Today we had a wonderful private tour of Istanbul. There was supposed to be another couple but at the last minute they decided not to go. So, we had the van and the guide, Ozi, all to ourselves.
We started at Topkapi Palace, built in 1460 and home to the Royal Family until the mid-19th century.
Palace from across the river. Since we couldn’t get this shot ourselves, I found it on pixabay.com.
There were three different large courtyards surrounding the palace.
This is the second gate. The first gate was the entry way gate.
There really is no “inside” to the buildings. It was a U-shaped building with the rooms open to the outside and leading to the courtyard.
This long building was the kitchen wing. They served 4,000 people at each meal. Everyone who worked at the palace also lived there so there were a lot of mouths to feed. This wing was on the opposite side of the courtyard from the kitchen wing. This wing contained the rooms of the royal family.
The site had originally been used by the Romans when they occupied the area.
Roman cistern from the 5th century AD.
The next gate is the Gate of Felicity which lead from the 2nd courtyard to the Sultan’s private apartments.
Just inside the door was the ceremonial golden throne the Sultan used for important visitors.
The palace has a museum in which they store the Holy Relics, but it was being renovated (as was a lot of the palace) but we got to see the items in a different part of the building.
The actual museum is the part of the building on the right with the domed ceiling, On the right is a casting of the arm of the Prophet John. The staff Moses used to part the Red Sea. Prophet (King) David’s sword. We saw his tomb in Israel.Ceremonial swords. Mid-16th century Koran in calligraphy.
Another building we visited was the library. Like all the buildings, there was not much furniture. The early Ottomans were nomads, so they didn’t have traditional furniture. They used rugs and pillows instead.
Library of Ahmed III; early 17th century. The style was relatively simple but very beautiful.
Then we headed to the armory where many types of ceremonial weapons were displayed.
Gorgeous arrow bag.The way the bow worked is that the archer would pull the string so that the ends of the bow point in the opposite direction. When the arrow is released, the bow goes back to this shape. It took a phenomenal amount of strength to basically turn the bow inside out. Full chainmail armor with helmet.
The Topkapi Daggar is from the mid-18th century and was made as a gift for the Shah of Iran. It was returned to Istanbul when the Shah was assassinated before it could be delivered.
In addition to the 3 large emeralds, the dagger is decorated with many small diamonds.
The spoon maker’s diamond is an 84-carat pear shaped stone. It is the 4th largest diamond in the world.
Spoon maker’s diamond from the late 17th century. How it got to the palace is unknown.
I think this was another audience room.
After an enjoyable time at the palace, we walked to the Hagia Sofia, built in 360AD. It was a Greek Orthodox church until Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453. This is also when the name of the city was changed to Istanbul.
Luckily, because of the wheelchair, we were able to skip the line. The minarets were added in the 15th century once the building was converted to a mosque.
Since it had been a Christian church before it was a mosque, there were several Christian mosaics on the walls.
You can still see some of the original frescoes.
When it was a church, it was used for coronations.
Spot where the coronation chair stood. High altar used for the Friday service.
Across from the Hagia Sofia is the Blue Mosque from the early 17th century. The tour was supposed to include access to the mosque, but Ozi said it has undergoing reconstruction for the last 4 years and there is nothing to see on the inside as everything is under drapery.
The real name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque but because of the blue tiles on the inside, it is also called the Blue Mosque. A unique feather of this mosque is the 6 minarets. Most mosques have only one or maybe two.
Here are a few pictures of the inside I found on pixabay.
Domed ceiling
We had lunch at the Pudding Shop, a restaurant popular in the 60s as a meeting place for hippies and beatniks.
Pudding Shop
I had the Iskender Kebob (kebob is a style of meat rather than the way it’s served; there were no sticks).
Beef with tomato sauce, tomatoes and Turkish yoghurt. It was delicious.
Peter had the Diner Kebob, which was basically the same except it had no sauce and was served with rice and fries instead of the yoghurt. He ate it before I could get a photo.
After lunch we cut through the park to catch up with the van driver. On the way, we passed a water fountain.
We also passed an obelisk given as a gift from Egypt.
The base was marble and told the story of how the structure was made and transported to Istanbul.
A closeup of the hieroglyphics.
We saw the reproduction of this brass pillar last week in Delphi. This is the original.
The last stop on the tour was the Grand Bazaar constructed in the early 15th century at the same time Topkapi Palace was built. But first we stopped at Vezirhan, a wholesaler of handmade carpets.
I saw a demonstration of how they make silk. It was so cool.
Silkworm cocoons are in placed boiling water which somehow leads to the release of silk strands. This woman is making a silk rug. She ties 960 knots per square inch of carpet. This rug will take her 18 months to make. Because the work is so intense, she can only work for 3 hours/day.
I’ve never seen so many rugs in one place before. They were literally piled everywhere in this massive building.
This was just a very small number of the thousands of rugs they have.
This building is also from the 15th century and had been a hotel for over 500 years.
