Explorations in Jerusalem

I’ve been back in Jerusalem for over a week now. I’ve stayed fairly close to home, partly because my car has been in the shop, and partly because, between jet lag and a cold, I haven’t had much initiative to get out and about. But, I have gone on a few walks in and around the Old City. And, despite having spent a lot of time in this area, I managed to find some cool places where I’d never been before.

I walked out of Jaffa gate and to the left. There are some old tombs here, outside the city wall.

I walked past the carved stairs leading into the Old City wall. At some point, there was a gate here, but it does not exist in the current version of the wall. This is likely the place where Jesus stood on trial before Pilate.

I walked back into the Old City at Zion Gate. There is a cool archer’s slot next to Zion Gate.

I saw a sign for the Armenian Museum, and it was open, so I went in. I had been here before, but at that point, it was not a functional museum. The last time I was in this building was in 2014, when I was part of the Mount Zion dig team, and they had their dig headquarters here. Now, it is a very nice museum of Armenian history.

I next went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I realized that without tourists in Jerusalem, it might be a good chance for me to explore the church. The place was almost empty, and I was able to wander quite a bit. However, the church is taking advantage of the lack of tourists to work on a lot of remodeling, so there are large areas blocked off for construction. I had to take a circuitous route to get to this stairwell, carved full of crosses by ancient tourists to the church.

I was able to go inside the chapel that houses the traditional tomb of Jesus. Usually there is a huge line waiting to get in. This time, I walked in and found it completely empty. So, I was able to get some photos inside the tomb. There isn’t much to see there, just the tomb bench that is encased in marble.

What is more interesting to me is this first-century tomb in one of the back rooms at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. I don’t know whose tomb it is, but it clearly shows that this area was a cemetery at the time of Christ.

After I left the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I ducked into a few other doorways in the courtyard of the church. And, inside of one of these doorways, I found an adventure. I entered a small chapel with everything fenced off except a narrow passageway. I followed the passage, which wound through several rooms. Finally, I emerged in this rooftop courtyard. At this point, I had no idea where I was.

Then, I saw this sign. And of course, I had to investigate. Who wouldn’t want to visit a cistern that is fabulous indeed?

I went into a small chapel. A man guarding the door informed me that I needed to make a donation. He didn’t specify the amount. I pulled some coins out my pocket and dropped them into his donation basket. Apparently, the amount was sufficient, because he let me pass and pointed me towards this long staircase, which I photographed on my way back up.

I finally reached the bottom, and found a large cistern containing rather green water. I followed the instructions on the sign and paused long enough to sing a hymn. As advertised, the echo was indeed fabulous.

Another day, I walked down from Jaffa gate to the park in the valley below. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the grass was lush and green.

On my way back, I took a trail up through a pretty garden. It is nice to have such pretty gardens within walking distance of where I live.