This city is regarded as a sacred place by Muslims, Christians and Jews as it was here where they believe that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are all buried. The Tomb of the Patriarchs which we visited is divided into a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim Mosque, each with its own entrance. As it was a Saturday (Shabbat - sabbath day for the Jews), we could only visit the mosque side. All the ladies were given long hooded cloaks to wear - we looked like characters from "The Lord of the Rings"!
We saw the parts of the Mosque, including all the prayer carpets on the ground all facing Mecca, as well as the sign that had all the times for prayer which change daily according to the sunrise. We visited the tomb of Abraham, which is actually shared between the Muslims and jews so we only saw the Muslim half.
After leaving the tomb, we wandered the marketplace. As it was early morning, there weren't many shops open, but we saw lovely embroidery and pottery shops as well as people selling soap and spices.
This is a very poor city, with lots of sad-looking children trying to sell you bracelets and other trinkets - it was really heartbreaking.
After the market, we headed into the new city to visit a glass blowing and ceramics factory where we saw artisans at work, making glass items and painting bowls etc. They were very talented.
Today, on the other hand, was a day of blessings and graces! We began the day by going to a very prayerful mass down the road at St. Anne's Church. The mass was in French, ( I managed to understand quite a bit!) and the singing and acoustics were amazing.
We were then going to go to the Temple mount but found some of our other pilgrims who had been lining up for an hour and were still a long way from the entrance, so Richard, Eamonn and I went for a wander instead.
Our first stop was the grave of Oskar Schindler - which is found in a Christian cemetery just outside the Old City. We could easily find his grave as it was literally covered in rocks, something Jewish people put on graves as a sign they have visited and have said a prayer there. Standing by the grave of this amazing man was a very moving experience for me as I have watched the film Schindler's list many times and remember seeing some of the people Oskar saved placing stones on this very grave. The inscription on the tombstone translates to " the unforgettable lifesaver of 1200 persecuted Jews".
From here we visited the Upper Room again which was a lot quieter and much more reflective this time as the only company we had was a local cat!
We also went to King David's tomb where we had to separate as men and women have to worship separately.
We revisited Dormition Abbey before going to a modern day mall outside the Old City where we had lunch and enjoyed the wide open spaces, lovely art shops and modern atmosphere.
I bought a beautiful book by a Jewish author called "The Soul Bird".
We then had a lecture this afternoon on Oriental, orthodox and Eastern Christian churches which was very interesting.
Another relaxing and very enjoyable day!
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