July 22, 2008

I apologize if this is very long or if I leave a lot of details out, but the past few days have been packed full of interesting, amazing events. We took advantage of this past weekend to rest and take a break from the non-stop running around and school, and spent time with our teacher and his brother because he left on Sunday for America. Sunday morning my friend Sophia and I woke up at 5 AM and took a cab to the main bus station in Amman. We caught the 7 AM bus to the King Hussein bridge/Israeli border, which was about an hour ride. It took us about four hours of waiting at the various checkpoints, especially the main one, and then we caught another bus to Jerusalem (Al-Quds), which was another hour's drive. 

We checked into our hostel, which was only $10 a night per person and very close to most of the attractions in the city. We then began to plan our trip, and met some really cool people who had been staying at the same hostel for awhile and gave us some tips about the city and were very nice people. We woke up at 6 AM on Monday and went to a wonderful bakery/bagel shop called Sam Booki with one of the people we met the night before who's living in Jerusalem for the summer to study Hebrew, and lived in Palestine last summer studying Arabic. 

We then walked to the Mount of Olives (which is mentioned in the Bible in relation to David and Solomon, is thought to be the place Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and is mentioned in other places in the Bible as well). We walked through a Jewish cemetery on the way, which was very interesting to see, and we also walked past the Gethsemane Basilica of Agony, next to the Garden of Gethsemane (which is where Jesus is believed to have prayed on the night he was arrested before his crucifixion).  We then saw Dominus Flevit (Latin for "The Lord Wept"), which is a church fashioned in the shape of a teardrop where Jesus is believed to have wept about the future destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalem (in Luke). Next we went into Church of the Pater Noster, which had beautiful plaques of the Lord's Prayer in 62 languages- from Cherokee to French to Aramic to Swahili- and was built on the site believed to be where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer. After that we went to the Dome of the Ascension, also known as the Chapel of the Ascension because it was originally built as a church and was converted into a church by Saladin in 1187 and remains a mosque today. I wish I could get the pictures to upload, because the view of the city from the Mount of Olives and the sites of the mountain itself were absolutely beautiful and amazing to see. We went down the mountain to see Mary's Tomb, which was absolutely amazing and beautiful and had some great artwork, such as on one wall where they had a succession of paintings depicting major events from Jesus' life, from the angel telling Mary she is pregnant with Jesus to His crucifixion. 

After that we entered the Old City and saw the Western Wall, which is the most holy Jewish site accessible to people because it is the last remaining wall of the Great Temple and Jewish people believe that the Divine Presence has never departed from it. Not only is the Western Wall sacred and holy to Judaism, but many Jewish people see it as a cultural and historical Jewish symbol. It was beautiful, and interesting to see. 

After the Western Wall we ate lunch at a really good restaurant overlooking part of the Old City in the Jewish Quarter, and then we planned on going to see the Dome of the Rock immediately, but found out it was closed for an hour. My friend Sophia was really tired by this point and decided to go back to the hostel, so I continued sightseeing on my own. I made my way to the Christian Quarter down Via Dolorosa, thought to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion and visited the Church of the Flagellation and the Church of the Condemnation and imposition of the Cross, the spot believed to be where Jesus was flogged by Roman soldiers. Both were beautiful and awe-inspiring, for obvious reasons. The artwork was beautiful and it was amazing to think of the acts performed there thousands of years ago and their effects on us today (as with the other sites). (I did not make it to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, unfortunately, which is the place thought to be where Jesus was crucified, but I will definitely go there if I get the chance to go back to Jerusalem).

After this I went back to the area of the Western Wall, which I then realized was the place designated for non-Muslims to enter the area of the Dome of the Rock. I saw the Dome of the Rock (from the outside, non-Muslims are not allowed inside), which was absolutely amazing and beautiful. (The Dome of the Rock is the place believed by Muslims to be where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, consulted with Moses, and was given the Islamic prayers before returning to Earth). I also saw the Al-Aqsa Mosque ("the farthest mosque" where the Prophet Muhammadis believed by Muslims to have gone to from Mecca on "The Night Journey"), which was much smaller and plainer but still beautiful.

One of the people we met at the hostel knew about this really cool Palestinian art gallery, so we went with a couple friends to see an exhibit (unfortunately they were in the process of taking it down, but it was still really cool), and then they took us to a really nice shop in the Armenian Quarter of Old City that sells historical photos of Jerusalem.

As you can imagine, I was exhausted after that day of sightseeing, so after that I went back to the hostel and went to sleep. The next morning Sophia and I woke up early again and went to Sam Booki for bagels, then went to the Garden Tomb, which is believed to be where Joseph of Arimathea's garden was and where Jesus was buried and rose from (some believe he was also crucified closer to this garden). It was so inspirational and beautiful!

We then got a bus and came back to Amman by taxi after we crossed the border (we happened to run into a girl from my class and the three of us found a driver who would give us the same price it would have been to take a bus).

Seeing Jerusalem was one of the best experiences of my life and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made it possible for me to come here and do all of these wonderful things!!!!!!!