Of course, the main reason for bringing us into the store was not just to help us learn about how they make carpets, but to sell us a rug. And they did. We bought a gorgeous one to put under the table in our dining area. All of their rugs are handmade and dyed naturally with vegetable dyes.
It looks rectangular but it’s actually square. The colors will really pop against our white floor.
After that damage was done, it was on to the Grand Bazaar. The place is gigantic, with 4,000 stores on 61 covered streets. According to Wikipedia, it has between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed as the #1 most visited tourist attraction in the world with over 91 million visitors annually. Ozi said that the locals never shop there…it’s all for the tourists.
One of the 21 entry gates to the Market. There were mags set up at each entrance. In fact, we had to go through a mag at each of the sites we visited.This was one of the more empty hallways. Most of them were jammed.
It is a shopper’s paradise. You can buy virtually anything here.
Pottery. Purses.These are wine dispensers made from tiles. This is a tree of life design made out of tiles that glow in the dark. It would have looked great on our walls but after spending quite a bit of money on the rug, it was out of the question. I have a tea set very similar to this that I bought when I was here in 1993. Not a huge fan of the glass lamps. They’re a bit gaudy for my tastes.
After leaving the Bazaar, Ozi took us back to the hotel which is only about 10 minutes away. On the way, we passed the Istanbul University, which was founded in the early 15th century making it one of the oldest universities in the world.
It was a terrific, albeit expensive, day. Ozi was great and we’re really glad we had her as our guide.
In the rug store where all the damage was done.
Tomorrow, the only thing on the agenda is a 2 1/2-hour boat ride on the Bosphorus River. They will pick us up at the hotel, but we’ll need to get home on our own. My Greek SIM card doesn’t work here and it’s not worth getting another for just a couple of days, so I don’t have GPS. Before we leave in the morning, I’ll have the front desk write out directions for how to take the tram home from the dock. There’s a stop about 50 meters from our front door so as long as we get on the right tram, we should be fine.
Well, we’re finally at our last stop of our adventure. We had an uneventful 100-minute flight from Athens. Once on the ground that changed a little. It took over 15 minutes for our chair to get to the gate (usually it’s the first thing off the plane), and then we had to wait another 10 minutes or so for a wheelchair assistant to arrive as they wouldn’t let me push Peter myself. Then once out of the gate area, we waited some more while our guy went to assist someone else. Once he got back, we walked about 5 miles (at least it seemed that far) to get to passport control.
I had researched the need for a Visa and didn’t see anything that said it was needed. Well, it turns out we did need one which cost $60. No big deal except I didn’t have $60 so I tried to put it on my credit card. Except he didn’t want to take the credit card. He kept pointing to the sign that said I could pay in either Euro, Dollar or Pound, none of which I had. After about 5 minutes of back and forth, he finally took my credit card. So, now we can come back to Turkey as often as we want for the next 6 months. Of course, we don’t want to come back to Turkey, but we could if we wanted.
Then it was another LONG walk to baggage claim but the good news there was that it had taken so long to arrive, there weren’t many bags twirling on the carousel. Once I had the bags, I thought we were home free, but wait…our assistant walked away with the companion of the other wheelchair person he was helping. After about 10 minutes, I decided to find our driver on our own. By this time, it was almost 2pm and we had landed at 12:30pm and I wasn’t sure how long the driver would wait. As we were leaving, helper came back and led us out to meet the driver…. who wasn’t there.
Twenty minutes later, we’re finally in a mini-van, loaded and ready for the 1-hour drive into the Old City of Istanbul. Peter has trouble getting into mini vans because of the high step and the distance from the door to the seats. So, when we got to the hotel, the driver decided to help Peter by physically lifting him and carrying him in his arms out of the van and up 4 steps. I saw him doing that and almost had a heart attack. I kept saying, “he can walk, he can walk” but apparently, I needed to say it in Turkish as he didn’t understand.
Once in the hotel, we were treated like royalty. It’s a Hilton Doubletree and I have no shame in taking advantage of my Diamond status. While we waited for our room, they brought tea and coffee which we enjoyed while munching on our Doubletree cookie. BTW, they’ve changed the recipe and they’re not nearly as good as they used to be. That didn’t stop us from eating them, though.
Peter had his first, and last, Turkish coffee. I don’t drink coffee, but it looked like sludge to me. On the other hand, the tea was delicious.
They upgraded us to a deluxe room (no suites available this time) and it’s lovely. After freshening up, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner where Peter enjoyed pasta while I had a cheeseburger. It had been a while since I’d had one and it was filling, but delicious.
We had a moment of panic when we remembered that Turkey is a Muslim country, and they don’t drink alcohol. In spite of evidence to the contrary on this trip, we’re not big drinkers but we were looking forward to a cocktail with dinner. But not to worry as they have a full bar, so I had a lovely Sex on the Beach.
Peter had a local beer; he said it was quite good.
There’s a veranda attached to the restaurant, so we stepped out for just a moment to enjoy the view.
Boats on the Bosphorus River.
Now it’s just almost 7:30 and Peter is settling down for the night while I work on the blog. Tomorrow, we have an all-day city tour that will take us to Sultanahmet Square and the Grand Bazaar. Oh, Desiree, wait to you see that place. It’s amazing!
