Day 14--Jerusalem with a Guide

Today we hired a private guide and took an eight hour walking tour of the city.  I'm exhausted, but it was really worth it.  We decided to start with the Dome of the Rock since I hadn't seen it on my last visit.  On the way there, we passed through the Western Wall and it was the day for Bar Mitzvahs.  There were tons and tons of them.





We then went up to the Temple Mount or Haram esh-Sharif.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  Here are a few photos of Al-Aqsa Mosque.






And then there's the Dome of Rock.  It's breath-taking and the tile work is so beautiful.









From the Temple Mount we got a great view of the Russian Orthodox Church.



Our wonderful guide, Shira, took us to the city of David, outside of the rampart walls to the south.  This city is much older than what's inside of the walled city.  It's four millennia old.  It was the capital under King David.



Here's the ruins of an old house.



And our guide, Shira, giving us a wealth of historical information.  shira.victor@yahoo.com



We went through the Jerusalem Walls National Park.  Here's rubble from the destruction of the Temple and also three gates that were exits from the Temple.





We then went through the Jewish and Muslim quarters to get to the Via Delarosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.







Another wonderful day!!