Fri 29 December 2006   (eve of Eid Adha)

The morning seemed bright enough for outdoor photography at 7 o’clock. I parked my car in front of Damascus Gate, and spent two hours strolling along the route of the ancient third wall of Jerusalem (which was built in 40 AD, and destroyed only three decades later). Photos taken along the route of the wall are available on a separate page, with a map indicating where each photo was taken.

At 9 o’clock I visited Petra Hostel near Jaffa Gate of the Old City, and paid 10 shekels for a warm shower (which was not available in the hostel where I was staying). Then I visited the modern city center, and refilled my cash reserves at a bank accepting credit card withdrawals.

At 10:30 I returned to the route of the ancient northern wall, and spent another two hours taking more photos of the area north of the Old City. (The four photos above and below were taken in the Jewish Morashah quarter, which is located west of Damascus Gate.)

At 13 o’clock I had seen enough of the northern wall route, and I returned to the Old City. During the next three hours I walked in the bazaars and on the rooftop promenade, taking photos of slum buildings and other interesting details of the Old City.

The building above is a school next to Redeemer’s Church. The “garden” below is a playing area for children on the rooftop promenade.

The 150° panorama above was taken over the Pool of Hezekiah towards east, from the balcony of Petra Hostel near Jaffa Gate.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre (above and below) is decorated in Catholic and Orthodox styles, which include extravagant images of holy persons shining in gold and silver. The alternative site of Golgotha, the Garden Tomb north of Damascus Gate, is maintained by Protestant Christians, and decorated in a more ascetic style that is typical for Protestant Christian shrines.

Life on the other side: a resident of East Jerusalem takes a nap outside the eastern wall of the Old City (north of Lion Gate), surrounded by piles of trash that are waiting to be burnt against the wall of the Old City.

Below are two more photos from the rooftop promenade, taken late in the afternoon.

I finished exploring the Old City at 16 o’clock, and drove to the modern city center to eat dinner. Then I returned to the Old City, and parked my car on Mount Zion. The trip meter of the car showed 2750 km, of which 20 km were driven today.

The rest of this Shabbat eve I spent at the hostel, reading newspapers and studying maps of Jerusalem (planning my activities for the following days, which I should have spent in Cairo and Luxor in Egypt, according to my original plans).