Day 5 Israel: Part 2

After grabbing lunch in the Muslim quarter (the best humus and falafel in Jerusalem according to our guide Avi and my stomach) we continued along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Avi was able to explain many aspects of the Church and much of its history. On one end of the Church is a staircase up to an altar and the glass-encased rocks of Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. On the other end of the Church sits an ancient church (yes, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) built over the tomb of Jesus. Historically speaking, archeological analysis seems to also prove the tomb and crucifixion are in the correct places. (Note: There is a site known as the Garden Tomb which some people believe is the tomb of Christ. Archeology has proven that to be false. If anything, it was a stable during the crusades. One of the objections to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is that it may be inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem which would mean Christ could not have been buried there because tombs were all outside of the City. However, recent archeological digs have uncovered tombs around the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre leading archeologists to think that the Church is indeed outside of the walls of Old Jerusalem).

After spending some time in the markets of Jerusalem (a trip in and of itself) we stopped by the Western Wall to stick our prayers in the wall and reflect on the roots of Christianity. After leaving the Western Wall we went into the City of David which sits in and around an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem. All of the excavations are fairly new, having opened in the last few months. The most exciting part was walking through Hezekiah's tunnel, an ancient water tunnel in the City of David (almost 3,000 years old!). After emerging from the tunnel we walked along the old roads of Jerusalem up to the Temple which sit directly under the asphalt of the road above! It is highly probable that Jesus walked this very route up to the Temple.

We then grabbed dinner in the Muslim Quarter at a restaurant called Sami where we provided the footage of their new TV commercial!

The evening was spent enjoying the nightlife of Jerusalem with friends and new acquaintances we met along the way! The cab driver who took us back to our hotel could easily be pegged as a radical Muslim but I pushed him on several subjects concerning Israel, US, Iraq, and the Arab world as a whole. He had a very interesting story and point of view that is important when objectively viewing international affairs.

Note: Israelis are a fun, peace-loving people. Every person I have met on the street or in the bar has expressed the same passionate desire to simply live their lives in peace with their Arab neighbors.