Within the Old City

Today (July 10) was a jam-packed day. I woke up at 7:00am to the sounds of birds chirping in the garden and the light streaming through the window. I had breakfast around 8am and at about 10am, the group and I went to Jaffa Gate where we met Davidal, Julie's cousin. Davidal is a tour guide and he walked us through the entire old city, explaining everything about the 4 quarters (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian) and ancient and holy sites.

We first went to the Wohl Museum of Archeology where we saw the remains of houses that were built in the Jewish Quarter around the Herodian Period. These houses were homes to the wealthiest aristocrats in Jerusalem. Although they were only the remains, they showed a vivid indication of their wealth. The structure of numerous storage rooms, reservoirs and other items were still present as so was the decorative adornments such as mosaics and elaborate frescoes and stucco works.

The next place we went to was the Jerusalem Archaeological Park where one could find the Temple Mount Excavations. We walked on the same path that Jesus walked on almost 2,000 years ago and had the opportunity to sit of the steps where Jesus and Paul taught as well. We also went to the Wailing/Western Wall where we observed people placing their prayers into the cracks of the stone. I had to admit it simply blew my mind.

The last place we went to today was the Western Wall Tunnels. The wall is the narrator of history as it has witnessed war, peace, calamity, revival. The wall tunnels show the rest of the wall that cannot be seen from above as the base is about 200 feet below ground. The excavation of the Western Wall revealed the entire length of it--488 meters.

After having an amazing lunch in Jerusalem, which consisted of hummus, falafel, and pita bread, we headed back to PBI. There we had a talk given by Ludlich, who heads the Jerusalem Institute for Research and he had a role in the Camp David Accords. He spoke about the reunification of Jerusalem and the problems it faces now and in the future. Despite the fact that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and is considered holy and sacred by three religions, the population has decreased due to the migration of the middle class and because there is a shortage of affordable housing. He offered interesting views and opinions regarding this matter and he helped us understand the dynamics of this city, which we will continue to explore.