Excavations: First Day in Jerusalem: Exploring

June 14, 2012 Friday

We're in Jerusalem to participate (i.e. slave labor) in the newly reopened Mount Zion Dig. We, like most of the dig participants, are staying in the Ritz Hotel. The hotel is located in a Moslem neighborhood, just north of the Old City and the Moslem Quarter. The hotel staff is gracious and helpful and we are comfortable.

A generous breakfast buffet is included in our price, and I'll try to add a photo of it later. On our first morning, we met John, another dig participant. He immediately noticed my limp and offered to lend me his adjustable cane. John has had knee problems in the past and brought it along just in case. I've never used a cane before, but was grateful for the offer. We're looking for one to buy so that I have my very own cane. That does make me feel a little old!

After breakfast and equipped with the cane, we set out to explore the Old City. We were less than a block from the hotel when we heard an Arab (Palestinian?) man call out "Mormon!" as we passed him on the sidewalk. What?! We stopped to talk to him. "You are Mormon? I love Mormons!" (Actually he was pronouncing it "Mormone", with a long o on the second syllable.) We said yes, we are, and he showed us a letter that someone had written to him. The man's name was Issa. He recommended a shop run by his brother "Jimmy" that was special for Mormons, just down the street. When we asked Issa how he had identified us as Mormons, he indicated in his broken English that it was our faces that told him. So we let him talk us into buying a "widow's mite" for a few shekels. It may be an authentic coin, or it may be a fake. But it was a fun experience anyway.

Issa had tried to direct us to the nearby Garden Tomb, saying "Garden Tomb for Mormons!" We didn't find it immediately, so proceeded to the Old City. (I don't think there are ANY right-angle intersections in Jerusalem, which makes it easy to get disoriented and difficult to find places.)

We walked along the northern wall of the Old City. The Damascus Gate, located roughly in the middle of the north side of the Old City, was clogged with buses full of Moslems who were going to Friday prayers. So we continued west to the New Gate and entered the Christian Quarter. We stopped in front of the Museum of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.

Woman with cane:

Mounties:

Studying a map:

Looking south. Jaffa Gate in the background on the right, Citadel on the left.

Walking down one of the innumerable market streets:

We are constantly accosted by venders who want us to buy their wares and would-be tour guides who want to show us the sights. We're learning to politely and firmly say "no thank you."

The Christian Quarter is full of convents, youth hostels, hospices, and churches. There are traditional sites for Biblical events, often multiple sites for the same event.

Lutheran Hospice

Soon we were in the Armenian Quarter, located in the southwest quadrant of the Old City.

Convent with attached church:

This church is built on one of several traditional locations of the Upper Room, where Jesus and the apostles held the Last Supper. We were invited inside by Justina ("Yoo-stina"), one of the nuns.

Justina told us about the history of the Syrian Christians in Jerusalem, stating that they were the earliest converts who were not Jews. She explained some of their theology including their view of Jesus as both man and God. She also described recent visions and appearances believed to have occurred here.

Suryoye (singular Suryoyo) is the name in the Syriac (Aramaic) language for members of the Syriac Orthodox Church. They are not to be confused with the current residents of the country of Syria, although there are Suryoye in Syria. Sometimes the Syriac Orthodox Church is called the Assyrian Church.

We were taken downstairs to the area traditionally believed by the Suryoye to have been the Upper Room. The current street level is well above the street level of 30 A.D. The little girls who were there with Justina seemed disturbed that we did not cross ourselves and kneel.

This is very different from another Upper Room location we visited in Jerusalem 10 years ago. But there is room for the U-shaped Triclinium that most likely furnished the Upper Room.

The Suryoye believe that this painting of Mother and Child was painted by the Gospel writer St. Luke.

Near the street level entrance was this inscription ....

... and its translation.

Justina opened the curtain and proudly revealed the ornate area behind it.

At the back of this chapel was this painting. We placed a donation in the nearby box.

After we left Justina and the Syriac Orthodox Church, we continued to wander and take photos of things we might like to follow up on later. This is an interesting memorial, though it describes events in an era that is later than what we are really interested in.

The Byzantine Cardo forms part of the western boundary of the Jewish quarter. It was Main Street in Byzantine times. Today, part of it has been turned into an upscale shopping area.

This mural shows what the Cardo may have looked like.

Looking south down the Cardo. The mural and shopping area are behind us, and other buildings have been constructed above.

More of the Cardo. These are tiny stones compared to what can be seen in other areas of the Old City.

One of the recesses houses a photographic exhibit commemorating the 1948 fall of the Jewish Quarter. The exhibit was closed, likely because it was Friday afternoon and Sabbath would start in a few hours.

This last look at the Cardo illustrates how the city was built in layers, one era on top of another.

We continued to wander through the Jewish Quarter, hurrying a little because Sabbath starts at sundown and shops were starting to close. We were accosted by an aggressive guy who wanted to take us into a special synagogue and to the Western Wall (of the temple mount). We politely told him it was our first day and we wanted to explore for ourselves. He called us "Garbage tourists!!" and stalked off. We think this is the synagogue he wanted to show us, for a price of course:

We stopped for lemonade, but were overcharged (we think) because we did not consent to buy an entire meal. We'll know to ask the price before placing an order next time. We also stopped at this bakery and bought some delicious bread. They were very kind to wait on us even though it was clear that they were cleaning up and preparing to close for the week.

We exited at Zion Gate (SW corner of Old City) and walked north outside the wall. The walls around this part of the city date to the Islamic era (1200s) and are actually a contraction of the city as it existed at the time of Jesus.