I’m not sure what we’re doing the rest of the week, but we’d like to do a cruise down the Bosphorus, and I’m already scheduled for a massage on Wednesday afternoon. Can’t wait! Night everyone.
There really is a Black Friday here; we’ve seen signs all over Athens. But I’m not sure people are shopping any more than they usually do as today is another workday.
We’re having a quiet day as Peter didn’t want to go out. It’s a bit chilly, low 50s but very windy. He has no upper body muscle/fat to help keep him warm, so even in his jacket he gets very cold. I went out for a while as I wanted to get some better pictures of the Acropolis. I headed out in the general direction and managed to higher on the hill than we were last Saturday. So, I got some nice shots.
I also took a short video at an overlook I found. It’s a bit jiggly as it was very windy, but I think you can still see the pretty view.
But just in case my poor camera work made you seasick, here’s a couple still photos.
I came home through the market area and found a couple of interesting windows.
I’ve been looking everywhere for the pastry we had in Delphi, filled with the cream, but have had no luck. These looked good, though.
The market is a rabbit warren group of streets just a few blocks from the flat. I finally figured out how to get there quickly, but now it’s about time to leave so I don’t think I’ll head back there again unless we go there tomorrow for lunch.
The streets are fairly wide so it’s easier to navigate than the flea market we went to on Sunday. These streets had mainly clothing and souvenir shops, but there were a lot of restaurants as well.
It’s only 1pm but I think I’m in for the day. I don’t like to leave Peter for too long and there’s really nothing else I want to see. Tonight, I’ll do one last load of laundry so it has time to dry before I pack tomorrow. We may go out to lunch tomorrow, but other than that I think we’ll stay close to home. Peter hates it when I have to struggle at the curbs.
This handicapped curb is one of the better ones.
So, unless something happens tomorrow, this will probably be my last post until we get to Istanbul. We land around 10:30AM and should be settled in the hotel by noon or shortly after. Not sure what we’re going to do in the afternoon as I don’t know what will be open on Sunday. At the very least we’ll find someplace for lunch. Have a wonderful weekend and you’ll hear from us again soon.
In Athens today is just another Thursday but Peter and I want to wish all of you a very happy holiday. We hope you enjoyed time with family and friends.
We’ve gone quiet for the last couple of days because, well, we’ve gone quiet. We haven’t done much since returning from Delphi on Monday. Tuesday, we took a walk in the afternoon to get Peter a couple pair of pants. He’s having difficulty with zippers and buttons, so we found some at H&M that have elastic waist.
On our walk we passed the building that used to be the Parliament building but is now a Historical Museum.
We also passed the new Parliament building that used to be the Royal Palace. We visited Sunday for the special changing of the guard but this time it wasn’t very crowded, so we were able to get up close and personal.
After shopping we stopped for gelato on the way home.
All of these beauties are made from different types of gelatos.
Yesterday (Wednesday) Peter never left the house, but I went out for a short while to pick up chicken for dinner and to buy a headscarf for when we get to Istanbul. We’re doing a day trip on Monday to the Blue Mosque, and I need something to cover my head. Since I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to get something on Sunday, I thought it would be easier to buy it here.
That was our last 2 days. Today we headed to the National Archeological Museum about 30-minute walk from the flat. The plan was to take the bus, but we had too much trouble navigating the sidewalks, so we finally gave up and got into a cab. Anyone need 2 bus/metro tickets for Athens?
National Archeological Museum, Athens
Luckily, there was a wheelchair ramp to the left side of the building leading to a door in the museum. There was no handle on the door, but Peter spotted the doorbell, so we were inside in no time. It was just us and about 1,000 school kids. There had to have been at least 20 different groups of kids of all ages. Every time we rounded a corner, there was at least one group.
In spite of the noise, we enjoyed looking at the items that have been excavated from Greece over the years.
This painted vase, the Dipylon Amphora (760BC), is as tall as it is wide. Bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon (460BC). We literally ran to get this photo as one group of kids had just left, and another was heading straight for it. Ten seconds after this was shot, the big guy was surrounded by 8-year-olds. This grave relief is made of marble and is from the end of the 5th century BC.I didn’t get a photo of the explanation card for this one, but she was gorgeous. We could still see some of the color on the stone. Gold death mask from the 16th century BC. That means this is about 3600 years old. And from the same period, a gold diadem. This was actually quite large.
One thing we’ve noticed in all the museums is that these folks decorated everything! This next picture is of frying pans.
They don’t look like any frying pans I’ve ever seen.This is a very intact wall painting, the only one ever found that covered 3 walls of the room. This is the classic style of vase painting. The vase is actually terra cotta (the orange part), and the black paint is added to make the design.
But my favorite is the white vase from the 5th century BC.
These are just gorgeous. I was hoping to find a small replica in the museum shop, but sadly, no luck.
There was a pretty courtyard on the lower level adjacent to the cafe. But we were headed to lunch, so we didn’t stop for a snack.
