It's Another Busy Day

We had another full schedule today. After having breakfast at PBI, we left for the Garden Tomb, which is located outside the Damascus Gate, around 9am. This is believed to be the garden and tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea; hence it may be the spot where Jesus resurrected into Heaven. People believe that this is the actual place because on the side of the hill, the caves form what looks like a skull and an actual tomb can be found on the premises.

Although, it seems credible, I don't believe to be the place but it was interesting to hear other people's beliefs. After walking through the garden, we headed back to the Damascus Gate where we toured an Roman plaza and went underground in King Solomon's Quarries (Zedekiah's Grotto). According to ancient tradition, this was the place where King Solomon quarried the stone needed to construct his buildings. To the Jews this was the place where King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, hid from Babylonian forces in 587 B.C. before being captured and taken away with the rest of his people. The coolest thing about this quarry is the fact that it extends below the entire city of Old Jerusalem and is about 18 stories below ground level.

After that, Patrick, Julie, Davidal and I went to the Ramparts Walk. It offers a different vantage point of the Old City as it offers views above the city. The pathway that is built on top of the city's walls can be accessed at Damascus, Jaffa, Zion, and Lion Gates. The walls are approximately two-and-a-half miles long. It is not possible to circumnavigate the city atop the walls. The street separates the Citadel and Jaffa Gate at one end of the city. At the opposite end, the wall walk ends at St. Stephen's (Lion's Gate), because you cannot walk along the wall surrounding the Temple Mount. This is where the walk beginning at the Jaffa Gate ends. The walk from the ends short of the Dung Gate, opposite the Jewish Quarter. I had to admit that I was afraid because I felt like I could fall off the pathway and die but I am glad I had the opportunity to do this as it did offered some great views of the city.

Last but not least, we had a meeting at Moshe Safdie's office. We were going to have an actual meeting with him but he was out of the country so we ended up meeting with one of the architects who works there. He spoke mainly about their involvement in planning an entire city that is located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It was quite interesting as he spoke about the process (which could take between 5-10 years) and why it's so complicated. I found this to be interesting as learned more about how politics can get involved with architecture.

After the meeting, Patrick and I walked around Ben Yehuda Street to window shop and to enjoy a bagel with cream cheese. We then headed back to PBI at around 7:20pm for dinner.