Day 8: Western Wall

Our final day in Jerusalem began with a trip to the Western Wall. The 2,000 year old wall is actually just a remnant of a retaining wall built by Herod the Great to create the plaza upon which the 2nd Jewish temple sat before the Romans destroyed it in 70 CE. This wall is therefore the proxy holy place for the Jews until the temple can be restored - which is a problem since the Islamic Dome of the Rock sits on that location.

The Wailing Wall had a reputation for being a place of unspeakable sadness. Perhaps because most of us lacked the same sense of loss or desire for restoration that it symbolized, it didn't quite have that effect on most of us. But it have a quality of holiness and reverence, and an absence of institutional commerce that was a refreshing change from so many of the other holy sites we had visited.

05/30/2011 08:01:50
Walking to the Western Wall

05/30/2011 08:02:30
Jerusalem Archeological Park

05/30/2011 08:03:58
Jerusalem Archeological Park

05/30/2011 08:04:02
Jerusalem Archeological Park

05/30/2011 08:04:14
Walking to the Western Wal

05/30/2011 08:05:36
Western Wall security gate

05/30/2011 08:05:12
Western Wall security gate

05/30/2011 08:05:52
1988 reconstruction marker

05/30/2011 08:07:30
Welcome to Western Wall Plaza

05/30/2011 08:07:48
Bridge to Dome of the Rock

05/30/2011 08:10:46
Men's aisle to the Western Wall

05/30/2011 08:34:26
Mesuzza on the Dung Gate

Next: Caprice - National Diamond Center