We Look At Some Old Stuff
We went to bed very late Wednesday night, but we had made a commitment to our new friend from the ride, Lorraine, to attend morning services at her synagogue, just across the street from our hotel. So, up around 6AM. Again. The congregation is located at the Masorti Center, and is primarily made up of Conservative Jews from the States. Thursday is a Torah reading day, and I was honored with an aliyah, my first in Israel, which was lovely of them. It was also the first time Derek had seen me in full Jew-niform–talit and t’fillin–so that seemed to be interesting to him.
After services and breakfast, we met with Dennis Allon from the Israel Guide Dog Center, which hosts Ken Velo, the group that rented us the tandem. Dennis pointed out a little of the history around our hotel, including the complex where the pre-state “government” like the Jewish Agency and Keren Kayemet (JNF) were (and still are) located. We sat down at a cafe, and we chatted a little about the work of the Center. Nice man. Next time in Israel, I will try to visit and see the puppies.
Off to the Israel Museum. We went to the Shrine of the Book, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls, to see some of the oldest copies of Biblical texts. The highlight of the main part of the museum, for me, was the Herod the Great exhibit. It contains a lot of very heavy parts of some of the palaces Herod made, and includes his tomb from Herodion. We were told that the building required quite a bit of reinforcement. Big pieces of stone. I believe it.
In the afternoon, we finally headed for the Old City. Entering the Zion Gate, we finally found a stand to get a felafel sandwich, our first since arriving in Israel. Two things I have not had in a felafel sandwich in the States: pickles and french fries. Odd. Delicious.
Some people plan their walk around the Old City. Not us. So we wandered around a bit…Ok, Derek wandered, I followed. We came across the Corta, the Byzantine-era central road of the Old City. It is partially lined with the original, excavated columns. We followed the Corta through the Jewish Quarter into the Muslim Quarter, where it became older, narrower, and busier. Derek led us up some steps at one point, which caused a child behind us to yell (in Hebrew): “No, no, no! That’s my house!” Oops. Later we came to some other steps, where an Arab man yelled that it was closed. Huh? THE FREAKING TEMPLE MOUNT. Oops again. He pointed us in another direction, and we finally came to the Wester Wall (HaKotel). This is the holiest location in Judaism. I was…unmoved. The noise, the tourists, and the many, many soldiers with very, very big guns detracted somewhat from the feeling that this was a holy place.
We moved on out the south end of the plaza, and quite accidentally found the steps up to the ramparts of the city wall. Good views over the Temple Mount/Kotel area and into other parts of the city. We climbed blocky stone stairs and gradually seemed to be quite high above the street, then kept climbing and were eventually back at street level. A city built on hills can be somewhat unintuitive.
Back to the hotel for a break, and then to Ben Yehuda Street, a very busy pedestrian mall. We were about twice the average age, but the scene was still interesting, in an anthropological way. We went to a shwarma place for dinner. I liked it. Derek was unimpressed.