Jerusalem Under Old Walls to New Northern Ramparts

Jerusalem Under Old Walls to New Northern Ramparts

Jerusalem, Israel, where the very old meets the new.

With so much happening on these Jerusalem streets, it is hard to keep up.

Thousands and thousands of visitors are filling the streets.

Drivers honking at the poor tourists trying to maneuver, unfamiliar with the crazy lights and the turns of the Jerusalem streets.

The Old City Walls are thousands of years old, but for this holiday season, there is also new.

New adventures and views for visitors to the Jerusalem Old City.

Damascus Gate at night of piano event in cave

Outside Damascus Gate at night, a familiar view.

We passed Damascus Gate walking around the walls on the night of Tisha B’Av.

Zedekiah's Cave in Jerusalem, Israel near Damascus Gate

Four years ago in Jerusalem, we descended into the nearby King Solomon’s Quarry,

Lights in Zedekiah's Cave for Piano concert

also called Zedekiah’s Cave, located close to Damascus Gate.

Solomon's Quarries for a piano performance

Down in the Zedekiah’s Cave was an amazing piano concert.

Piano music at Jerusalem light festival in Zedekiah Cave

For a Jerusalem Light Festival, Zedekiah’s Cave was also an impressive sight.

This week public concerts are held at night in the cave.

What else is new?

There have been popular Southern Ramparts Walks on top of the walls.

Now after 10 years of work, there is a new Northern Ramparts Path open to the public.

Roman Plaza Entrance to Old City

For our Northern Ramparts walk, we met at Zedekiah’s Cave and began next to Damascus Gate entrance, down at the Roman Plaza entrance.

First, we went down, and then up to the top of Damascus Gate.

Inside Damascus Gate at top in Old City Jerusalem

The top of Damascus Gate from the inside was another flight up.

Love the look of the stones against the clear blue sky!

Inside the Muslim Quarter on top

Looking down into the Muslim Quarter from above near Damascus Gate was a new sight.

Muslim Quarter Jerusalem Old City view from above

One view of the Muslim Quarter from above to the residential areas.

View of Jerusalem from top of Ramparts Walk

This was a view from the path on the wall toward northern Jerusalem with Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in the distance.

View from top of Old City Walls out to Jerusalem street

The newly opened walk goes around the tops of the Old City walls, on the right, a wide and straight part.

View from Old City walls to Mount Scopus

Looking out over the Rockefeller Museum from that part of the path.

View from top of Old City walls

And one more looking back toward Damascus Gate and the morning scene below.

Narrow stair way on Ramparts Walk

At times the path gets narrow with twisting metal stairs.

One place was so low I bumped my head. At 5 feet short, that was a first for me, other than on a very tiny plane.

View of rubbish inside the Old City Muslim Quarter on private land

Private land in the Muslim Quarter looks like a garbage dump.

But look not far in the distance.

View of Dome of Rock from Muslim Quarter area of Rampart Path

With a bit of zoom lens, you can see the domes of the Temple Mount.

View from Old City Walls nearing corner

Approaching the corner of the Old City wall, traffic below and Hebrew University in the distance on the left and Mount of Olives on the right.

Modern sports fields fill this corner of the Muslim Quarter.

A young woman takes a photo on Stork Tower on Jerusalem Old City Ramparts Path

At Stork’s Tower where one has incredible views.

New stones in Old City restoration marked

Not all are original stones. The new ones are marked with those black tags to show future historians what was recreated before 2020.

View from top of Old City Walls of Muslim cemetary

The new path provides an unprecedented view of the Muslim cemetery built along the northern wall.

View of Mount of Olives from Old City Ramparts Walk

Tourist buses lined up on the Mount of Olives, with the Jewish graves going back thousands of years on both sides.

View from Old City Ramparts Path of cemetery below

Storage? This structure is in the middle of the Muslim cemetery.

One more view approaching the Lion’s Gate.

Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage MK Ze'ev Elkin

MK Ze’ev Elkin – Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry and Mordechai Benita – Director-General of the ministry posed before the opening ceremony.

Opening of North Ramparts Walk

The tour guides and invited guests were waiting below.

Lions Gate from inside and above

As Zeev Elkin was speaking, I was watching a security guard leave her post and assist an old woman with a cane out of Lion’s Gate.

Jerusalem Minister Zeev Elkin cutting ribbon at opening of North Ramparts Walk

The official ceremonial blue ribbon was cut at Lion’s Gate.

Inside Lions Gate view from above

Inside of Lion’s Gate, from above, attracted my attention during speeches.

Old street in Jerusalem Israel

One old Jerusalem street on our way from Lion’s Gate inside the Old City walls.

Arab shop in Old City Jerusalem

Oops, was walking quickly and snapping as I went.

Arab man and woman sitting on side of street to sell in Old City

The scene approaching the Kotel, Western Wall Plaza, from inside Old City.

Finally, back to familiar sites and scenes.

Cleaning notes from the Kotel before Hanukkah

Special cleaning for the notes left at the Kotel,

Menorah at Kotel for Hanukkah

as Western Wall prepared for holiday crowds and Hanukkah candle lightings.

View of Kotel and Har Habayit

Another beautiful winter day in Jerusalem, Israel.

Lots more photographs, but if you want to check out for yourself, please note:

The walks are not accessible to people with disabilities and wheelchairs.

Young children should be in a carrier.

South Walk:

Sun-Thur 9:00-16:00 (summer to 17:00, July-August to 22:00)

Friday and Holiday evenings 9:00-14:00

Exits – at Zion Gate and at the end of the Tekuma Garden (Jewish Quarter)

*Southern box office: At the southern end of the Cannon Plaza (the back entrance of the Tower of David, to the right side before of Jaffa Gate square)

North Walk:

Sunday – Thursday and Saturday: 9:00-16:00 (summer to 17:00)

Exits – at the New Gate, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate and Lions Gate

Ticket includes the Northern walk and entrance to the Roman Plaza.

* Northern box office: at the TICKETS OFFICE on the left-hand side, just after entering the Jaffa Gate, and at the Roman Square box office

Fees:

Adult – 20 NIS, student / retiree 10 NIS, child / soldier 8 NIS

The ticket is valid for both sections, for two days.

Tickets: PAMI website www.pami.co.il and at the box offices

 

Jerusalem Knights and Dragons Festival

A priority for City Hall has been to encourage

 visitors to come at night to the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel.

  And the current ‘Festival of Knights in the Old City’ has done the job.

Jaffa Gate at night

Jaffa Gate is the starting point for the ‘Knights and Dragons’ theme,

Map Old City Christian Quarter

where a large map of the Christian Quarter route is displayed

 Jafffa Gate

and musicians entertain.

Jaffa Gate

Smart families got a map with the 17 station locations,

Dragon, Jaffa Gate

but does not include the many moving ‘photo ops’.

Last week I went early,

crowd at Jaffa Gate

as good photographs are hard to get at these crowded events. 

Dragon head

Near the beginning of the route was this colorful dragon head.

Castle

A cardboard castle and its defending knight were ready for photo action,

Knights Inn

near the real Knights’ Palace.

alley way

One lane was dark,

Dragon, Knight Festival Old City

but most were well-lit and many costumes added color.

actors in costume

 Actors were ready for the shows to begin.

Barber shop Old city

A barber shop was open under one of the red festival signs,

actors in costumes

which pointed to the actors getting ready in Muristan Square.

As I said, smart people took a map.

This was not the first time I got confused at Muristan Square

street Old City

and headed in the wrong direction, 

but this was the first night of Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim ‘Feast of Sacrifice’.

It was so crowded on the narrow paths

that I did not get a photo of the smelly animal being pushed in a cart.

