We awoke rather late this morning, as we worked on sorting photos and writing the blog until 0100, so after a quick breakfast of hummus and pita bread, a banana and water, we walked to the Jaffa Gate of the old city, entered Jerusalem, and navigated our way to the Damascus Gate. Just before reaching the gate we stopped and bought fresh squeezed orange juice--very delicious! Debbie also had a taste of tamarind juice (which she plans to go back for tomorrow), but it was not for me.
We crossed the road outside the wall and walked up Nablus Street to the Garden Tomb, arriving just in time to see them lock the gates for the noon hour (really for 2 hours).
We decided then to get a cab to the Jerusalem Center for Near East Studies up on Mt. Scopus. The cab driver didn't recognize the name, so I said BYU Center. He still didn't understand, but questioned, "Mormon University?" I said "yes," and jumped in the cab. He said "40 shekels," and I responded with "just use the meter." He laughed and said "OK." We arrived in 20 minutes with the meter reading 28.9 shekels, so I paid him 30--he said, somewhat surprised, "oh, 30 shekels, ha ha." I'm SURE he had no idea that he would overcharge me by 33% if we agreed on a fixed price...
Unfortunately, we arrived at the center just as THEY were closing for lunch for 2 hours. The security guard took pity on us, though, and asked what we wanted. We said we wanted to see President Brown and deliver a message from our son, so he allowed us to enter and he paged Pres. Brown. We had a short chat with him, then thanked him for seeing us and left the building. We walked uphill for about a half mile, to the Lutheran Hospital at Augusta Victoria, and had a small pita pizza and water for lunch. We returned to the Center at 1400 and had a private tour of the magnificent building and grounds, including viewing a beautiful mosaic exhibit by local artists and a private organ concert performed by the Center's music director. It was very moving listening to the powerful organ while looking out at a spectacular panoramic view of the Old City, including the Dome of the Rock.
We then caught a cab back to the Old City and entered through Lion's Gate, which was a little bit tricky, since the street in front of it was closed and the taxi driver just pointed off in the general direction we should head. We ended up in the Muslim cemetery, which is closest to the Golden Gate (tradition has it that when Christ returns, or comes for the first time, depending on your religion, he will open the Golden Gate, and the graves closest to the gate will be the first opened and their deceased the first to be resurrected), and the gate leading to the Lions Gate was locked. We had to back track for a quarter mile and start again.
Once inside the Old City, we visited St Anne's Church. Anne and Joachim are the parents of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or Jesus' grandparents, and this church is supposed to be erected where their home once was - also counted as Mary's birthplace. Debbie took some great photos of the pools of Bethesda right next to St. Anne's. We then walked up the Via Dolorosa and entered the Austrian Hospice for some warm apple strudel and cream. It was a bit pricey, but the visit to the Hospice (hostel) was worth it - a little bit of Europe right in the middle of Jerusalem, complete with a waitress who spoke German (or was it Austrian?). By the way, if you ever visit Jerusalem and want to stay in the Old City, this could be a good choice. They charge 42 E per night per person, which includes a full breakfast, and it is right in the center of the city-unfortunately right across from a minaret with the loud speakers that blast the meuzzin several times each day - talk about a stunning 'wake-up' call.
After dessert, we walked to the restaurant where we had lunch yesterday and treated ourselves to another mezze salad meal. Yum! - and walked 'home' to our little apartment to cool off and relax - gathering energy for another day of adventure tomorrow.
Goldenbear70 and His Honey, signing off
Be sure to look for more photos on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/21984041@N08/
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