Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built on the traditional site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial and so the church encloses the site of both the cross and the tomb. Constantine the Great first built aLue lisää
The Tower of David

This museum is beside the Jaffa Gate and forms part of the Citadel and Wall of the city. While it actually has nothing to do with David, dating from the Second Temple period, it has been used forLue lisää
Armenian Quarter

So the Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the areas of the Old City.That said, it is interesting how there is a consistent presence of the Armenian Church all around the Middle East. The implicationLue lisää
Mt. Zion & The Jewish Quarter

The Zion Gate connects the Jewish Quarter inside the Old City with the historic district of Mount Zion just outside the wall. Mount Zion has several historic sights including the Room of the LastLue lisää
The Western Wall

The Western Wall is also called the “Wailing Wall”. It is the most religious site in the world for Jewish people. It's in the Old City in the Jewish Quarter below the Temple Mount, which today hasLue lisää
Muslim Quarter & Damascus Gate

This Quarter is incredibly atmospheric with many lanes and side markets teeming with shops. It is the largest of the Quarters, and about 20,000 people live here -- outnumbered by tourists today!
TheLue lisää
Ramallah Yasser Arafat Square

Decided Saturday Sabbath was a good day to see the West Bank sites and the most reliable way to do that was an organised tour. The army check points are unpredictable and one had moved but we did makeLue lisää
Ramallah (Central) Square

Ramallah is relatively non-chaotic and prosperous looking. Managed to snag a few falafel from a street cart as hadn't been able to eat in Jerusalem on the Sabbath.
Tomb of Yasser Arafat

This monument to the founder of the PLO, later the PA is in the shape of the Shrine in Mecca, indicating the worship of him. This is not considered his "final" resting place as Palestinians hope toLue lisää
Jericho the world's first city

Jericho is very cool as it is one of the earliest continuous settlements in the world, dating perhaps from about 9000 BC. and it provides evidence of the first development of permanent settlements andLue lisää
Bethlehem, Palestine

We had lunch in Bethlehem, stopping first to see a graffiti by the famous artist Banksey. After lunch was the Church of the Nativity, then we stopped at a gift shop, another Banksey and finally,Lue lisää
Church of the Nativity

The biggest tourist attraction in Bethlehem is of course the church of the Nativity. The crowd proved that. It was an hour wait but we did get in.
The grotto is the oldest place of worship inLue lisää
Yad Vashem

The tram takes you up to The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
This is Israel's national site for remembrance of the Holocaust. A 50 acre park with paths and monuments, but the main feature is theLue lisää
The Israel Museum

This is not A museum but a bunch of museums, each of which could be a half day visit. It has the world's most comprehensive collections of the archaeology of the Holy Land, a wing about Jewish art andLue lisää
Chapel of the Ascension

The day starts with The Mount of Olives and the Holy Sites and churches there. The city bus got me most of the way to the top before the traffic jam caused by tour coaches made the road impassable andLue lisää
The Church of the Pater Noster

This is an interesting spot. There was a church built here in the 4th century by Constantine as the Church of Eleona to mark the Ascension. It was discoverwed in 1910 beneath a Roman CatholicLue lisää
Dominus Flevit

From the viewppint, it was a brutal on the knees downhill walk that showed why I, like the hordes of tour grops, start the Mount of Olives from the top and work down. The walk goes past all theLue lisää
Garden of Gethesmane

More steep downhill brings you to the Garden of Gethesmane where Jesus prayed on the last night before his arrest. The name translates as 'oil press' and is now a grove of ancient olive trees. A studyLue lisää
Tomb of the Virgin Mary

Orthodox tradition has Mary buried here rather than at Ephesus as Catholics attest.. This church is deep underground and is at the bottom of the Mount of Olives.
Kidron Valley

The division between the Mount of Olives and the Old City, is also called the Valley of Kings and has the blocked up Golden Gate into the Temple. You walk along the western side of the valley belowLue lisää
City of David

I continued along the Kidron Valley and came out below the south end of the old city to one end of the City of David site called the Pool of Siloam. Found out I could not access the site from this endLue lisää
Jerusalem Archaeological Park

There are still active digs going on here as well as further ruins dating back to the Second Temple and even further. This is right below the Temple Mount.
Planned to take the bus back, but theLue lisää
Machaneh Yahuda Market

Laundry and checkout day and had a couple of hours to kill before catching a train to Haifa so walked up to this market which is famous and recommended for a visit.
It is quite large with multipleLue lisää
Jerusalem Wrap Up

Leaving Jerusalem by train around 1pm. What a beautiful city. Can't say enough about it. One usually thinks that the really lovely cities are built around water features, but here is this dry placeLue lisää
National Maritime Museum

Arrived in Haifa yesterday by train and my apartment was just a couple minutes walk from the Bat Galim Station. Nice quiet location in this beachfront neighbourhood tucked behind the largeLue lisää
Matkaaja
Those doors are huge!
Matkaaja
Amazing paintings