The old city of Jerusalem, part 2

I cut the blog short last night because we were both so tired! Sean had already fallen asleep, and I was nodding off while I was typing. We had a very full day!

The Church is actually really big. Each of the four religions that cooperate to maintain it has different areas for their people, and they share the common areas. It was kind of a mish-mash, but it worked.

The outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher isn't as fancy as you'd think. Each religion wants to be the one to do the work, so things don't get done because they keep arguing over who is going to do it.

So, after seeing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we walked though the markets of the Old City. Each quarter has a different feel to it, but the Christian Quarter definitely has the best shopping!

The market here is open air, and each stall is packed full of wonderful things! Of course, there are plenty of religious items, and souvenir junk, but there are also textiles, sandals, jewelry (of varying quality), etc. The center of the market has sculptures that used to be a fountain. Now, they are a useful landmark to remind you which quarter you are in. Our tour group ate lunch at a restaurant with rooftop seating they had a great view of the Christian Quarter.

The Muslim quarter is right next to the Christian Quarter, and it also has good shopping. The market here is covered, and it has a different feeling. 

We exited the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, which put us on the side closest to our hotel. This si the biggest gate in and out of the Old City. 

Walking around the Old City is just amazing. You see all sorts of  priests, nuns, rabbis and imams, and all of the people from all over the world speaking different languages! You hear the Catholic angelus bells, the Muslims' Assam, and you smell incense from all of the religions!

One very important point: WEAR COMFORTABLE, STURDY SHOES! The streets are paved with very old, very slick stones, and it would be easy to trip and fall. Also, there are LOTS of stairs everywhere. (The ADA doesn't apply here!)

Needless to say, we were very tired after doing so much walking! We did an easy dinner at a local street food stand by our hotel that made excellent vegetarian and kosher wraps. Robin, you would've enjoyed it!