David's Tower

Hey Everybody,

Baruch Hashem, today has been great. We started off our day with a quick 15 minute walk to the Jaffa Gate. Upon arrival we decided to make a stop at David's Tower. David's Tower is a citadel/guard tower that was once connected to the outer wall along the City. It had several look outs were you could practically see all of Jerusalem. There were a few small indoor exhibits that sparked some interesting facts. But I think our favorite part was being outside and looking at the walls and towers. It's neat to see all the different sizes of rocks from different time periods that were used to rebuild after battles by different civilizations that have settled in Jerusalem throughout its history. I know we were all amazed realizing that part of the remaining walls date back to the Hasmonean / Herodian period of the Second Temple at that Yeshua most certainly passed through those same walls as he traveled in and out of Jerusalem. Clearly, David's Tower was a lot of fun! A must for all you history buffs.

After our visit to David's Tower, we took a stroll through the Christian Quarter of the Old City. We happened to run into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Crowds were going in and out of the church (mostly Chrisitian tour groups). My Dad decided to take us in because Benjamin, Andy and I had never been in an old cathedral before and he wanted us to see how paganism and sun worship and influenced much of Catholic / Greek Orthodox Christianity. The architecture was impressive. But the place had a strange vide about it. To see so many people stand in long lines to catch a glimpse of the alleged sepulcher is interesting. The statues, paintings and mosaics all present the poeple with the traditional catholic "halo" around the head. A carryover from the pagan sun worship roots. It was an interesting experience but I prefer a simple synagogue with a Torah scroll.

The markets of the Christian and Muslim Quarter feel like something right out of Alladin: the narrow alleys, bustling people, crowded little shops selling everything, the haggling, etc. I was expecting Abu (...the monkey for those who haven't seen the Disney movie) to come scrambling past trying excape some mischief. We picked up a few gifts and had a fun time bargaining with the store keepers. One store inparticular was a lot of fun. We were bargaining with this guy for several different items when he took us to the store next door and continued to show us differnent colors and sizes of items. My mom had just asked how much an item was, when finally he told us, "Oh this is not my store this is my cousins store." The cultural experience is unique but I think I like it.

Now we are all at the apartment preparing for another Shabbat!

Shalom, Peace!

Michaela and the little hobbits from Israel!