Hebrew class was cancelled today because our professor, Judy Goldman, was sick. Sad for her, good for us. I took a bit of a risk by going out into the city during that time and consequently missed a few hours that should have been spent studying; I have no regrets!
Jerusalem is the best place to just wander around in. The streets wind all over and the streets beyond the Damascus gate where we usually enter looks pretty much like a crowded mall. You have your food court, shoe stores, clothing stores, souvenir shops, fabric stores, kitchen ware, pharmacy, electronics, and the list goes on.
You get your fill of shopping pretty quick in the old city because each shop sells pretty much the same things at the same prices as their neighbors.
My group decided to step off the beaten path and check out an Armenian Catholic church, "Our Lady of the Spasm," next door to the Austrian Hospice. The church was full of contemporary art made to look old in some places, and celebrating its modernity in others. The prayer room downstairs had the most gorgeous, subtle, golden cross I've ever seen. I wasn't able to get a picture, nut maybe I'll be back.
Our next stop was the church of the Holy Sepluchre. I absolutely love this cathedral. Within its walls are the claimed sights of Golgotha, the rock which Jesus the Christ was anointed on, and his tomb. We waited in line to see the tomb. The architecture of the building around the tomb was such that you had to bow to enter and bow to exit. Of course no one really knows the location of where Christ was laid before the resurrection, but the Church of the Holy Sepluchre sure did a great job of making it seem like the real thing.
The top of the dome in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre
Jerusalem is the best place to just wander around in. The streets wind all over and the streets beyond the Damascus gate where we usually enter looks pretty much like a crowded mall. You have your food court, shoe stores, clothing stores, souvenir shops, fabric stores, kitchen ware, pharmacy, electronics, and the list goes on.
You get your fill of shopping pretty quick in the old city because each shop sells pretty much the same things at the same prices as their neighbors.
My group decided to step off the beaten path and check out an Armenian Catholic church, "Our Lady of the Spasm," next door to the Austrian Hospice. The church was full of contemporary art made to look old in some places, and celebrating its modernity in others. The prayer room downstairs had the most gorgeous, subtle, golden cross I've ever seen. I wasn't able to get a picture, nut maybe I'll be back.
Our next stop was the church of the Holy Sepluchre. I absolutely love this cathedral. Within its walls are the claimed sights of Golgotha, the rock which Jesus the Christ was anointed on, and his tomb. We waited in line to see the tomb. The architecture of the building around the tomb was such that you had to bow to enter and bow to exit. Of course no one really knows the location of where Christ was laid before the resurrection, but the Church of the Holy Sepluchre sure did a great job of making it seem like the real thing.
The top of the dome in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre
One of the views from the top of the Austrian Hospice
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