Today is a free day. The course starts tomorrow. We walked to the Old City and wandered around. It’s very different from what I pictured. You enter a gate. The roads are very narrow, used by pedestrians now. Shops fill the sides. There is no free space. Just shop after shop. I’m amazed they can all stay in business. There are food shops, butcher shops, candy shops, clothing shops, hardware stores, pottery stores and stores that sell all kinds of touristy souvenirs. It’s like spokes of a wheel go out from each gate. It’s not an open space like I expected but a lot of alleys.
We found ourselves at the Western Wall ( aka the wailing wall). Since Jews are not allowed to pray at the Temple Mount because it is a Muslim holy site, they adapted by making this spot on the outer wall, near where the Holy of Holies would have been, a holy site. There is a section for men and a section about 1/2 that size for women. I went in and prayed and left two names. Several times a year rabbis pick up all the prayers left and bury them on the Mount of Olives. I found praying there a very moving experience.
FLAN at Damascus Gate
Looking Out Seeing Within 