Jerusalem Old City


We were looking forward to out visit to the Old Town of Jerusalem as the highlight of our tour. We were sadly disappointed.

Our guide, Hermann, encouraged us to get going early so that we would be first at the Holy Sepulchre and avoid the queues. Our bus took us near to the Jaffa gate, with views across modern Jerusalem.


The sun was just emerging over the top of the walls near Jaffa Gate. Named because it was on the road to Jaffa (Haifa), the Jaffa Gate has seen much conflict. The walls are riddled with bullet holes, mostly from the struggle for independence in 1948.
Jaffa Gate leads almost directly into the Moslem Quarter, with its narrow alleys and shops. Hermann lead us at a fast pace through the almost deserted streets, before most of the shops were open.





Our first destination was the Church of the Holy Sepulcre, supposedly taking in the site of Chris's crucifixion and burial (although there is another site which has competing claims).

Although the church is open more or less 24 hours per day, access to the Holy Sepulchre, where Chris may have been buried is more restrictive. When we arrived, that was closed and there was already a crown queuing to get in.

The crowd was bad tempered and the Orthodox Priests who were trying to maintain order were equally bad tempered. As a result everyone was pushing, there was a great deal of shouting and even the occasional physical contretemps; hardly compatible with what is supposed to be the most holy place in the world for Christians.

After a great deal of pushing we did visit the Holy Sepulchre. Although some Catholics from Spain clearly found the environment to be profoundly moving and needed to touch everything, we were very disappointed. The whole atmosphere was unpleasant and two millennia of building and embellishment had destroyed whatever was originally there.

We dutifully toured the rest of the church, seeing the notches where crosses may have been erected and a slab where Christ's body may have lain when taken down from the cross, but it meant little. The behaviour of the crowds and the priests destroyed the atmosphere.

We were glad to get out.

From the Church of the Hold Sepulchre, we walked down the Via Dolorosa, stopping briefly at some of the Stations of the Cross.

Once again, the main impression we gained was of a tourist area, with more souvenir shops and poorly named cafes than anything else.




We turned off the Via Dolorosa through the narrow streets of the Muslim Quarter to walk down to the Western Wall. 

Once again we had to pass through security to get into the square in front of the wall. By day, there were stewards enforcing a strict no photography policy. With little shade we found ourselves with too much time on our hands.

The "Archaeology Garden" just below Temple Mount is the site of major excavations, revealing old walls, gates and a water course.




We did not have the time to visit Temple Mount, simply the opportunity to see the dome and minarets of the El Aqsa mosque from a distance.
On the previous day we were at the top of the Mount of Olives looking down on the Old Town. This time, just outside the Old Town near the dung gate we were able to look in the reverse direction. The face is now completely taken up with the Jewish Cemetary. 



We left the old town through the Dung Gate through which "night soil" was removed from the city in Old Testament times. In modern times, the outside of the gate is rather more pleasant with lawns and gardens under the wall. The wall itself is a mixture of different constructions with plants and flowers growing wherever there is an opportunity.
Somehow the pigeons find ledges to cling to.



We has time to wait outside Dung Gate while the rest of the group reassembled and get a welcome drink. It was very hot with little shade anywhere to be found. A good job it was only April.

We were surrounded by the hills on which modern Jerusalem is built and tour buses in every direction.

Nothing demonstrates the contradiction that is modern Jerusalem more than the signs which are in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Last updated on July 13, 2001