The Old City of Jerusalem...a complicated place

After a rather adventurous journey from Haifa to our convent guesthouse in Jerusalem, my friend Mirela and I set out to explore the Old City. Between Fri and Sat, we covered nearly all of it on foot...the picturesque rooftops, the Via Dolorosa (supposedly the steps of Christ to his crucifixion),  the crowded, steep alleys filled with shops, and even the cavernous ruins beneath our guesthouse (where I felt a bit like Indiana Jones).

The Old City is definitely impossible to summarize even close to adequately, but one of my main takeaways was the complexity of the diversity within the walls of the Old City. There are mosques, churches, and synagogues all crammed in next to each other, and you see adherents to all different sects of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Walking down a short street, you can run into a Hasidic Jewish family, Muslim teens, a group of Catholic pilgrims, and a Greek Orthodox priest all within about sixty seconds. It's really an incredible place for observing people, except you really can't stand still and do that. If you pause for even a second, a nearby shopkeeper will start beckoning with some variation of the following script: "Lady! Hello.Where are you from? You need directions? Where are you going? I have a shortcut through my shop. Come look! Special discount for you today. One hundred percent off for ladies." My tried-and-true method was to just keep walking and pretend I couldn't understand.

We watched people gather at the Western Wall as Shabbat began...so interesting to see the square go from fairly empty to jam-packed, and observe how differently various groups and individuals conducted themselves. Some were rocking and praying silently, while others sang and danced in circles. I felt zero spiritual significance while at the Wall, except sadness that those who are so strictly observant of religious traditions don't know the Messiah. And while I was walking along the steps of Christ, I didn't feel any connection other than a new appreciation for how long and uphill the journey was. It's difficult to attach any meaning to a place when it doesn't look the way it would have thousands of years ago. Most disturbing for me was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which covers the area historians think was Golgotha and Christ's tomb - it's so ornate and filled with tourists, absolutely nothing like it would have been back in the day of Christ's death and resurrection. All the nearby shops were crammed with religious trinkets and icons, which made me just want to get away from the commercialism.

The most spiritual moment I experienced in Jerusalem was when we were walking along the city walls and heard some singing. We looked down into a square below us and saw a group of British teens belting out Hebrew worship songs as Shabbat came to an end, then their leader told them a parable and they continued singing with their arms around one another. This was a moment when I did stop literally stop in my tracks and just absorb the moment...the voices raised in unison were so captivating. They don't know the Messiah now, but I pray that one day they will sing to Him.