Getting to know our neighborhood.

This morning we got up early and went to the 6.30am Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Mass was said and sung in Latin and was celebrated just outside the tomb where Jesus was buried and where He rose again. Even though we couldn't understand much at all, the singing by the Franciscan monks was lovely and it was very moving. Afterwards we got to spend a few moments in quiet prayer both in the tomb itself and at the site of the crucifixion - Golgotha. We also found an ancient tomb carved into the rock, as well as a lovely side chapel that had the most beautiful stations of the cross done in small statues.
We went back to Ecce Homo for breakfast then headed to the Mount of Olives. We stumbled on an interesting church which we discovered later was the tomb of Mary. We walked down stairs into the church which was very old and decorated with hanging lamps. There was an orthodox mass being said by a Bishop and there were lots of people involved including an amazing all male choir whose singing was haunting.

Next door, we found the grotto of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and near that was the Garden of Gethsemane which contained some ancient olive trees.
We then walked up the hill past the Jewish cemetery which contains the remains of 180,000 Jews who believed that all mankind would be resurrected on the Day of Judgment from this spot.
We continued further up the hill to the Dominus Flevit Chapel which had an amazing view out of its window across to the Dome of the rock and the Old City. We got to the top of the mount of Olives and had a picnic lunch while enjoying the stunning view across the city.

In the afternoon we went on a very informative tour of the four quarters of the city - the Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish Quarters. We learnt how these different cultures and religions live side by side in this tiny city which is only one square kilometer in size. Some of the interesting facts we learnt included:
• of the 37,000 people living in the old city, 27,000 are Muslim, 5,000 are Christian, 2,000 are Armenian and only 2,500 are Jewish
• the Armenian Quarter is walled in by a double wall and they do not mix much with the other people
• many of the Christian holy sites are in the Muslim quarter.
This tour taught us the importance of looking beyond the historical and religious sites to see and get to know the people in this special place.

Even though this was a tiring day, it was one of the best days of our stay so far for me! I saw, learnt and experienced so much! And there is still so much more to come!