Jerusalem: City of Kings

Until this last Tuesday (24/01), I had had at best only a vague understanding of why the phrase, “Up to Jerusalem,” is just so. With the exception of the village Abu Ghosh, our bus traveled steadily uphill through some light traffic for 30 minutes. When we arrived at our designated bus stop in Western Jerusalem, we still had to go further up.

We trekked on an upward slope into the Old City through Jaffa Gate, the only gate on the western wall of the city. It should be noted that the walls that define the boundary of the Old City are due to the legacy of the Ottoman Turks, who constructed the walls in the 1530s.

We entered into what is traditionally called the “Christian Quarter” of Old Jerusalem, so named because of the predominantly “Christian” presence in that sector of Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic sects. Our group found itself immediately in the shadow of the Citadel, also known as the Tower of David, though having nothing to do with David and very much owing its existence to Herod the Great, the Crusaders, and the Turks. Inside the Citadel was very intelligent and well crafted museum about the history of Jerusalem. The exhibits were highly mesmerizing and I was all too aware that I could have easily spent all day in the Tower of David. This realization was even more agonizing since we spent a grand total of 30-45 minutes at the site.

Through the course of the 6+ hours of the field trip that gave us a rudimentary acquaintance with Old Jerusalem and its “Quarters”: Christian, Moslem, Jewish, and Armenian. The Christian Quarter is more of the “Kodak Moment” and tourist-friendly sector of the city. This is no doubt due to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which has enshrined for over the past 1600 years the traditional location of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, along with the traditional site of the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Christian pilgrims have journeyed to this site of “smells and bells” for the better part of the last 2000 years, perhaps explaining the overall appeal of the Christian Quarter to the traveler today.

The Moslem Quarter, by contrast, with its over-saturation of street vendors, was more inclined towards the local Arab populace. However, there was no salesman whose tongue was found lacking an adequate knowledge of the English language. The streets of the Moslem were also markedly dirtier than any of the other quarters. The dirtiness and littering escalated to its peak outside the Moslem Quarter we walked along the eastern exterior of the Old City through the Moslem Cemetery. I think that was one of the most shocking moments to my Western sensibilities of how a graveyard should receive a higher measure of respect. As our group made its way around the Temple Mount, our attention was directed towards a seemingly insignificant slope below us between the Hinnom and Qidron valleys. Our guide, Bill Schlegel, informed us that that slope was the true site of the ancient City of David.

Upon returning into the Old City through the southern entryway of the Dung Gate, we were immediately confronted by the sight of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and its accompanying security complex. I was promptly struck by the fact that the Quarter of the Jewish Persuasion was by far the most lively and cleanest of the four sectors. Bill treated us to some wonderful fresh-baked pita bread on the way towards Zion Gate.

I cannot find much to say about the Armenian Quarter since we barely passed through it. One aspect I discerned from our brief travel through the quarter was that it was definitely the quietest. This shall be further motivation for me to fulfill Todd Bolen’s admonishment to us IBEX students: get out there!