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.
Outside Damascus Gate at night, a familiar view.
We passed Damascus Gate walking around the walls on the night of Tisha B’Av.
Four years ago in Jerusalem, we descended into the nearby King Solomon’s Quarry,
also called Zedekiah’s Cave, located close to Damascus Gate.
Down in the Zedekiah’s Cave was an amazing piano concert.
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.
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.
The top of Damascus Gate from the inside was another flight up.
Love the look of the stones against the clear blue sky!
Looking down into the Muslim Quarter from above near Damascus Gate was a new sight.
One view of the Muslim Quarter from above to the residential areas.
This was a view from the path on the wall toward northern Jerusalem with Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in the distance.
The newly opened walk goes around the tops of the Old City walls, on the right, a wide and straight part.
Looking out over the Rockefeller Museum from that part of the path.
And one more looking back toward Damascus Gate and the morning scene below.
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.
Private land in the Muslim Quarter looks like a garbage dump.
But look not far in the distance.
With a bit of zoom lens, you can see the domes of the Temple Mount.
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.
At Stork’s Tower where one has incredible views.
Not all are original stones. The new ones are marked with those black tags to show future historians what was recreated before 2020.
The new path provides an unprecedented view of the Muslim cemetery built along the northern wall.
Tourist buses lined up on the Mount of Olives, with the Jewish graves going back thousands of years on both sides.
Storage? This structure is in the middle of the Muslim cemetery.
One more view approaching the Lion’s Gate.
MK Ze’ev Elkin – Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry and Mordechai Benita – Director-General of the ministry posed before the opening ceremony.
The tour guides and invited guests were waiting below.
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.
The official ceremonial blue ribbon was cut at Lion’s Gate.
Inside of Lion’s Gate, from above, attracted my attention during speeches.
One old Jerusalem street on our way from Lion’s Gate inside the Old City walls.
Oops, was walking quickly and snapping as I went.
The scene approaching the Kotel, Western Wall Plaza, from inside Old City.
Finally, back to familiar sites and scenes.
Special cleaning for the notes left at the Kotel,
as Western Wall prepared for holiday crowds and Hanukkah candle lightings.
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
