We have had a night ride through the Old City and an afternoon wandering about on our own and today Josh and Diana will guide us (and other people coming for the wedding) to some of their favorite places in the Old City. One could spend days here (just getting out of the clutches of a young Arab lad who insists on guiding me to the Jaffa Gate) but the places Josh and Diana have chosen are the Tower of David, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a great Palestinian sweet shop in the Moslem Quarter that serves wonderful kanafeh, the Ninth Hour Service at the St. James Cathedral in the Armenian Quarter and the Western Wall. Strict rules accompany attendance at the Ninth Hour Service and two of our party deviate by crossing their legs. However, this infraction incurs only a stern rebuke and does not spark an international incident. We end the first part of our tour at the Western Wall.
Josh and Diana have already reserved a block of tickets for a night visit to the Western Wall tunnels and this was certainly one of the highlights of our time in the Old City. The guide was excellent and she clearly explained the history of the Second Temple and the relationship both physically and spiritually of the Western Wall to the Temple. (There are, after all, Eastern, Southern and Northern Walls!). One gets to walk the full length of the wall (only 12% of it is actually accessible at the Western Wall Plaza) and see the details of its construction. An amazing tour - this one is an absolute must-see if you visit Jerusalem.
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