Israel, day 3
Our third day took us outside of Tel Aviv again; after a quick bite to eat on the patio, we found ourselves in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City is divided into four quarters, and we didn’t have time to see them all (Q and I later jokingly called our time there “Jerusalem express”), but with the help of a very knowledgeable tour guide – i.e. Uncle Gil – we saw a lot.
We entered through the Armenian Quarter before heading to the Jewish Quarter and walking through the Cardo (Jerusalem’s main street 1,500 years ago) and the Western Wall. Because there are separate areas for men and women, I was the one to take the girls to see the wall, which I found to be a very moving experience. They are too young to understand the history and the significance of what we were seeing, but I felt the weight of responsibility as I held their little hands and guided them to the holy site (see photo 4). We made a quick stop at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest places in the city for Christians, before heading home and, later, meeting friends from school (who were also on a summer vacation) in nearby Jaffa. The sunset there (see last photo) was a gorgeous ending to the day.
-M