His sad eyes seemed to know he was going to be the feast.

Arab woman and man, nijab

Following closely to an English-speaking tourist group,

I got only this one picture of a candy store.  

Finally,

spotting a sign to the Via Dolorosa, I headed out of the Muslim Quarter.

men smoking water pipes

Retracing some of my route, I noticed these smokers were gone,

 the lane was dark and quiet for festival visitors.

actors in Muristan Square

The actors were in Muristan Square and so was the “EXIT” sign.

signs Knights Jerusalem, Old City shuk

I do not know if the free Jerusalem Knights Festival

brought paying customers to shops, but many more were open

than for the first night of the Festival in October 2010.

gladiators, Old City , Jaffa Gate

Back near Jaffa Gate, large crowds were watching gladiators fight

girls dancing

and dancing-girls.

kids at Jerusalem festival, Jaffa Gate

Hundreds of families, many with young children,

seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Many children were on their parents’ shoulders,

as it was very hard to see the performers.

I found a bench to stand on, 

picture children on balcony

but I think this family had the best view.

Picture Jerusalem at night

And as usual, when tens of thousands of people come,

 the Jerusalem streets fill with traffic in all directions.

photo Jerusalem festival knights

There are still two more Thursday nights in November to enjoy the festival.

If you cannot come and want to see more:

 additional photos on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page.

After the Fasts

Not eating or drinking is called a “fast,”

but without water and morning coffee…”slow” would be more accurate for me.

 The Tisha B’Av fast started on Monday, August 8, 2011 at nightfall,

this post should have been out on Tuesday, but even after the fast…sorry–still slow.

 Mourning the destruction of Jerusalem in the reunified Jerusalem

is a unique experience.

 Tens of thousands of people gather at the Kotel, the Western Wall,

and sit on low chairs or on the stones to recite the sad verses of Eicha and Kinot.

For so many centuries,  The Book of Lamentations asks…Alas, how could it be?

Some opt to sit

 alone,

while others prefer to sit in small groups.  Many stay all night.

As the Jewish Quarter closed for the fast day,

 much of the Muslim Quarter was open

with colorful displays of food to break the Ramadan fast.

Colored lights lined the way of most

but not all the alleyways.

For the seventeenth year in a row,

  Women in Green assembled a large group in Gan Ha’atzmaut, Independence Park

 for prayers and speeches, followed by a walk around the walls of the Old City.

This year they shared the park with the “tent city” protesters

and the night with Ramadan celebrations.

 The march was to begin at 11 pm, much later than usual because of Ramadan.

 For the first time the marchers had to watch out for an empty light rail train.

  It was well after midnight when the group arrived at

Sha’ar Shechem,  the Damascus Gate.

Street vendors and Israeli flags filled the sidewalk and on to the street

 and families and more vendors kept coming.

 Security personnel watched the quiet scene.

After passing Herod’s and Lion’s Gates


the end of the route was in sight.

Dozens of idle buses lined the road ready to transport

 the hundreds of people still coming and going after 1:00am.

The Kotel entrance plaza was a busy place all night.

Near Jaffa Gate a new table was set up to sell photos of the Baba Elazar z”l.

While tens of thousands of people were out on Tisha B’Av in the Old City,

a few minutes away this normally busy intersection was deserted.

This year, Ramadan coincides with the month of August,

so devout Muslims will fast all day and at night crowds will gather to eat and shop.

Abu Sharif, a member of the PLO and former advisor to Arafat,

has called for “Friday intifadas during Ramadan”.

Walking around the Walls on Tisha B’Av concluded peacefully.

Last year thousands of Muslims prayed in Jerusalem every Friday of Ramadan.

It is possible to share the streets of Jerusalem peacefully.

 After the fast, as Israelis head to the airport and up north on vacation

…at least the streets should be a little less crowded.

 

More photos of  Walking around the Walls on The Real Jerusalem Facebook Page.