After the Tunnel Tour I went to the Wall itself and joined the men praying at the Wall. I left a folded up note with a prayer written on it in a space between the stones where there were thousands and thousands of other notes (I later learned that the notes are taken out of the Wall every Wednesday and stored, not destroyed). I guess no one would want to be responsible for destroying a message to God.
I walked through the narrow streets, some of which are actually stairs and found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in Christianity. This is a very old church which does not have a large cathedral but instead has many small alters throughout.
From there I followed my map of Jerusalem and The Old City to the Tomb of King David which is a very small operating Synagogue. King David is buried in a small room and a Rabbi introduced himself and said a prayer for me (he offered to pray for my wife but I told him I hadn't met her yet). I couldn't take pictures in King David's tomb. Directly above David's Tomb in the same structure is what's known as the Upper Room which is the site of The Last Supper. It felt sort of special to be in the same spot where Christ and his Disciples dined 2015 years ago. The view in the second photo is the same view in all the paintings of the Last Supper.
I relied on my map (because you can easily get lost in the maze of streets in the old Jerusalem) to guide me to The Cardo, an excavation of an ancient Roman street. I went down the stairs and walked through the Cardo (which was the name for every main commercial street the Roman's built anywhere they were conquering and building). The walk down the Cardo lasted about 100 yards and then changed suddenly into an Arab bazaar that went all the way out of the Old City, with smell of spices and incense, lots of junk souvenirs, and many shops where the Arab population of Jerusalem regularly shops. This street was at least 1/2 mile long and covered like some movie scene. There was a point where I wanted to take a picture and realized that I was the only non-Arab I could see. I hesitated and on the next corner were Israeli police and soldiers. I took my picture.
Once out of the Damascus Gate at the North of the Old City I went about 200 yards further north on a city street and saw a small sign pointing the direction to the Garden Tomb, where Christ is said to be buried. I followed the sign and found a high wall and a large gate with a sign saying the Garden is closed until 2PM. There were only a few tourists waiting to get in. I talked with a couple from Switzerland who were reading verses from the Book of John off their smartphones and a young women from Czechoslovakia who said she visits Jerusalem whenever she can and every day she's in Jerusalem she spends time in the Garden Tomb. At 2PM about 10 of us entered and I walked in these most peaceful gardens with lots of places to sit, pray, etc. After seeing the whole garden I saw a little sign that says "tomb" with an arrow. I followed the path and came upon a scene that was familiar from pictures. There were some tourists taking pictures outside the tomb opening. They left just as I arrived. It appeared I was alone in the area and I walked into the tomb. I was alone for 10 minutes a few feet from where Jesus was buried. I really couldn't believe it. I walked out of the tomb and there still was no one else around. I took some pictures inside and outside which follow.
This is the end of my first great day in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. I don't know how or when I could have another day like this one.
Vic
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