Sunday at the temple....
I walked down to old jerusalem with the intent of going into the Muslim temple through the single point entry near the wailing wall. It was closed. It’s always unclear if the Israeli’s closed the entrance, or the Muslims. I think in this case, it was the Muslims, because as I wandering down an alley in the old city, a “guard” approached me and said I could not go on. I use parenthesis because he had no uniform, badge, or any other sort of proof, other than the weapon on his hip.
Shopping in the temple is intense. There are thousands of stalls
The floors are relatively new, perhaps from the end of the 19th century. The man hole cover has a german seal on it. The arch is probably of the same age as well. It does rain and snow in Jerusalem so the ceilings are a boon to business. The arch pictured below is from the Byzantine period (4th thru 7th century). During this period, Jerusalem is officially a Christen city. Although it is clear that inhabitants didn’t really care about anything “official” . In that regard, very little has changed in Jerusalem.
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Monday, August 25, 2008
