The Old City

3 major religions, 1 place of holiness. The Old City of Jerusalem has the most sacred monuments for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. For Jews, the holy monument is the Wailing (Western) Wall. This wall is supposedly the last remaining part of the Second Temple. For Muslims, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque are the sacred monuments. Inside the Dome of the Rock is the rock where supposedly Muhammad ascended to heaven. Also, that rock is where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac in Judaism. The Al Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site is Islam. For Christians, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the most holiest place. It is where supposedly Christ was crucified and it contains the tomb where he was buried.

Touring these sites was a very amazing and breath taking experience. I saw the remains and places where most of the information I had ever been taught about the bible had occurred. Because we went on the Sabbath, women aren't allowed to pray at the Western Wall so we just watched some very religious men pray. However, we still got an amazing view of the Wall and of the Mosques at the same time. Being at Western Wall was very meaningful to me because it is the most important object in my religion. I had always heard about "The Western Wall"and had seen pictures, but to actually be next to it and to see it for myself was very meaningful and exciting. We couldn't go into the Dome of the Rock today because it was the Sabbath, but because we will go back to the Old City many times we will go in some other time. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, people were constantly gathered around the place where supposedly Jesus was set down after he was buried. The church was extremely crowded so we didn't stay in it for very long. In my opinion, as far as churches go, it wasn't a particularly exquisite church. The floor was falling apart as well as were the walls. There were some nice ceiling designs though. Today was definitely the most stand out day that we have had so far in Israel.