Once out of the museum, we walked about 1 mile back to where we had gelato on Tuesday. Our walk followed the main street, so the sidewalk was wide and relatively flat. We had a little trouble at some of the curbs, but it was a much easier walk than the one we had getting to the museum.
When we were out on Tuesday, we noticed that next to the gelato store was one that sold pizza and fresh pasta. The pizza looked delicious, so we went back today for lunch. The place is called Lady n’ Tramp, and yes, the pizza was delicious.
Peter’s half was a Margurita and mine was prosciutto and mushrooms.
Then we had a gelato dessert.
Peter had cheesecake gelatoI had this delicious strawberry cheesecake creation. It had the creamiest cheesecake I’ve ever eaten with a thin layer of strawberry sorbet in the middle. It was incredible.
Before we left, we picked up a carton of fresh rigatoni with Bolognese sauce. We’re too full to have a big dinner tonight so we’ll probably just have sandwiches. But tomorrow, we’ll have pasta as a side with our chicken. Then we’ll finish it for dinner on Saturday.
The pasta looks delicious. We can’t wait to try it tomorrow.
I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow. It’s supposed to be another sunny day so we may take sandwiches to the National Garden for lunch. According to GPS, it’s only a 3-minute walk. Even in a city with good sidewalks that would be 5-7 minutes for us. Here, who knows how long it will take.
The day started at 8am when our driver, Nikkos, picked us up at our flat for the 2 1/2-hour drive northwest of Athens to Delphi.
After a couple of hours, we made a rest stop where we had a tasty Greek snack. I don’t remember the name, but it was a fluffy pastry filled with cream.
It was very rich so just a couple of bites was plenty. We still have a about 1/4 of it left but it’s a little smashed as I sat on it getting back into the van after Delphi….oops.
Once at the archeological museum, we met our guide, Georgia, who spent the next 2 hours showing us the most important pieces in the museum and at the site.
In ancient times Delphi was a sacred area considered to be the center of the world. It was also the seat of the Oracle of Delphi who was consulted before all important decisions.
Marble omphalos found near the temple of Apollo. According to mythology, this marked the center of the earth.
We’d never done a private tour through a museum before, and we really enjoyed it. Instead of looking at whatever caught our eye and/or Peter reading every word on each plaque, Georgia told us stories about specific pieces, which was also more interesting for me. I actually learned things!! Who knew that could happen in a museum.
Here’s the story of Kleobis and Biton. The twins pulled their mother’s cart 6 miles so she could attend a festival for the goddess Hera. When they arrived, the mother prayed to Hera to reward her sons. The boys fell asleep in the temple and never woke up. Hera’s reward was to allow the twins to die. Well, I’m not sure I like that reward but there it is.
Twins Kleobis and Biton. The statue on the right was found almost completely intact. The archeologists must have gone nuts when they pulled this guy up.
Charioteer of Delphi (475BC).
It’s not as clear in the photo as it was in person, but his eyes are amazing. They were made of stone and there were distinct irises, pupil and eyelashes. Incredible. This is a drinking cup that was found in many pieces. It looks virtually perfect with just a few seams showing where they put it back together. Georgia said there were just two tiny pieces missing, otherwise they found the entire cup. This is a 2400-year-old shield in almost perfect condition.
There were a series of heads made of ivory with gold leaf decorations.
The ivory turned black due to the landslides that covered the site centuries ago.
This sphinx was on top of a 41-foot column.
Sphinx of NaxosSocrates
After about an hour in the museum, we headed outside to the site. Unfortunately, Peter couldn’t get any further than the entrance as the rock stairs were uneven and slippery as it had rained while we were in the museum. We left him under the canopy while we headed up to the Temple of Apollo.
This is what the site would have looked like in ancient times. The pathways were lined with statues. The small buildings in front were Treasuries. This is the Treasury of Athena. A treasury is where people would bring their sacrifices to the gods. It might have been a statue, animal, gold, etc. Only priests were allowed in the Treasury. Pillars for the Temple of Apollo are in the back. The Altar of Apollo was at the entrance to the temple. The temple had 6 pillars across the front. The ramp was the entrance.
Archeologists are in the process of restoring the amphitheater which used to hold up to 5,000 people.
It’s not as clear as other theaters we’ve seen, but you can see rows of seats, especially on the right side of the theater.
The view from the site was amazing.
I think this is the Parnassus Mountains but I’m not sure.
Then it was back down the hill to pick up my sweetie. Nikkos was waiting for us and a few minutes later we were stopping in the new town of Delphi for lunch.
We had a beautiful view out of the window. The water is a bay leading to the Gulf of Corinth. I don’t know the name of the restaurant, but it was a cute place.
We started lunch with delicious Saganaki of fried goat and sheep cheese. Usually, Saganaki is either one or the other, but this was mixed. Nikkos recommended it and it was delicious.
They didn’t light it on fire like they do in Greek Town in Chicago.
Peter had Chicken Souvlaki and I had a delicious beef stew. I wanted a stuffed tomato but apparently the type of tomatoes they use aren’t in season.
