Jerusalem

                The Western Wall

 The Western or Wailing Wall is the most holy religious site for all Jews. When ever Jews pray in synagogues all over the world we face in the direction towards Jerusalem/The Western Wall. This is remains of King Solomon's great Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans when they conquered Jerusalem about 2 thousand years ago. The great Temple was built on top of the very rock where Abraham was asked by G-d to sacrifice his son Issac as a test of faith.

The wall was much taller and wider than I imagined. The part you see above ground is only the top of the wall. The very bottom of it is many many feet underground. There is a huge archaeological site and museum under the Western Wall. The street level during the ancient days of the bible is way under the current street level.

The women's prayer section at The Wall.

 My son, looking adorable standing by The Wall.

My son and I. I was told before visiting here that women must be dressed in long skirts and long sleeve tops and have head coverings in order to be allowed to pray at The Wall. I was surprised to learn shortly after I arrived that I was definitely one of the most conservatively dressed women there ! LOL  Well, at least I didn't have to worry about being asked to leave ! LOL

The girl in plain clothes, with the pink shawl is an American tourist. She is the same age as the young Israeli soldiers who are around age 17.

 Leave it to my son, he found a police van and of course I had to take a pic of this ! LOL

These archways lead to the entrance of the underground archaeological site and museum that lay beneath The Western Wall.

The walls are reinforced underground all along the "entire" length of the Western Wall or King Solomons Temple. It's absolutely huge !!!! The exposed wall we see outside, above ground is only a "small" fraction of the massive wall of only one side of the great Temple. I never realized this until I was there to experience and see it. I was just in awe !!!!

This is a close-up of the huge stones used to build King Solomon's Temple. Just like outside, above curent day street level people leave prayers written on small papers inside cracks in the wall, the same goes on underground too.

This is a replica of King Solomon's Temple, the way it looked before it was destroyed.

This is one of the many large entrances/Doorways of King Solomon's Temple. This doorway is blocked, because on the other sides lays the Muslim Mosque, which Jews are forbidden to be according to Islamic people's beliefs. So the Israelis respect their wishes. Right on the other side of this blocked wall is where the holy rock where Abraham, Issac and G-d once stood. Although this is so important to the Jewish Religion, the Israeli Arabs refuse to allow us to visit this place because it's a holy site to them as well. I only wish the Israeli Arabs would allow us to visit this holy site and share.  When Arabs had control of Eastern Jerusalem they did not allow Jews to even pray by the Western Wall. This is why the wall took on the name Wailing Wall, because there has been so much sorrow here for Jews. When the Israelis finally gained access to The Western Wall after the 1967 War it was the most special event for Jews all over the world, that we once again could pray at our holiest religious place.

Another pic of the blocked entrance to King Solomon's Temple. There are many wonderful Jewish and Christian archeological biblical sites on the other side, where the Arabs control that part. We are kept yearning and wondering what remains of our heritage are there. In recent years Israeli Arabs have dug up many biblical artifacts when digging for plumbing and instead of giving them to the Jewish people, they took it to the city dump. This is a very emotionally painful subject for the Jews. We only ask that they respect our right to worship and enjoy our ancient sites, but they do not do this.

This is one of the many archaeological digs going on on the only side of the Western Wall the Jews are allowed to be. Israelis continue to uncover many fascinating Christian and Jewish artifacts, many which are displayed in the museums.

This is a deep hole covered by glass that visitors can take a look at how far history is deep down in the earth. Ancient cities were built over cities and this was repeated over and over the thousands of years. .There are many many layers of cities beneath the Western Wall. It's a very chilling experience to look down into this hole.

 Another hole in the ground covered with glass, to view all the countless cities built one on top of the other.

This sign explains that this is an uncovered ancient cobbled Roman street and columns that was built in the center of Jerusalem, right beside Solomon's Temple. For those who are Christian reading this, Jesus walked on this very street.

Ancient Roman Jerusalem Road

Ancient biblical era stair case.

Ancient aqueduct that provided all of the fresh water to the ancient people of Jerusalem

An ancient Roman public swimming pool. The picture is rather dark, but the pool is still filled with water.

Once again outside, on present day street level in Jerusalem.

Apartments in the heart of old Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is full of ancient Roman ruins. This one you can access by climbing steps down to the main street that ran through the center of Roman occupied Jerusalem. This was where the main marketpace was and shops.

After my son and I climbed down the steps to the Roman street, this is what we saw.

This is an ancient menorah (2 thousand years old) that managed to be rescued from King Solomon's Temple right before the Romans ransacked and stole everything valuable inside it.

A typical street scene in the Jewish courters of ancient Jerusalem. There were some outdoor cafes there, where my son and I grabbed a meal. There were many schools and religious centers. Also there were houses and apartments. Also there were nice shops all around. The streets were very narrow, with cars barely able to pass. The residents enjoy being outside and the streets were quite lively.

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