white dome of the Hurva Synagogue; and Dormition Abbey with it's impressive bell tower, sitting behind it, just beyond the city walls.
There are certainly less auspicious ways to be introduced to a new city!
Afterwards we made our way down to park the car at the other side of the old city, near Montefiore's Windmill in the very nicely renovated (read: expensive) Yemin Moshe area where there were gorgeous old houses that had been rescued from hovels and turned into dwellings worth a small fortune dotting the not-too-steep hillside.
We then walked up to the Jaffa Gate, past the Tower of David and entered the Old City for real.
What an incredible maze of ancient alleys, lanes, and tunnels! Thankfully everything was very well signposted, but it was fascinating to walk round the miles of market stalls that lined the walkways, then stumble upon, I don't know, the alleged final earthly resting place of Jesus Christ, for example.
Indeed.
We wandered over the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters, and there was something astounding, juxtaposed with something banal and touristic, around every corner.
We tried to get near the Western (Wailing) Wall, but as it was approaching dusk, and we would have to separate to get there (men and women weren't allowed to approach the holy site together) which would end up being rather time-consuming, one of my friends suggested we visit an amazing look-out point instead. And amazing it was. The Mount of Olives in the background with the Jewish Cemetery; the dome and tower of the Al-Aqsa Mosque right in front of us; the Western Wall reaching out to the left; and Temple Mount just behind it.
We then re-entered the Jewish Quarter and passed the Hurva Synagogue just as the sun went down, on our way out of the Old City through the Jaffa Port again.
A quick visit to the YMCA to experience the opulence of the entrance hallway was to be our final tourist stop, and after a day of amazing sights and experiences (and an excellently long walk), the mix of old and new rounded it all off very well!
What an epic journey! A small (somewhat pedantic) part of me rather wishes I had worn my pedometer, because we covered a lot of ground that afternoon, but in any case, I've been introduced to so many places I would love to get to know better in Jerusalem, that I will just have to come back, with or without a step counter!
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