Week 1 Tuesday: Prayer in Context

This morning we got an early start in order to walk back into the Old City via the Damascus Gate to visit two holy sites for Jews and Muslims: the Western Wall of the Temple, and the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques (Elharam Esh Sharif).

We started at the Western (or "Wailing") Wall, one of the few visible parts of the Second Temple (destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE) that remain. We were all dressed extra conservatively due to the sensitivities of those whose holy sites we were about to visit. After going through a security check not unlike what we experience at airports, the men go to the left, and the women have their separate place at the wall to the right. Some of us put prayers written on small scraps of paper into the cracks between the large stones in the wall.

Following that experience, we then went up a seemingly makeshift wooden bridge that brings one up to the main level of the Temple Mount where now sit two important Muslim sites: The Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslims are no longer allowed to enter either Mosque for security reasons. However, as we strolled along the numerous distinct areas on what Arabs know as Elharam Esh-Sharif, we were led in our tour by Dr. Ali Qleibo, an artist, author and anthropologist who was born in the Jerusalem and education in the United States. In his addition to his numerous accomplishments, one of the notable facts about him is that his family is one of the two Muslim families who are charged with opening and closing the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre) each day. His books and artworks have taken him all over the world. His book Before the Mountains Disappear is an ethnographic description of everyday Palestinian life, providing a narrative vista rich in anecdotes from his personal experiences into the manners and customs of modern Palestinians. Leading us around the plaza, he painted the Muslim experience and spirituality in terms of artistic sensibilities, including a propensity for non-symmetrical, eclectic lines unlike those generally expected in Western art.

Leaving Ali at least temporarily, our guide Fr. Kamal Farrah then led us out of the walled city to St. Anne's church, which is where the traditional Palm Sunday walk concludes. There one also finds the Pools of Bethesda where the man in the Gospels had laid for so many years before being healed by Jesus. After touring the now-dried up pool site, we entered into the church and sang Amazing Grace and the Doxology before departing on our bus to Pasha's Restaurant outside of the city.

During the afternoon we toured the areas and towns surrounding Jerusalem so as to appreciate the city from a variety of perspectives. We have taken some amazing pictures which we will share with everone back home in due course. Our final stop on this portion of the afternoon was the mountain where it is believed Abraham heard from Yahweh that he was to take his son Isaac to sacrifice him. (Reminder: Isaac is spared in the end!)

We returned back to St. George's for a couple of hours of rest before dinner, at which we were rejoined by both Kamal and Ali. Following dinner, Ali shared with us his perspective on life in the present Middle East for Palestinians. He also discussed his two recent books and signed copies for those wishing to buy one. Following Compline, we joined Ali at the adjacent St. George's College where he shared a number of his paintings which are displayed there.

Well, it is now 1:05 a.m. our time, and I have just rewritten half of this piece after an errant keystroke wiped half of what I had written off the screen. So I will wish you Godspeed tomorrow and, for this evening, a peaceful night. Don