Day 5 – July 10th

It was necessary to have an advanced reservation for the guided tour. I am really looking forward to this day. I expect it to be one of the highlights of the trip. We were running a bit late and park in a commercial area of the “new” part of the city. It is very hot and we were rushing to the Wall. We arrive a few minutes late. Once again, that good ol’ Israeli customer service is apparent. The security guard tells us that we are 6 minutes late and makes it seem as if he is doing us a favor allowing us to join our group.

The Western Wall Tunnel is an underground tunnel exposing the full length of the Western Wall. The tunnel is adjacent to the Western Wall and is located under buildings of the Old City. Amazingly, while the open-air portion of the Western Wall is approximately 200 feet long, the majority of its original length is hidden underground. The tunnel allows access to an almost additional 1,600 feet of the wall.

Our tour guide is a middle aged religious woman who is not only very knowledgeable and religious person but seems almost too cheery and happy. There is some background and a presentation in an auditorium with a model of the area. As I walk through the tunnels the tour guide gives details about each section and when it was built but I am consumed by the somewhat singular fact that all of this was built was done on top of each other. It is as if there are layers of each time period.

There are some other fascinating facts that I retain. It is amazing that most of this laid dormant until the mid - 1800s when 2 Brits did some initial significant excavation. The next time that there is serious excavation is when Jerusalem was united after the Six Day War in 1967. There is still excavation going on today.

Interestingly, the tour exits into the Muslim Quarter and we are asked to stay with security guards back to the Western Wall by 2 security guards. I found this to be somewhat odd so I do a bit of research. Apparently, tourists originally had to retrace their steps back to the entrance.

Digging an alternative exit from the tunnel was proposed, but initially rejected on the grounds that any exit would be seen as an attempt by the Jewish authorities to stake a claim to ownership of the nearby land — part of the Muslim Quarter of the city. However, in 1996 Netanyahu authorized the creation of an exit into the Muslim Quarter. Over the subsequent few weeks, 80 people were killed as a result of riots against the creation of the exit. Hence, the security guards.

One last note. For those of you that do not realize, the Dome of the Rock a Muslim Holy Site is built on the Temple Mount on top of the Second Temple. Further excavation is prevented because when Israel took control of the Dome of the Rock during its victory in the Six-Day War, Israel gave a Muslim religious trust the authority to manage the Temple Mount, in order to "keep the peace". Jews are not even allowed access to the area.

My friend says “Follow me” and we break off from the group in the Muslim Quarter. We walk up an unmarked stairway and he knocks on the door and we are buzzed in. The building turns out to be an Austrian Hospice. After walking up about 6 flights of stairs we are on the roof of the building. What a great view of the entire city! The hospice also has nice couches to take a break and clean bathrooms. A highly recommended pit stop.

Next stop is the Damascus Gate. It is important because the original gate to the Old City was presumably built during the times of the Second Temple. The Damascus Gate is considered the “modern” entrance to the Old City and was built by the Turks during the 1500s. Interestingly, the stairs descend down to the gate, not up. We also check-out the Roman Gate which was excavated by the Brits in the 1800 and is located right under the Damascus Gate. It was an impressive city gate with three entrances, protected on both sides by massive towers. Only the eastern entrance has survived in its entirety but it indicates that all the entrances were spanned by arches, while engaged columns on high bases decorated the sides of each entrance. The Romans used the towers to keep Jews from visiting the Temple Mount after the destruction of Jerusalem.

We then walk up to the top of the Western Wall. Nice views and you can see the look outs where the Romans were able to shoot arrows down below with perfect cover.

At this point I am physically spent. I mean really spent. As exhilarating as everything has been so far, I am wiped out and hurting. I decide to sleep in and see how I feel when I wake up.