The McCooey's of London: Jerusalem

Jerusalem is so different than Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is very beachy and Jerusalem is more city. It's a really pretty city and from what I saw very clean and well landscaped. The wall that they are building around the Palestinian/Jerusalem border isn't so pretty, but if it will help the suicide bombers stay out I guess a city has to do what a city has to do.

There is so much history and so much to see there.

We stayed at the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel, Room 804, it was nice, I'd stay there again... Centrally located and very pretty and clean.

Inbal ~ Room 804

While we were there we took a 3 Hour tip based tour of the city through Sandeman's. Our tour guy, Ayal, was 26 and born in Jerusalem, but his parents are from New York. He had a thick New York accent which I got a kick out of. Everyone can speak English there which was terrific for us. We saw a lot of cool stuff on our walking tour such as:

Station No.9

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by nine Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The route is a place of Christian pilgrimage.

Me and the Western Wall

The Western Wall is the holiest of Jewish sites, sacred because it is a remnant of the Herodian retaining wall that once enclosed and supported the Second Temple. It has also been called the "Wailing Wall" by European observers because for centuries Jews have gathered here to lament the loss of their temple.

Built by King Herod in 20 BC during his expansion of the Temple enclosure, and is part of a retaining wall that enclosed the western part of Temple Mount. According to the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, construction of the walls took 11 years, during which time it rained in Jerusalem only at night so as not to interfere with the workers' progress.
In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple. During the Ottoman Period (beginning in the 16th century), the wall became the Jews' chief place of pilgrimage, where they came to lament the destruction of the Temple.

For centuries, the Western Wall was located in a narrow alley just 12 feet wide that could accommodate only a few hundred densely packed worshipers. But in 1967, immediately after the Six Day War, Israelis leveled the neighboring Arab district to create the Western Wall Plaza, which can accommodate tens of thousands of pilgrims.
At the same time, the Israelis made the wall about 6 1/2 feet higher by digging down and exposing two more tiers of ashlars (squared stones) from the Temple Plaza's retaining wall that had been buried by accumulated debris for centuries.

Dome of the Rock behind us (gold dome)

Dome of the Rock which is an Islamic shrine and major landmark located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The site's significance stems from the religious beliefs regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre that holds the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (The Tomb of Christ) with the dome of the rotunda visible above, the Stone of the Anointing, the place where it is believed Jesus died, now under the Eastern Orthodox altar on Calvary, the Altar of the Crucifixion. There, according to the tradition, Jesus was crucified, the immovable ladder outside and much more is inside this church.

Jaffa Gate the main entrance to the Old City is the Jaffa Gate, which was built by Suleiman in 1538.

Jaffa Gate

We also checked out the four Old City quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian. The Armenians grow up learning 4 languages: English, Armenian, Hebrew and Arabic.

We saw the Roman Cardo Maximus think "Main Street" like the first one... We saw David's Citadel.... Hurva the Ruined synagogue.... and much much more...