Jerusalem during Shabbat - Day 2

Visiting Jerusalem during Shabbat isn't the best day of the week - but I knew the challenges we would face.

Israel is officially a Jewish state. This means that from Friday afternoon to Saturday sunset, virtually all of public life in Israel, including shops, restaurants, and transportation, comes to a standstill to follow the Shabbat religious laws. The religious laws prevent Jews from earning money during Shabbat and effectively forbid them to operate machines.

Interesting tidbit: Jewish houses are equipped with systems that switch the lights on and off at regular intervals so they don't have to push the buttons, because that very act is forbidden during Shabbat. As pushing the button of an elevator is forbidden, throughout Israel buildings have what are known as "Shabbat elevators," which stop at every floor so that observant Jews can get in and out without having to press any button.

You can only be an Orthodox Jew if your mom or grandma is Jewish.

The plans we made for today would have to revolve around all the closures. Since Friday starts the Shabbat, we had until 2pm to get anything done. Having read it was a do-not-miss, I decided that the Western Wall ("Great Stone") Tunnel Tour sounded like our best bet. It was a little interesting, but I am guessing the "do not miss" comments come from tourists who have more devotion to the wall. 

There's much more to the Western Wall than what is visible in Prayer Plaza. The length of the Western Wall is 1600 feet - more than 5 football fields. The overall height of the wall from the foundation to the top is 105 feet. The tunnel tour gives us access to the archeological exposition that allows us to see portions of the wall deep below the city's surface.  It is also the access point that allows Jews to be as close to the Holy of Holies without going onto the Temple Mount.

Viewing the Great Stone on the Western Wall tunnel tour. The original stones can be distinguished from others based on their size and masonry. Herodian stones from the Second Temple period are the grandest and largest. Herod wanted the wall to be magnificent so he chiseled and framed the massive stones.

The best part of the tour (for me) was walking through the ancient Roman aqueduct.

The aqueduct leads to an underground water reservoir.

If nothing else, our Western Wall tour provided an opportunity to take a family photo and fill our water bottles from the drinking fountains (no, not the hand-cleansing fountains).

After the tour we were quickly running out of time to squeeze in anything else before the start of Shabbat. Greg was hoping to find a pair of more comfortable shoes, so we used it as an excuse to go back to Machane Yehuda Market to break our vegetarian meal streak we started the day before. We were craving beef!

The Machane Yehuda Market right before it closes for Shabbat. Kate and I decided that we could not live in Israel if this is what our every "Saturday" would look like. The crowds in the city were unbearable.

After a brief rest at the hotel, Jeremy, Chris and I thought we would check out the Garden Tomb located just outside the Old City's Damascus Gate. Mainly a place to worship, the center claims this to be the garden in which Jesus of Nazareth was buried and where he rose from the dead - instead of the Holy Sepulchre Church which is the generally accepted location.

They take the stance that there is no proof Jesus wasn't there - although there is no proof that he was there. At the very least they found a cave that matches the description, and acts as a visual aid that helps bring to life the events of the resurrection. And they offer a peaceful garden where you can pray.

The entrance to the garden tomb is more what you imagine Jesus' tomb to look like.

Our only goal remaining for the day was to find a place to eat dinner that wasn't closed due to the Shabbat.  We had mediocre (at best) tourist food in the Old City. 

My ambitious self would have loved to take a sunrise tour to Masada and the Dead Sea today but I know from much past experience that our jet lag hits us the hardest on the second day, so we kept our activity level low.

It's so cute that as we were packing to leave, everyone was hoping our hotels for the rest of the trip would be an improvement over our Jerusalem hostel… when tomorrow we are on our way to spend the night in a tent at a Bedouin camp!