Jerusalem

Today we left the grimy hostel we located late last night; I guess you get what you pay for. After walking from one end of Old City Jerusalem to the other and checking out more grimy hostels, we located the Austrian Hospice located on Via Dolorosa. Check in time was later in the afternoon so we left the bags and walked through the Muslim Quarter to the Jewish Quarter where the Western “Wailing Wall” stands. We met Yair, a seventeen-year-old who was praying at the wall. He was kind enough to answer our barrage of questions. Thank you! We departed and walked back down Via Dolorosa and out the Lions Gate entrance. Lions Gate also called St. Stephens Gate is where Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death. We continued down the hill to the base of the Mt. of Olives. We Visited the Gethsemane site where there are huge, gnarled olive trees from the time of Jesus. We walked back to the Old City visiting Mary’s tomb in and underground cave like location filled with nearly 300 intricately designed incense lamps. Mariella is thrilled that we are staying in a place that’s clean and has real mattresses, what a blessing, we are thankful. Old City Jerusalem is a unique place.