Jerusalem, Israel.

Sunday January, 27^th

I still wasn’t feeling too well this morning. The weather hadn’t improved either. I went exploring the old city of Jerusalem. I wondered through the streets in a kind of semi-state of awe. It had the overall impression of a medina. The whole citadel was one big fortification. However I knew from my stabs into history these walls were to defend the religious sites of the city. And Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all had their shrines here.

One of the most amazing things about this place is it feels it has not changed, from an architectural point of view, in over a thousand years. The history of the place is literally oozing from every stone. This is completely the opposite though. The city is forever changing. There have been at least three versions of the city created. Each one built on top of its predecessor. This I had demonstrated with evidence to me later on that day.

I found the via delorosa and walked the stations of the cross, the route Christ was supposed to have taken as he carried the cross to his place of execution. I must say it felt more than a little weird. I reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the spot where Christ was thought to have been cruficfied. The church is massive. It has been modified and extended umpteen times over the years. There are so many different denominations of Christianity in residence here. It’s very strange. The place where jesus died – Galgotha - is believed to be within the church. In fact some of the last stations are. At the time of Christ this was all outside of the city. I was brought up with so much of the history of this place ingrained in my mind in detail as a Roman Catholic that being here was an incredibly powerful experience. To represent it in a universal analogy: It is like finding yourself in Santa’s Grotto. The real one. In the North Pole. With elves and reindeer. And lots of very sombre children awaiting presents.

From here I decided to visit the Wailing Wall. This place is open to all who wish to come and pay homage. You have to wear a yarmulke – a Jewish hat - though. They hand out paper one’s as you walk down to it. I went right inside the covered area. The place closest to Kodesh Hakodashim, that is now the centre of a Muslim Mosque. There were some pretty devout Jewish people here. I kept thinking if you replaced their clothes and the location, they could be Christians or Muslims. The same city, give or take 500m either way. All praying to a God of similar origins. All with generations of malevolence against each other. Does it never strike you that somewhere, someone, is finding all of this extremely funny? I, by the way, wasn’t.

Next up I luckily managed to get a space on a tour under the Western Wall. Usually you had to book in advance.

This was a great experience. It allowed you to visit the Roman city under the current city. The foundations for the current city were laid by the Muslims. Underneath you can find the remnants of how and where the city of two thousand years ago began and ended.

I really enjoyed the tour and was surprised to find our group dumped back on the via delorosa once more. We’d walked some way. I had to ask our tour guide if the tour was indeed over before being able to bugger off – it was getting rather cold by that point. I had a couple of beers and hit the sack and watched National Lampoon’s Animal House