Jerusalem, Israel: Today is a travel day and I am ready to hit the road. I am flying overnight to India (if I have to be in a plane for almost 7 hrs, better to do it overnight and have one less night to pay for lodging), so I have most of the day to…
Read more Temple Mount and Travel Day: Week 5 / Day 31 / Feb 10
Jerusalem, Israel: Heading out this morning, I was taken aback at how deserted things were. Dealing with first things first, I had to walk over a half a mile to find someplace that was open to buy coffee. Needless to say, it was crowded with other non-Jews looking for their caffeine fix. In addition to…
Read more Tower of David and King David’s Tomb: Week 5 / Day 30 / Feb 9
Jerusalem, Israel: Today was a fairly quiet day as I took it easy after all of my walking yesterday. I spent most of my time wandering around the shopping districts looking at things, but not buying. I did come across a small park that I know would be the main place visited by my daughter…
Jerusalem, Israel: I decided to take the Ramparts Walk around part of the Old City and for a different view. As noted before, the walls are a relatively recent addition to the Old City (1500s). Given the recentness of their construction it is not shocking that they have reused some older materials in making them.…
Read more Old City Ramparts Walk and Nearby Sights: Week 4 / Day 28 / Feb 7
Jerusalem, Israel: I took things pretty easy most of the day today. However, I did get out and explore again the Mahane Yehuda market located just a short walk from where I am staying. Similar to the markets I had visited in Amman and Marrakech, the variety of goods was impressive. The chaos level was…
Jerusalem, Israel: Remember those notes from the previous post? Yep, same thing here. Leaving the Temple Mount area we then exited the Old City to look at the Lions’ Gate. The origins of the name Lions’ Gate are a bit unclear. In fact, the animals carved into the stone are supposed to be leopards not…
Read more Old City of Jerusalem Part II – Week 4 / Day 26 / Feb 5
Jerusalem, Israel: A couple of notes before getting started with today’s activities: 1. This is the most hotly contested bit of real estate in the entire world. Although I have read a fair bit about it, I am no expert on the history of, or validity of claims to different things. With that awareness, I…
Read more Old City of Jerusalem Part I: Week 4 / Day 26 / Feb 5
Jerusalem, Israel: Yep, that’s right “Super Bowl Monday.” With the game starting at 1:30 AM, it is Monday. I have watched the Patriots play while overseas twice before – once for the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago and once for the Super Bowl two years ago while in Vienna with my daughter Kelly. I am…
Jerusalem, Israel: Time for another travel day. Today I am heading over the border from Jordan into Israel. There are only four crossing points between the two countries and I will be using the one at the Allenby / King Hussein Bridge (name depends on whom you ask / are talking to). It is supposed…
