One could easily spend a week in the Old City of Jerusalem and still only scratch the surface of the history that it holds. We began our visit--typically--with a stop for eating and shopping.
Once we were ready to hear Muki's description of the Old City, we began at what seemed to be just a pile of rocks until we knew just what these rocks represented. It was a ruin from the First Temple period, when the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two (Israel in the north and Judah in the south). In 722 BCE the Assyrians invaded from the north and destroyed the 10 northern tribes of Israel, hence the saying today "Ten Lost Tribes." The Assyrians continued southward toward Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, but were never able to breach the city wall. The wall that we looked at was that wall. That pile of rocks, then, represented the difference between 10 lost tribes and 12 lost tribes, or between the reduction of the Jewish people and our complete destruction. When the story is told like that, one can have new awe for a 2800-year-old wall.
Our next stop were the Herodian mansions, where it seems the High Priest of the Second Temple period lived. We learned about the ritual and political position of the High Priest and the priesthood. But we also learned that even the High Priest's neighborhood was not immune from idolatry. In a cistern that the High Priest most likely would have drawn water from, archaeologists found a pagan fertility goddess. Even in ancient days, the Jews had to find the right balance between Judaism and the outside world.
Finally we made our way to the Western Wall. We had been there the night before, but only to go in the tunnels. This time we had the opportunity to pray and to put notes in the wall. In the Western Wall plaza, there were about 150 soldiers on a tour coordinated by the army. The juxtaposition between old and new, between holy and military, was impressive.
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