Chicken SouvlakiThe beef was so tender I didn’t need a knife to cut it. I don’t know what spices they used but it had a wonderful flavor.
Here’s the view without the window frame in the middle.
On our way home, we stopped for a brief photo op at a spot overlooking the town of Arachova. Nikkos told us that many tourists have said the town looks like Amalfi without the water. It actually does.
Aren’t they cute!!
Then it was another 2 hours before we made it home, just around 5pm. It was a long day but since much of it was spent in the car, we’re not too tired. But we decided to cancel the trip on Wednesday to Corinth and a few other places on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. I looked at pictures of the sites, and while flat, they have rocky, uneven pathways so it will be almost impossible to push the wheelchair. One of the stops was at a small seaside village with quaint cobbled streets. Yeah, cobbled streets and wheelchairs are not a good match. We were looking forward to the trip, but I think it will be too hard for us to get around safely. I don’t want Peter to spend 45 minutes sitting around waiting for me to finish the tour with the guide like he did today. So, we’ll spend the day in Athens instead.
I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow but I’m sure we’ll find something interesting to see. I’ll let you know. Good night!
We started today with a nice breakfast at home before heading out to the Parliament building. This used to be the Royal Palace until 1973 when the monarchy was abolished.
Parliament Building
In front of the wall, you see two small blue roofed huts. These are the guard shacks for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Unlike Arlington Memorial Cemetery in the U.S., there are no human remains but there is an inscription on the wall dedicated to all Greek military killed during war. They have a changing of the guard every hour, but at 11:00am on Sunday they go all out. I think every tourist in Athens was there, but we got there about 30 minutes early so I managed to find an empty space of curb to park the wheelchair so Peter could see.
Here are a few of the videos I took of the ceremony.
A small band led the way down the street.
I would totally trip over those floppy shoes.
These soldiers had just finished their tour as guards.
After the ceremony, we couldn’t get anywhere near the monument, so we plan to go back later in the week when it’s not as crowded. Stay tuned for pictures from that.
Then it was off to the Monastariki Flea Market about a 15-minute walk from the Parliament building. Along the way we passed a little church with a combo from South America entertaining the crowd. They were very good.
We also did a little window shopping.
We looked but didn’t touch.
In some places we had to walk in the street because the sidewalk was either too narrow, blocked with cars, or had so much broken pavement to navigate. Luckily, we made it to the market unscathed.
This is where we entered the market. I couldn’t find anything that said how big it is, but we walked for 30 minutes and didn’t come close to getting out. It went in all directions for many blocks.
While the flea market is open every day, Sunday is special because people come from all over to buy and sell there. In fact, it’s the day when the flea market really is a flea market and not just a collection of small shops. You can literally find anything here, from antiques to transistor radios, phone cards, cell phones, books and stuff that I would classify as sheer junk. In fact, I would classify most of it as junk, but I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder. Many of the people selling are refugees from Russia, Turkey and various, Eastern European countries. Some people are selling family heirlooms while others are selling stuff they fished out of the garbage.
This street had regular shops along the street, very similar to the market we saw in Jerusalem. These shops are open every day. This part of the market had a table set up wherever the vendor could find a space. These parts of the market (on every open square) are only here on Sunday.
We were only in the merchandise part of the market. There’s another section for meats, seafood, fruits, veggies and flowers. Maybe we’ll go back later in the week to see if we can find it.
Since it was around noon, we decided to stop for a snack and to rest before trying to find our way home. We shared a slice of red velvet cake that was very delicious.
OK, so once again, I forgot to take a picture before we started eating. But at least I remembered before it was gone.
Then it was time to head home. According to GPS, our flat was only 19 minutes away but it was a very difficult 19 minutes. Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to tell Google Maps that we need paved sidewalk. So, it took us the most direct route, which was cobblestones and uphill (Peter had to walk) for about 800 meters before turning us onto a gravel path. This was relatively flat but with lots of rocks, holes and loose gravel, so Peter had to walk some more (about another 400 meters). We stopped after about 10 minutes of walking on gravel to eat the sandwiches we brought with us.
You can see the Acropolis from almost everywhere in the city.
As luck would have it, we had wandered into the Ancient Agora, a marketplace and gathering space for the ancient Greeks. This area was fenced off so we couldn’t get in but there is an entrance to it at a different location. It would be way too difficult for us to maneuver, though, so we’ll settle for seeing it from the other side of the fence.
What looks like large rocks are actually ruins from the buildings of the Agora. Not sure what church this is but it was inside the walls.
Once we left the Agora, we finally had paved sidewalks again (but I use the word “paved” loosely). Between the market and the walk back, Peter done a lot of walking and was slumping quite badly so I’m glad he was able to sit for a little while.
What, according to GPS, should have taken 19 minutes took almost an hour. Of course, we stopped for our sandwiches but that was only about 15 minutes. There were some very scary moments where the surface was so uneven that I was afraid Peter would lose his balance. So, we’re going to have to come up with a Plan B for getting around Athens as walking is just too dangerous for us. I would have been happy to jump into a cab, but the market is pedestrian only so we would have had to backtrack through the market to reach a street which made no sense. I’m not sure how the locals who are disabled get around as this city is definitely not wheelchair accessible.
