Temple Mount - הר הבית
So I owe an apology to the waqf that controls the Temple Mount. A small one, but I still owe it. Maybe a month ago I posted about my frustration with not being allowed on the Temple Mount, thinking at the time that the harassment Nari told me about was the Muslim religious authorities trying to kick her off the Mount itself. Turns out they were actually stopping her from entering the mosques. That still sucks, since the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa are supposed to be gorgeous inside, but I was wrong in saying that non-Muslims are routinely harassed for walking on the Temple Mount during normal visiting hours.
The reason I only owe them a small apology, however, is that the visiting hours are something like 6:30-8:30 am. Thanks, guys. I really love getting up when it's still dark. Maybe they do that so that visitors can see the Mount in the early morning light, which was really very beautiful, but when I was sitting on a stool in the kitchen eating breakfast at 6 in the morning and trying to remember why I was up at this hour, and why I'd forced Anna to get up at the same time, I wasn't feeling charitable.
Maybe Leora was wrong and they do have other visiting hours. But it worked out well, so now that I'm past the sleepiness, I don't mind.
Anna and I waited out in the cold for a while before catching a sherut, then walked through Damascus Gate and through the Old City to the Temple Mount entrance in the Jewish Quarter, next to the Kotel. There are many Israeli guards posted at the different entrances, as well as a metal detector, so we passed through all those and came out on the Mount itself.
I was so happy to be up on it, since it was basically the one place I'd been wanting to see ever since I got here but hadn't been to yet. It looked slightly different, than I expected. I thought the platform would be more clear, so you could see more of it at one time, but there were a lot of trees and steps leading to the raised platform that the Dome of the Rock is on, and in the eastern side of it there was some unfinished construction work, a lot of rocks and limestone blocks lying around for the extension of the platform. And some garbage.
It rained yesterday, and in the morning light it was a pretty great sight all slicked down. The Dome of the Rock is smaller than I imagined, but the decorations and colors are still amazing. Big brass doors, marble columns and the gold dome, set off by all the colorful tiles. All around it, and near Al-Aqsa, there are little smaller domes and groves, whose uses I don't really know. And I think the multiple arches that span the numerous sets of steps that lead up to the Dome of the Rock's platform are a beautiful architectural addition, with varied designs on each one. No one was around so early, except for my old nemesis from Egypt, the "tour guide," so we were able to loosen up a little and not feel rushed in taking pictures or doing whatever. I couldn't believe the "tour guide" types were out that early, and was a little surprised because I hadn't actually encountered the likes of them in Israel yet, but there were only two that we saw.
After I'd had my fill of wandering around the place, we left through the northeastern-most entrance, which turns straight onto a part of the Via Dolorosa I hadn't seen yet, including the first couple stations of the cross, and the Ecce Homo Arch. The streets were still more dead than I'd ever seen them, which was both good and bad for pictures. I'll have try to get some when there's usual crowd of people, food and merchandise around the suq. After leaving the Old City through New Gate, we caught a bus home, and after all that, still got there at an earlier hour than I would have woken up at otherwise. :)
The reason I only owe them a small apology, however, is that the visiting hours are something like 6:30-8:30 am. Thanks, guys. I really love getting up when it's still dark. Maybe they do that so that visitors can see the Mount in the early morning light, which was really very beautiful, but when I was sitting on a stool in the kitchen eating breakfast at 6 in the morning and trying to remember why I was up at this hour, and why I'd forced Anna to get up at the same time, I wasn't feeling charitable.
Maybe Leora was wrong and they do have other visiting hours. But it worked out well, so now that I'm past the sleepiness, I don't mind.
Anna and I waited out in the cold for a while before catching a sherut, then walked through Damascus Gate and through the Old City to the Temple Mount entrance in the Jewish Quarter, next to the Kotel. There are many Israeli guards posted at the different entrances, as well as a metal detector, so we passed through all those and came out on the Mount itself.
I was so happy to be up on it, since it was basically the one place I'd been wanting to see ever since I got here but hadn't been to yet. It looked slightly different, than I expected. I thought the platform would be more clear, so you could see more of it at one time, but there were a lot of trees and steps leading to the raised platform that the Dome of the Rock is on, and in the eastern side of it there was some unfinished construction work, a lot of rocks and limestone blocks lying around for the extension of the platform. And some garbage.
It rained yesterday, and in the morning light it was a pretty great sight all slicked down. The Dome of the Rock is smaller than I imagined, but the decorations and colors are still amazing. Big brass doors, marble columns and the gold dome, set off by all the colorful tiles. All around it, and near Al-Aqsa, there are little smaller domes and groves, whose uses I don't really know. And I think the multiple arches that span the numerous sets of steps that lead up to the Dome of the Rock's platform are a beautiful architectural addition, with varied designs on each one. No one was around so early, except for my old nemesis from Egypt, the "tour guide," so we were able to loosen up a little and not feel rushed in taking pictures or doing whatever. I couldn't believe the "tour guide" types were out that early, and was a little surprised because I hadn't actually encountered the likes of them in Israel yet, but there were only two that we saw.
After I'd had my fill of wandering around the place, we left through the northeastern-most entrance, which turns straight onto a part of the Via Dolorosa I hadn't seen yet, including the first couple stations of the cross, and the Ecce Homo Arch. The streets were still more dead than I'd ever seen them, which was both good and bad for pictures. I'll have try to get some when there's usual crowd of people, food and merchandise around the suq. After leaving the Old City through New Gate, we caught a bus home, and after all that, still got there at an earlier hour than I would have woken up at otherwise. :)
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