Jerusalem (Before Covid) - A Tour of the Old City and Dinner at Hachapuria

**** I'm sure I could write chapters about the Old City. But I'm going to try to be as concise as possible

We had really planned to learn a lot more about the Old City on our third full day in Jerusalem. So, like the previous two days, I figured a private tour might work for the best. And we had really enjoyed the tours we took the previous two days. I had gotten the Missus and I a private tour, that was supposed to be secular....I should have known better. Our guide wasn't very friendly, nor did he take much time to explain things; he basically drove or walked us to places, would tell us what the place was, and set us out on our own and go for a smoke. Oh well.

We started the morning by grabbing our caffeine fix from the nearby Nadi Cafe, which seemed to be full of students.

   Our "guide" then met us at back at our apartment and drove us up to the Mount of Olives. We kinda knew what we were in for after he basically left us and went back to the car to wait for us.

Still, it was a lovely view.

We then drove down to the city and parked and then walked along the old city walls.

   And eventually crossed a trench that led us to some alleyways. Soon enough we saw a spire rising in front of us. This is the Church of the Dormition. We were led into a room and were told this was the "Room of the Last Supper"; the Cenacle. To imagine that this was where it was believed that the Last Supper was held!

This was also supposedly the place where Christ washed the feet of his Disciples.

We were led down some stairs to a hallway, which had been converted to a synagogue. From here, the Missus had to go one way, I another.

And I entered this room.

This is David's Tomb. While not considered to be the actual resting place of King David (the tomb is empty), this is a quote from Professor Doron Barr on the Wikipedia Page:

"Although the sources for the tradition of David's Tomb on Mount Zion are not clear, it appears that it only began to take root during the subsequent, early Muslim period. Apparently, the Christians inherited this belief from the Muslims, and only at a relatively late juncture in the city’s history were the Jews finally convinced as well"

We were then taken into the Church of the Dormition. Dormition means to "fall asleep" and it is claimed that this is where the Virgin Mary fell into "eternal sleep". The crypt is quite an amazing place; it features a  life sized "Sleeping Mary".

And the walls are adorned with mosaics and images of famous women from the Bible.

It's quite stunning.

We also visited the Church as well.

This is the view from Mount Zion.

From here we were led thru the Zion Gate.

To an area lined with colonnades.

We walked down the stairs to the excavated street known as the Cardo, which dates back to Byzantine times and was once the main street of Jerusalem.

It's now a pretty swanky shopping arcade. Regardless, it's quite impressive.

From here we were led past Hurva Square.

And taken to a shop named Everest Cafeteria Ramzi where we had lunch; while our guide left and did whatever stuffs he needed to.

After lunch we were guided down the street......to an area I'm sure most people have heard of.

The Western Wall. Because of the walls proximity to the restricted access Temple Mount, this wall built by Herod the Great is considered the Holiest site in Jerusalem and is a place of pilgrimage and prayer for many Jews. There are separate sections for men and women. The Missus had made sure to dress appropriately for this visit and after going thru security I wore a temporary Kippah (aka yarmulke).

I saw many folks placing "prayers"; slips of papers into the wall. I know some folks to whom a visit to the Western Wall has been one of the most important and cherished events in their life. I had been told that I should never turn my back to the wall as it is considered disrespectful, so I made sure to back away.

One of our requests when we booked the tour was to see all the stations of the Via Dolorosa, the "Way of the Cross"; basically the path Jesus took to his crucifixion. Our guide decided to start at Station III of the Via Dolorosa; where Jesus fell for the first time.

You can see the relief of Jesus falling under the weight of the cross above the door of the Armenian Chapel. Right next to it is the Fourth Station of the Cross, where Jesus met his mother, Mary. This is right in front of the Armenian Church.

We were then walked past the Fifth and to the Sixth Station of the Cross.