Tomorrow, we head out of Athens to Delphi for one of our day trips. We booked a private tour with the company that provided our airport transfer. We decided to pay a little extra for a licensed guide, but we think it’s worth it as without the guide, we have no idea what we’re looking at. We’ll let you know how it goes.
Yesterday was an uneventful trip from Tel Aviv to Athens. The flight was less than 2 hours and we zoomed through immigrations with the other couple of wheelchair users. Our driver was waiting for us and less than an hour later we were settled into our flat. Easy breezy.
Since we’re in Athens until next Sunday, we’re in no rush to see everything at one time. So, we enjoyed a leisurely morning with breakfast at a cafe around the corner. We had a lovely omelet with HAM and fresh squeezed orange juice. It was very delicious. We headed out to the Acropolis Museum around 10am and enjoyed looking at the antiquities from 2400 years ago. The Acropolis, an ancient citadel, is the most famous site in Athens.
The Acropolis of Athens
The museum was quite empty, so it was easy to push the chair around without bumping into anyone unlike at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago.
A funeral sacrificial table (don’t want to know what that means) from 350-325BC. I thought these were in great shape given that they’re 2400 years old. The one on the left is from 1190-1030BC and the one on the right is from 1300-1190BC. Wow!
There was an entire section of the museum where we couldn’t take photos but there was some amazing stuff. After wandering the museum for about 90 minutes, we headed to the patio for a bit of a snack.
Peter is all smiles because he’s about to drink his strawberry milkshake (left) while I was very happy with my strawberry granita (right). Milkshakes aren’t the same in Europe as they are at home, they’re more like smoothies. The only real American milkshake I think I’ve ever had in Europe was on this trip when we were in Cardiff and went to the American diner. Delicious!
The Acropolis Museum is built on pillars with a space beneath where archeologists are excavating an ancient city.
The walkways above the ruins lead to the museum.
This is a model of what the area looked like over 2000 years ago.
After finishing at the museum, we walked across the street to see if we could access the Acropolis. Obviously, we couldn’t walk up but Petras, our driver from yesterday, told us that there is a lift to take people to the top. Unfortunately, the road to access the entrance with the lift was long, steep and cobblestoned. There was no way we were getting up there, so, unfortunately Peter won’t be able to see the top but here’s a picture I took of the Parthenon when I was here in 1993.
I did get a couple of pics of the lower ruins.
AmphitheaterYou can just barely see the Parthenon in the background on the right.
As luck would have it, though, the spot where we gave up on climbing the hill, is exactly where the hop on/hop off bus stopped. So, we hopped on for the 90-minute city tour. We had no desire to hop off anywhere as we were exhausted from walking and/or pushing up hills and over cobblestones. But we took note of places we might want to visit in the next week while we’re here. Here’s a few random shots I took out of the bus window.
We got off the bus at the Melina Merkouri Plaka which is a pedestrian area and the closest stop to our flat. Since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, except for our shake and granita, and it was almost 4pm we stopped for an early dinner.
Peter took a walk on the wild side and had grilled chicken while I had lamb gyros.
Peter said the chicken was tasty but just a bit dry. I’m calling this a do-it-myself gyros. There was no slit in the pita bread, so I cut up small pieces of everything (except the fries of course), dipped it into the tzatziki sauce and it was delicious.
Peter also had his first taste of ouzo.
I really wish I had done this as a video because the look on his face was absolutely priceless. I think the stuff is horrible but then I don’t like strong alcohol. He drank the entire shot, but I don’t expect him to go back for seconds any time soon.
Then it was an arduous 10-minute walk back to the flat. Peter had to walk a little bit but mostly it was me pushing the chair, with the help of a couple of kind strangers. Athens is not terribly wheelchair friendly. Some corners have ramps, but most do not. Many of the sidewalks are narrow and most are filled with large cracks and potholes. And then there are the cobblestones. I’m already missing my friends from our Israel tour. I could have really used their help today, although, I don’t think even our driver (Sunni) would have gotten Peter up that hill at the Acropolis.
Hadrian’s Arch is around the corner from our flat.
Once home, it was time to do laundry… again. I did a load last night and even though the machine is a washer and dryer, I couldn’t get the dryer to work, and I couldn’t find the dryer rack, so I had close strung out all over the house. Even though our host, Anna, sent a video of how to use the dryer, when I tried doing exactly what she did, it still didn’t work. Once we’re home, if anyone ever hears me complaining about doing laundry you have my permission to slap me silly. I think I miss my washer and dryer more than anything else. The real bad news is that I washed both pairs of my pants so I’m not quite sure what I’m going to wear tomorrow as there’s no way they’re going to dry overnight. I have a pair of sweatpants but they’re very old and not something I would normally wear in pubic. But since I’ll never see any of these people again, do I really care???
