The City within a City

Yerushalayim is huge (to me).  There is one part that is called the Old City.  That is exactly what it is, a very, very old city with a very rich but also very tragic history.

We started today's tour meeting at the Mamila Mall. (Remember I told you yesterday that Shmueli told me the me the stones were numbered but I didn't take a picture?  Well, today I did!)

From there we walked up to the Jaffa Gate.  There are currently seven gates, although not all of them are accessible.  From there we walked down the narrow and winding alleyways to the Rambam Synagogue.  (My tour guide Leah has been taking us from the oldest parts of the city, and we are working our way up to the most recent.  Tuesday's tour was ruins that are a few thousand years old.  Today, we were going back and forth between the first and second Bais Hamikdash up to 1948 and 1967.)  The Ramban shul is located right under the Hurva shul.  We didn't actually go into the shul though.  (I may get these out of order, so forgive me if I am wrong.  I didn't take notes and I also didn't take a lot of pictures.)  We passed the shul that the Ari davened in when he was little.
We passed another shul that currently has a yeshiva housed in it.  The door was spectacular!  It looks like it was heavy pewter and maybe some brass on it.

Then we saw The Eliyahu Hanavi shul.  This one also has a beautiful door.  Right next to it you can find Rabbi Meir Yehuda Getz's house. 

I was very impressed with how short the doorway is!  I am standing on the ground, not on the threshold.  Interestingly enough, the rabbi was not a small man.  I guess he had to bend down every time he walked through his front door.

As we were waking through the winding alleys, we turned the corner, and there was a stunning fruit tree.

The next shul we passed by was the Istanbuli Synagogue with another interesting and unique door.

Here are some shots of the winding stone alleyways.  If you look closely in the window, you will see a rifle sticking out from the leaves.

We found ourselves in a large area.  There is a yeshiva right there, and it must have been recess time.  The kids were all out playing.  First though, you have to see this cool tree.  Those are two pillars that the tree has grown around. 

Engraved into the stone is the pasuk from Zechariah 8:5; "And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the board places thereof" We stood around for a few minutes. I really, really enjoyed hearing those kids play.  The boys were playing soccer, and then a small group of kids were sliding down a ramp.  There was so much laughter and joy in the air that you can not help but thing, this is exactly what Zechariah was talking about. 

There is another Sephardic shul, but we were unable to go inside since someone was celebrating a bar mitzvah there today.  This shul has a shofar in the window that is for Eliyahu Hanavi to blow when Moshiach arrives.

I forgot to mention that when we arrived, there were a bunch of young men running around in shorts and a tee-shirt with a map.  They were running all over, in groups in and pairs.  We finally figured out that they were training for the IDF.  We later learned that today is a very, very special.  There was an induction ceremony in the Kosel tonight!  All day there were literally tons and tons of IDF soldiers around.  Here is one group right near the Hurva shul - 

This put us at right about the time to daven mincha.  We went into the Hurva shul to do this.  (Turth be told; I didn't daven.  I said some tehillim.)  It is another breathtaking shul.  (Boy, I'll tell you this ... The Sephardim sure do know how to decorate a shul!)

The next item on our tour was the Migdal Dovid (which is actually misnamed).  On the way there, I stopped in one of the small Armenian shops.  I wanted to see the pottery they decorate by hand.  The shop keeper was kind enough to let me take a picture of him working.

It was at this point that we arrived at Migdal Dovid, the Tower of David.  Wanna laugh?  There is a moat that the Crusaders built.  WHO PUTS A MOAT AROUND A FORTRESS IN AN AREA THAT DOESN'T GET A LOT OF RAIN?  Bwahahaha!  We went up to the top of the fortress, where we had an incredible view of the surround areas.  It is so easy to see why throughout history various people have used this fortress.  We went up and down stairs, and saw various ruins that were uncovered, some going back to the first Bais Hamikdash and the Hasmonaen.  We then took the Ramparts walk.  Now, for some bizarre reason, I developed a fear of heights.  I really wanted to do this, so we did.  We walked along the Armenian and Jewish quarters (rather than the Muslim and Christian quarters; you can pick which direction you want to go.)  Yes, there were some parts where I was very scared!  These Ramparts are made of stone (as is almost everything else in the city).  The stairways are often very steep, or they have these large steps that are higher than a normal step should be.  Shmueli was giving me heart attacks when he was leaning up against the rail.  I was totally vindicated when we got to the very end, and there was a rail that was broken.

It was almost time for our Kotel Tunnel Tours, so we headed towards the Kotel Plaza.  Remember the IDF induction?  Well, there are tons and tons of soldiers milling around. We thought it was going to happen soon, but no, it was scheduled to start later.  

Sruli joined us for the tour.  You descend down under the Muslim quarter to see parts of the kosel that have not been uncovered above.  The plaza is not really the bottom of the wall.  We were able to walk along the wall, and see how far the wall extends towards the North.  We also had views of how deep down it really goes.  We saw stones that the Romans had knocked over, and they were never moved.  The absolute coolest thing that I found was ... The spot that is closest to the Kadosh Hakadoshim.  Yes, you are allowed to be in the spot, as the wall is sealed up.  I was able to get a quick kapital tehillim in.  I am hoping that the next time I go to the kosel, I can slip in there to say more.  It is open for women to come to daven whenever they want. 

We left the tunnel tour at 6pm.  (I had started my day at 9:00.)  The Kotel Plaza was filling up.  We thought the induction was supposed to happen then, but when I heard we had another hour, I gave up waiting and we headed home.  Yes, Sruli and I walked.  (I was too lazy to wait 6 mind for a taxi to come.  Go figure.)

I am SO happy that tomorrow is eruv Shabbos.  Baruch Hashem I left tomorrow open.  I am hoping to sleep late to try and recover from my long day.