Thousands of pilgrims descend upon Jerusalem's Old City on Good Friday. We woke up early to go to the Via Dolorosa, where various Christian groups were participating in the stations of the cross. It's remarkable to see the diversity of people within the global Christian community; one of the largest processions consisted of pilgrims from Ethiopia. (Catholic and Orthodox Easter fall on the same day this year, so the crowds are even larger than normal.) We were only able to see a small portion of the long stretch that is the Via Dolorosa, because of the throngs of people. It seemed like crowd control was in peaceful order and things were well organized in the streets.

In the Holy Sepulchre, however, things got a bit intense. There was quite a bit of shoving in the line to enter the tomb of Christ. It was actually quite sad to see people arguing on what should be a reflective, holy day.

We also took some time on Friday to tour outside the Old City. We visited the last supper room in Mount Zion, which is, as its name suggests, the place where the Christ broke bread with his disciples for the final team. There was a group of Costa Ricans sings hymns, which added to the holiness of the room. It may seem obvious, but visiting the places that we have only read about in the Bible is a transformative experience. We returned to Gethsemane as well, in order to visit the garden where Jesus prayed.  The sites related to the life of Christ outside the city walls are far more peaceful and offer an opportunity for quiet contemplation and prayer.

Easter is a joyous day all over the world but was especially so in Jerusalem this year.  We awoke well before sunrise in order to be at the tomb of Christ as dawn broke and were pleasantly surpised to have the Holy Sepulchre largely to ourselves.  The line to enter the tomb was relaxed and pleasant--the exact opposite of what we experienced two days prior.  We then traveled out of the church and down the Via Dolorosa to attend a rooftop mass at the Ecce Homo convent.  The view was breathtaking, as the outlines of churches, including the two domes of the Holy Sepulchre. dominated the skyline behind the priest, who, remarkably, conducted his homiiy in both French and English.  In keeping with the high standards of French hospitality, the convent hosted a lovely breakfast after the service; it was lovely to interact with fellow pilgrims and indulge in good fruit and cheese.

Following our breakfast we headed for the Temple Mount, which had been closed the previous two days.  We only had to wait in line for twenty minutes to see the site that once contained the Jewish temple and now serves as a spiritual center of the Muslim faith.  Given non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock we had to be content with circling the structure and admiring its beautifully tiled exterior. 

After the Temple Mount we headed to the Armenian Quarter to check out the beautiful interior of the St James Church.  Of all the sections in the Old City the Armenian Quarter has the most intimate feel.  This was certainly represented in its flagship church and the friendly nature of the parishoners waiting to attend an afternoon service.  We ended our multi-day tour of the Old City with a lovely stroll through the Jewish Quarter and were fortunate enough to stumble across an ice cream man so desperate to get home to his family that he was giving away his stock for free.  As I said Easter was a joyous day!

With the north of Israel calling us on Monday, we headed to the car rental agency to secure our ride.  Driving in Jerusalem was surprisingly easy, and we took advantage of our newfound mobility by heading to the western part of the city to check out the Israel Museum and the Bible Lands Museum across the steet.  The Bible Lands Museum is the better of the two, as it provides well developed archeological exhibits that accompany the Biblical history of Israel.  The Israel Museum does have the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the wing containing the majority of the other exhibits was closed for repair. 

We ended a great day of touring with a delicious meal at an East Jerusalem restaurant, Shababeek (http://shababeekrestaurant.com/).  We highly recommend the Shababeek Salad and the Gnocci dish--who would have thought Italian food could be done so well just minutes from the Damascus Gate!