The internet just came back up after being down since we got back at 3:30pm. Not sure how long it will stay up; hopefully long enough to get this posted. But, alas, it did not. Now it’s Thursday morning and I hope to get this finished and posted before we move to Greece on Friday.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was the last full day of our tour. The brochure calls it an 8-day tour but the first day was just dinner and today was just breakfast. So, for all practical purposes, it was only 6 days. And this last one was a good one. Today we spent the day in Old Jerusalem.
But once again, I owe you some videos from Tuesday night’s Light/Sound Extravaganza. I don’t remember exactly what time frame the first one is from, but I think it was when the Muslims took control of Jerusalem.
This one is the destruction of the 2nd Jewish Temple around 75AD.
Again, not sure where in the timeline this one falls.
Look at how real the people look.
This one is near the end of the show when they moved forward in time to modern Israel.
And finally, this was the last couple minutes of the show.
Yesterday, we started at Mount of Olives above the old city. The view was spectacular and the spot most of the famous pictures of Jerusalem are taken.
You can see the eastern wall of the old city and the Gold Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine on Temple Shrine where the Jewish temple was located before being destroyed. It was cold and crazy windy up there.
We took a group photo with the city in the background. Everyone actually looks great in it, so we bought a copy to bring home. Then it was on to Church of All Nations also known as the Church of the Agony. It is a Roman Catholic Church also on the Mount of Olives next to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before being arrested.
Tzachi in the foreground giving us an explanation of the painting at the top of the church. Angel Gabriel is floating above Jesus as he prays; his disciples are asleep.
On the other side of the street, is a view of the eastern part of the city wall that contains the Golden Gate, the only gate on the eastern side of the old city. The gate has been sealed since the Middle Ages, but its interior can be accessed from the Temple Mount. In Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate, coming from the Mount of Olives. Both Christians and Muslims believe that this was the gate through which Jesus entered Jerusalem.
The Golden Gate is the “bump out” just to the right of the center of the photo.
Once across the street (not easy as the traffic was insane), we walked past the Garden of Gethsemane to get to the entrance of the church, I was surprised at how small the garden is. Of course, some of it was taken down to build the church but even if you double the size, it’s still quite small. It is very dense with olive trees that are some of the oldest in the world, including what’s known as the Jesus tree. According to legend, Jesus planted this tree himself just a few days before his crucifixion. If that’s true, this tree is almost 2,000 years old. Just thinking about that is eerie.
The Jesus Tree is surrounded by a fence as people used to take pieces from it. Garden of Gethsemane.
The church is relatively small but very ornately decorated.
The most important part of this church is the rock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. The part of the rock that is inside the church is in front of the altar. Since they were celebrating Mass, we weren’t able to get close to it.
The sacred rock is in front of the altar.
We did, though, get to touch the rock from the outside. Only one piece of it is inside the church, the rest extend under the church and ends outside.
Peter touching the outside portion of the sacred rock.
Then it was back on the bus for the journey inside the old city. On the way, I managed to grab a quick shot of the Church of All Nations and the Church of Mary Magdalene, an Orthodox Christian Church. Considering the bus was moving fairly quickly, it’s not a bad shot.
The Church of Mary Magdalene is above and to the right of the Church of All Nations. It’s the building with the 5 gold domes.
The streets are very narrow so there are no cars or busses allowed inside the walls. Since we were going to be there for several hours and had a lot of ground to cover, we took the wheelchair, but it was not easy going. Peter walked some of the way, but other times I had help getting him down ramps and over the bumpy cobblestones.
View of Temple Mount inside the wall.
The first stop inside the wall was the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. It is made of limestone and runs, beginning to end, about almost 1/2 mile, but the part everyone visits is relatively short. It was built as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple in 19BC. Back in ancient times, ground level was 30 feet lower, so the wall was pretty high.
We had to go through security to get to the wall, then Peter and I separated as men and women each have their own section of the wall. So, one of the guys took Peter while I went with the girls to our part. Peter and I had written several prayer wishes in the hotel. The women’s side is always crowded so it took a while for my turn, but I found a small niche to place our wishes and said my prayer. Adoria managed to grab a picture of me at the wall.
My hand on the wall is blocked by Lisa’s hat but I was definitely touching it.
This was a much more emotional experience than I expected, and I shared quite a few hugs and tears with my new friends. Then it was on our way to our last site, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains two of the holiest sites in Christianity – the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and his empty tomb. It was a bit of a hike but for part of it we walked the Via Dolorosa, the path that Jesus walked on his way to the crucifixion.
This corner holds station 3 on the left, where Jesus fell for the first time and Station 4, where he meets his mother.
Station 5 is where, as Jesus stumbled, he put his hand on the wall to steady himself. For hundreds of years, Pilgrams have traveled here to touch the wall at that spot. Here’s Peter doing the same.
You can see the site Jesus touched to the right of the doorway. It almost looks bronze but it’s actually Jerusalem limestone.
As I said the streets of the old town are crazy crowded and lined with shops, so it was very difficult to maneuver through them, especially with the wheelchair.
Just one of the many narrow streets we walked.
