The Old City

A couple weeks ago I (Devyn) took a tour of the Old City because I figured there must be lots of history we had missed while walking through on our own.  In the span of two hours, I was guided through the winding alleyways of the Old City and found myself in areas I had not known existed (which seemed impossible given how much we had explored already).  The Old City is divided into four Quarters: Armenian, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian.  While the quarters are not explicitly separated, it is fairly clear when you have passed from one into another just based on the dress of the people, the building style, and goods for sale.  I started my tour in the Armenian Quarter, which is actually very closed-off to outsiders and the wall pictured above is about as far as we could get.  During the Crusades, the Armenian Christians were completely massacred, as the Crusaders assumed the Armenians must be Muslims based on their darker skin tone.  In order to protect themselves from any future attacks, they have closed off their portion of the Old City (quite reasonable once you consider what they were put through in the past).  In the above photo you can see there is a line in the wall where the stone ends and a newer addition has been added on the top.  Directly across the street from this wall (we are talking a few feet, as this street was more of an alleyway) is a building belonging to the Jewish Quarter, much of which was rebuilt after its destruction in 1967.  This newer building was constructed taller than the Armenian wall, and the Armenians feared that people could simply jump from one building roof to the other and enter their Quarter.  In order to maintain their private sector, the Armenians added to their wall (which is why you see the line where the original stone ends and the new material begins), making it taller than the one next to it.  And, just to cover all the bases, they added broken glass shards to the new portion of the wall so that anyone attempting to make the jump across would surely not make it (you can sort of see the glass sticking out of the upper portion of the wall).  Yup, broken glass shards to keep intruders out.  Welcome to the first stop on my tour :)

After such a heavy story surrounding the Armenian Quarter, I was happy that our next stop brought with it a symbol of peace within the city.  In this photo I was standing on the rooftop of the marketplace above the Jewish Quarter, which offers stunning views of the Dome of the Rock and Mount of Olives.  Just outside of the frame to the left, there are two green domes enclosed by a small fence and a building with an orange roof right next to it.  The domes are a small mosque, which is frequented for prayer throughout the day by Muslims working in this part of the Old City, and the orange roof is a synagogue.  The guide told us about an encounter he had with an Orthodox man who approached him on the rooftop one afternoon.  The man asked our guide to come with him over to the orange roof to observe something he had noticed.  From the synagogue you could hear men singing in prayer while the Muslim mosque (directly next door) was also alive with prayer.  The Orthodox man asked the guide if he could hear how the two groups, each in separate places of worship, made a beautiful harmony when their singing overlapped.  I hope this story comes through as powerfully as it did when it was told to me, as I think it is a profound statement of peace and acceptance in a city that is so otherwise wrought with conflict.

This photo was taken in the Jewish Quarter, which I mentioned was almost completely destroyed during the Six Day War in 1967.  Because so many of the buildings are new, this portion of the Old City seems brighter and more modern than the other Quarters.  However, in the reconstruction of the Jewish Quarter, a distinct effort was made to maintain the character of the buildings, so you will often find situations like the one pictured above: A building dating back 800 years right next to one that was built a mere 40 years ago.  Can you tell which is which?  Yeah, me neither :)  Our guide actually grew up in the building on the left, so he told us with certainty that this was the older structure.  It is amazing how similar the two buildings appear, despite their incredible age difference!  Also take note of the street sign on the wall directly ahead.  You can see that there are three lines of text, each one giving the street name in a different language: Hebrew, Arabic, and English.  The Arabic line of text has been covered with a sticker for the conservative, Orthodox politician who was running for Mayor at the time (he lost).  Again, here is an example of the political tension that exists within the city, but could be easily overlooked if it were not pointed out.

This is just a great view of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock.

The two photos above are some of my favorites and I am so glad I took the tour to learn what the fabulously bright stencils signify.  These entryway decorations can be seen on a few of the homes in the Muslim Quarter, but the one above was the most vibrant.  The stencils are only present on households where a resident has made the Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca.  I had no idea that making this pilgrimage was such an honor, as I assumed anyone could go if they could afford to get there since it is considered a religious duty and one of the five pillars of Islam.  However, I learned that it is actually quite difficult to make the Hajj since each country is only allotted a certain number of spots each year in order to control the crowds.  So, in reality it is impossible for every Muslim to make the pilgrimage in their lifetime, thus making those who do go extremely honored within their community.  Looking at the stencils, you can see the Ka'aba (the black cube), the palm trees representing Mecca, the Dome of the Rock, and other symbols important in the Muslim faith.  In the doorway is also displayed a large poster that shows the Ka'aba and signifies that a person within the residence has made the Hajj.

The dome in the background is the roof of the Holy Sepulchre, and the doorway in the foreground is the entrance to the Coptic Church.

The Ethiopian Christians have owned this rooftop property (on top of the Holy Sepulchre) for centuries.  Given the importance of the Holy Sepulchre itself, the Ethiopians will not give up their ownership of the rooftop even though they have more extravagant churches elsewhere in the city.  People still live in the buildings scattered around the roof, and a small doorway just outside the frame on the right leads you down a steep and narrow stairway that houses a series of altars.  Ethiopian ministers sit at each tiny congregation and it almost feels wrong to be a tourist walking through their place of worship, but I am certainly glad to have seen it.

I just loved this doorway, also on the Ethiopian rooftop.

In the Muslim Quarter, looking down the alleyway lined with shops.  These markets are called "shuks" and there are different shuks for different types of goods (produce, meat, clothes, etc).

There are lots of shops selling these sandals, and I can almost guarantee that I will come home with a pair (or four).

Living outside of the Old City, it is sometimes easy to forget that this place exists.  I get so caught up in day-to-day life and have to remind myself that I am in Jerusalem.  We have been trying to take pictures of normal streets so that we can show you what everyday life looks like for us, because it honestly isn't the same as what you see above.  Doing this post reminds me that I need to get back up to the Old City, especially if it involves going to our favorite hummus shop, Abu Shukri, or scouting out the elusive pastry shop I have heard so much about and we only just found the location of a couple weeks ago (after searching for weeks!), Zalatimo's.

I hope you all are well wherever in the world you are and remember that we love updates from home, too :)