This is where Veronica, who would become Saint Veronica, wiped the sweat and blood off of Jesus's face. That cloth, called the Veil of Veronica is said to have the image of Jesus' face on it.

Down the street is the Seventh Station.

 The Seventh Station is where Jesus fell for the second time.

The Ninth Station is where Jesus fell of the third time.

From here, we were taken into the main plaza of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Volumes could be written on this, but I'll keep it brief.

Built on what is believed to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, locations in the church complex are run by various Christian religions using what is known as the Status Quo.

 It was quite intense watching folks praying over, weeping, and in one case a woman cried out and threw herself over the Stone of Unction (Stone of Anointing) which lays upon the site where Christs body was laid after being removed from the crucifix and prepared to be buried. Man....

And of course there's the Tomb of Christ, where Jesus laid buried for three days before rising from the dead. 

All these sacred sites in one place is kind of overwhelming even for an Agnostic like me.

If we'd had more time, I would have gotten a private guide just for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Our guide just pointed to the entrance and told us where to meet him. He seemed uncomfortable in this area.

After leaving the church, we decided to cut our guide loose. Instead of taking us back to his car and driving us back to the apartment, we decided to walk back. The Jaffa Gate was close by and we strolled thru the Mamilla Mall and did some window shopping. And listened to some music.....

We took a nice break at the apartment before heading out to dinner. 

After a pretty full day, I decided that we should go to the area around Machaneh Yehudah Market to grab something to eat. And while strolling around the market something clicked. This was the place we felt most comfortable in Jerusalem. So we'd return here for sure; especially since we had reservations at Machneyuda the following night.

We just wanted something casual for dinner and I had a place in mind right outside the market called Hachapuria whose specialty is a Georgian specialty called Hachapuri (Khachapuri).

Service was efficient and the prices were quite reasonable.

We started with a "salad", which was so very good, especially the wonderful smoky, earthy eggplant.

Man, the vegetables in Israel just seemed to good!

Here's the Acharuli Hachapuri.

We loved this. The boat shaped dough was so tasty; a perfect balance of yeastiness-salt-sugar, the texture perfectly crisp; the Sulguni cheese had a mild salty-sour-acidity, was stringy, and not overwhelming....and who doesn't love that egg???? And yes, that's a blob of butter on top of the egg!

We forgot about even using the provided sauces!

   

A wonderful dinner!

Hachapuria
5 Ha-Shikma
Jerusalem 9432305 Israel

After dinner we strolled back to the apartment. Tomorrow was our "free day" and we were looking forward to just wandering around and Machaneh Yehudah Market was definitely on that list.

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[kat]

beautiful!

[Kirk]

Very beautiful Kat!

[Loren]

There are few places in the world where the history just drips off the environment and where you feel something in the air as you walk the path millions have across countless millennia. Jerusalem is one of those truly aweinspiring places and should be a must visit in everyone's life.

Speaking from experience I had my Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall and it's probably one of the top 5 moments of my life. I've been back only one other time but the feeling and power is like nothing else.

Oh and Israel as a young man is where i learnt what actual hummus, falafel, schnitzel and shwarma tastes like, and I haven't stopped since. Plus i never loved eggplant as a kid until I had babaganoush or any number of the charred/smoky eggplant dishes in Israel. Eventually I moved onto things like Eggplant Parm but Israel was the gateway drug lol.

[Dereck]

That hachapuri looks insanely good. My kids are headed over the motherland for a couple of weeks soon with their ima and I will point them toward this!

[Kirk]

That sounds like an amazing experience Loren! And I'm sure that the older you get ,the more you appreciate it!

That's great Dereck! I hope they have a great time and eat well.....I'm fairly certain they will get some good grindz!

[Omri]

Hi, I'm one of Dereck's sons that is going to Israel. Thanks for the detail, Jerusalem is amazing! I remember a bunch of those places. While we are there we will have to stop by to get some hachapuri.

[Kirk]

Hi Omri! Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great time in Jerusalem!