Siyur to the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

For my Monday siyur class about the history of Jerusalem, we spent the day learning about the holy sites for religions other than Judaism in the old city. 

Before visiting the main two attractions, our teacher took us to the site where supposedly the last supper took place:

And also where the tomb of King David is. It has also been said that he was buried in the City of David, but no one knows for sure.

After this we went to the Temple Mount to go see the Dome of the Rock. Our teacher doesn't go up there due to religious reasons, so the Director of Education came to teach us instead. Everything is very strict at the Temple Mount. Some boys in my group were wearing kippot and because of that the security guards wouldn't let us through without an attached guard with us. Since most of these guys were wearing kippot to show that they were Jewish up at the Dome and not because they are actually religious, they took them off. We didn't want to cause any trouble. A man that was before us in line for security actually got stopped because he had a siddur in his backpack. No "Jewish" items are allowed up and Jews are also forbidden from praying. If a Jew is caught it will end in arrest. I will admit that I was touching my "Shema" bracelet the whole time..... Also, my friend (who was dressed very modestly) was stopped at the entrance by an Arab guard who told her that her midriff was showing and that is unacceptable at such a holy place. Lastly, any non Muslims are only allowed up for one hour a day and are not allowed into the Dome of the Rock.

Some photos (absolutely breathtaking):

Next we traveled around the Muslim quarter and visited an Austrian Hospice. There we went up to the rooftop and saw all of the Old City which was absolutely breathtaking.

From there we visited a few churches on our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

This trip showed me a whole different side of the Old City and really opened my eyes to the fact that this is not just a holy place for Jews. Everywhere I turned, I would see tourists crying at the fact that Jesus may or may not have touched a specific spot on the wall on his way to being crucified. The whole experience was very intense.

Armenian Church:

Church of the Holy Sepulchre:

This is the holiest place for all Christians because it is supposedly the place where Jesus was crucified. There is a hole in the wall that exposes part of a rock that Jesus touched and there was a line of people who wanted to touch it as well. I personally could not do it because I was too scared to stick my hand in a dark hole that I can't see into. The Church was packed with people crying and praying and bringing Jesus gifts. It was beyond different than anything I have ever seen before.

The rock that Jesus laid on after he was crucified:

The "blood" of Jesus that drips into the rock: 

After a long day of learning about Christianity and Islam, a few friends and I decided to end our day at the Western Wall. We did this for two reasons. First, to say that we went to all three holy places in one day and second, to end our day at the Jewish holy place because of course it has the most meaning to us. Even though it was amazing to go to the other sites, there is nothing like the Kotel :)

Day to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo!!

In Israel, Election Day is considered a national holiday so we didn't have school!!! So instead of ulpan and all of our other classes, my friends and I went to the Biblical Zoo! Why is it the biblical zoo you ask? Apparently the only animals there are animals from the bible (each description of every animal has a line from the Bible with that animal in it). Also there is a Noah's Ark too :)

So we saw a bunch of cute (and ugly) animals!!! So many cute monkeys and zebras, giraffes, elephants, flamingos etc. There was a really big group of us there which obviously made it even more fun!

The best part? Because it was Election Day in Israel, the zoo also decided to hold elections for the leader of the animal kingdom. The whole park was filled with fake campaign posters from different animals! So cute!!!! I voted for the lion and he won!!!!!!! :)

Gush Katif Museum

Today, my friends and I attended the Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem. Gush Katif is the name of all of the Jewish settlements that were in Gaza before they were forced to leave in 2005. Once we arrived, the woman who works there explained to us the history of Gaza and showed us a timeline that explains how the Gaza strip has belonged to the Jews and been taken away from us many times since the beginning of Judaism. She also showed us many pictures and artifacts from Gush Katif to give us more of a feel of what life was like there.

After that we roamed around by ourselves. The museum was very small so everything there was very relevant and really contributed to the museum. For example the museum saved the Hannukiah of one of the synagogues that was destroyed after the Arabs tool over Gaza. However the Arabs left one the synagogues standing because they said they don't believe in ruining ANY place of worship not just mosques. I thought that was pretty cool. Another artifact was a rocket the flew into the Gush from one of the neighboring Arab settlements that didn't blow up. The people of the Gush made it look like a Hannukiah because it was a "nes" (or miracle) that it didn't blow up.

For my first siyur to Sderot way back in September, we went to listen to a woman (Anita Tucker) who was from Gush Katif   tell us her story. I saw her picture in many of the photographs in the museum and that took me back to her story and how heartbreaking it really was. Another thing that really got to me was the video of IDF soldiers dragging the citizens out of the synagogue. Men, children and even these soldiers were crying and it was absolute craziness. I feel horrible that this happened to them and it's not easier to see another Israeli citizen be the one to pull you out of your home.

We ended our visit by talking to the tour guide again. By the end of our trip we realized that she must have lived in Gush Katif to work in this museum and when we asked her she admitted that she was. She told us that her family members and friends were in the video that we saw and explained to us that the people are not angry anymore it has been almost eight years. They just miss their homes. Most people have not adjusted and have not been able to find steady jobs and homes. She also told us that she would have gladly given up her home for peace but the fact the Arabs won't stop until they reach Jerusalem and just use Gaza for a launch pad make her very angry. The woman must have only been in her mid twenties meaning that she was probably just a teenager when this happened to her and that is heartbreaking.