Jerusalem - Beyond the Old City 2011

Outside the Old City Walls – a visit to Jerusalem is more than just seeing the sites in the Old City. We had time to wander through neighborhoods and visit a few other places of interest as listed below.

Mount of Olives – this hillside, now devoid of any evidence of olive trees, is the world’s oldest continually used cemetery. It is where the Jews have preferred to be buried and offers great views of the city. There is the Old City in its entirety, Muslim and Christian cemeteries on adjacent hills and other parts of Jerusalem spread out on hillsides. We walked the steep street to the top of the Mount of Olives with Michael, a German we had met where we stayed in Jerusalem. It was like having our own mini encyclopedia along as he is working on his PHD in Medieval Jewish history. He was able to answer many questions for us and give us a brief synopsis of the history of the area, complicated as it is.

For actual olive trees, there is the Garden of Gethsemane, located near the bottom of the hill of the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus is believed to have been arrested but also has the oldest olive trees in the world. They have been scientifically proven to be over 2000 years old.

The Tomb of the Virgin Mary is also nearby. We descended down stairs to an underground area that is hung with a hundred or so lamps; but still the place is quite dark and dingy. There inside a small enclosure we had a glimpse of the tomb.

Yad Vashem – this is a complex spread over 45 acres and was built to memorialize the 6 million Jews who died in the holocaust and honour the individuals who tried to save them. The main building is the history museum. We had no real idea as to what we might be seeing before we entered the museum, only a general perception. It is not possible to describe in words exactly what we saw except to say the museum is extremely well done and a must to see when visiting Jerusalem. We lost all concept of time, maybe spending 4 plus hours inside, reading and listening to the history of events, watching videos of film footage and eye witness stories and pouring over actual items retrieved or saved from that period in history. We left the museum in a reflective mood and also felt drained and saddened because of the heartbreaking history of the Jews in Europe.

It was a wise choice for us to then walk to the nearby town of Ein Kerem after the museum. It is a pleasant walk, completely downhill, and left us with time to discuss what we had just seen and recover our spirits. The town is extremely small but we found a lovely restaurant to sit outdoors and enjoy a late afternoon lunch. There are a couple churches in town, most notably, the Church of St. John. It is believed that John the Baptist was born here and a small marble circle under the altar makes the spot.

Knesset – In Hebrew, part of the derivation of this word means gathering or assembly. This is the Legislative Branch in Israel (akin to the Parliament in Canada) where 120 elected members convene and govern. We took an English tour of the building with the guide explaining how officials are elected and the government works. We found it very interesting. An aside – our friend Asaph’s Uncle Bloom is an artist and one of his paintings is hanging in the Knesset. Gilbert asked our guide about it but alas she was unable to tell us where to find it. Given that we were in a very important government building, we were unable to search for it on our own.

Mahane Yehuda Market – this local market was nearby and we bought vegetables, olives, fresh bread, and dips for our lunch. We’ve seen many markets in our travels so not too much in particular stood out for us. Unless you consider the 2 guys that went by us pushing a grocery cart filled to the top with chickens for sale, with legs and claws hanging out between the wiring. Unfortunately they went by so fast we didn’t have time for a picture. It would have been a classic.

Yemin Moshe – this small area is the first Jewish neighborhood developed outside of the Old City. It began as 24 apartments in the mid 19th century with a windmill later added in 1857 in the hopes of beginning a flour industry. That project failed but the windmill remains today. We visited the neighborhood with our friends from Tel Aviv. It is built on the side of hill and, as our starting point was at the bottom, it meant climbing to the top. With 2 small children and 2 strollers, it was slow going but the flowers and views along the way, combined with our excellent company, were worth it.

After a brief stop at the top we walked over to the YMCA, one of the few places open outside of the Old City for lunch since it was Shabbat. This was like no YM we have seen before. The accommodations are listed as top end in our guide book and are quite pricey. The building opened in 1933 and is still resplendent with its arches domes and towers. I found out it was designed by the same person who designed the Empire State Building in New York – how’s that for a bit of history. The food from the restaurant was delicious and reasonable. Our timing for lunch was perfect as shortly after sitting down, there was a brief rain shower (the only time it rained). Another plus, there was a playground in front for Rona (3 years old) to play.We lingered for quite a while enjoying our cappuccinos, even ordering a 2nd one each. You know they must have been good has Asaph is a real coffee aficionado.

Eventually we walked across the street to the King David Hotel. The décor is all extravagant 1930’s, a landmark Hotel that boasts World Leaders and famous personalities on their guest list. I particularly enjoyed the reading room with photographs from Israel’s past although the swimming pool and gardens were equal to behold.

It was time to then say goodbye to our friends, with promises to meet again, probably in North America since they both have family there. For Gilbert and I, our Jerusalem neighborhood jaunt was not quite finished. We sauntered over to the neighborhood called Nahla’ot looking for HaGilboa street. This particular street has a number of small historic homes and outside some of them are plaques and pictures describing the family that built the home. An interesting read about the immigrants to this country and how they built their community.

Masada – a historic site that is another one of those ‘must sees’ for anyone visiting Israel. It is a desert mesa rising 400 meters above sea level. Although its history as a fortress dates back to 103-76 BC, the name Masada is synonymous with the saying ‘they’ll never take us alive’ from a time when the Romans tried to conquer the Jews who were living there in 66 AD. Instead of being taken prisoners, the Jews killed themselves. To reach the top there is a quick cable car or the trek up the Snake Path, walking in the actual footsteps of the ancient Romans. We chose the latter and made it to the top in 50 minutes, a feat in itself given the desert sun and heat (I’m guessing 35 C plus). The ruins up top are quite impressive and much of what remains are the luxurious palaces from King Herod’s reign, circa 43 BC. There were Roman Baths, an extensive storage area for goods and cisterns for holding water. On the back side is still the remains of the ramp that the Romans built to enter the fortress. And still intact below are the stone markings of where the Romans camped while planning their final assault on the fortress. As you can imagine, the views to the Dead Sea and surrounding mountains were also spectacular. Eventually we opted for a quick downhill climb so as not to miss the bus back to Jerusalem. Then it was a much needed shower to rid ourselves of the desert sands that covered us from top to bottom.

That was the extent of our sightseeing in Jerusalem but there was so much more we could have seen if given the time. Most of the city we covered on foot, which translates into walking up and down hills. But at the end of the day we could rest our weary feet and chat away with others we had met. I have mentioned Michael who helped us with our ‘history lesson’. As well, he was the 2nd person we have met who grew up under communism until about the age of 10, this time in East Germany. His stories were so interesting. And there was Peter, the Dutchman, with his mom. Peter’s occupation was a new one for us as he is a mechanic/engineer of automated cow milking machines. Oh the fun we had with that one. Another girl was from Portland, Oregon, a city that keeps cropping up these days for me. Finally, we continued to be blessed with ideal travel weather. From here we made a last minute decision to venture into Jordan – so see you there.