But, with lots of help, we finally made it to the church.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Because of the many flights of narrow, winding stairways we didn’t go up to Golgotha (Calvary), the site of the crucifixion. Instead, we stayed on the ground level near the stone where Jesus was anointed with oil after death. Our friend, Peggy, brought us some of the holy oil she picked up at Golgotha that we spread on our hands.
While we waited for everyone to come down from Golgotha, we saw the slab on which Jesus had been cleaned and anointed with oil before burial.
Anointing slab.
Another important site in the church is the spot where Mary fell when she fainted after seeing the body of her son.
Spot where Mary fell in anguish.
There was a beautiful mosaic on the wall near the anointing slab.
This depicts the body of Jesus lying on the anointing slab.
In addition to these sites, the final holy site in the church is the empty tomb of Jesus. This was in another section of the church and had a 90/120-minute line to see/touch. We were so fortunate to have Tzachi as our tour director as he seems to know everyone in Israel, at least at the sites he brings his tours. So, he talked to the priest who was guarding the part of the slab that held Jesus’ head and we were able to visit there instead. Everyone in the long line was going to the other side of the tomb, where his body and feet lay. Of course, no photos were allowed, and Peter couldn’t bend down far enough to touch the stone himself, but I touched it then rubbed his forehead. Once again, it was incredibly moving.
Then it was back outside for the walk to the restaurant we were having lunch. Peter stuck with his hamburger, but at Adoria’s urging, I had a chicken shawarma, a typical Middle Eastern dish. The chicken is cooked on a spit in the same manner lamb is cooked for a gyro sandwich. It is put into a pita and stuffed with veggies and special sauces. It was my first and was very delicious.
This was actually Adoria’s sandwich as I had, once again, forgotten to photo mine.
She also had a side of falafel, which I took a pass on as I don’t like chickpeas.
Finally, we had about 30 minutes to shop in the market around the only fountain in Jerusalem. There wasn’t any water in it, but it was a good meeting place for everyone to gather.
We didn’t buy anything in the market, but it was fun place to browse. Then it was back to the bus for the short ride home. It was a terrific day!
In addition to a bad internet connection, the other reason I didn’t finish this post last night is that about 9:30, I got sicker than a dog. We had a delicious going away dinner with our group but then about 2 hours later I started feeling sick. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I think I had a touch of food poisoning. I’ve had it before, so the symptoms were quite familiar.
Needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night between trips to the bathroom, so by this morning I felt pretty lousy. It’s now just after 10:30am on Thursday and I arranged for a noon checkout to give me a little more time to recover. I decided to finish the blog post as I need to get used to being upright instead of flat in bed. I don’t feel great, but I’m better than I was 6 hours ago.
What’s weird is that Peter and I had the same dinner last night, but he had no problems. About 9 of our group moved on to Jordan this morning and Adoria told me that one woman in that group was also up all night vomiting. So maybe, there was a bit of bacteria in the food. Nice way to say goodbye to Israel.
Final Reflections on Israel
I was so glad to see that all of my fears about a fully guided tour were unfounded. Tzachi is the best tour guide ever, our driver (Sunni) was amazing and the people in the group were incredible. Everyone was so helpful getting us around the city. I know we couldn’t have done this part of our Adventure on our own. I’m not sure how we’re going to manage in Greece and Istanbul now that we’re by ourselves again. I keep remembering all the steep hills in both cities and wonder how we’re going to navigate them with the wheelchair.
Aren’t we adorable. About 3 hours after this photo was taken, I was sicker than a dog.
Until this year, I had never really thought about visiting the Holy Land but am so glad we did. I’m not religious, but I could hardly help being moved by the places we saw…the birthplace of Jesus, the site of his death and anointing and the tomb in which he was laid to rest. We sailed the Sea of Galilea and swam in the Dead Sea. How many people can say that? I could have lived without the food poisoning, but that did nothing to diminish the wonderful time we had. The best part is…we made new friends. I know that we won’t ever reach out to most of them, but I hope to keep in touch with a few.
Well, it’s time for me to get into the shower and finish packing for our taxi ride back to Tel Aviv. Wish me luck. The next time you hear from us we’ll be in Athens.
It’s 4:30AM on Wednesday and I’ve had my usual 6 hours of sleep, so I thought I’d get the post up about yesterday’s incredibly long, but wonderful, day. The internet connection here is so bad I’m unable to upload pictures or videos, so I’ve been doing that from the bus while on our drives. It literally only takes minutes instead of hours. And, on that note, I owe you a couple of pictures from Monday’s sites. The first is the entrance to the Tomb in the Garden, one of two possible sites of Jesus’ tomb.
The entrance is at the green iron gates.
The tomb was much smaller than I expected.
I was standing in the preparation chamber. There is room for 3 bodies, but Jesus’ would have been this one in the corner. The tomb would have been a tight fit for the 6 women who were reportedly there to prepare the body.
OK that finishes Monday. Yesterday started at 7am with a 90-minute drive to Masada, an ancient fortification on the southern end of Israel where, between 73-74AD, a group of over 900 Jewish people committed mass suicide rather than be taken as slaves by the Romans. To get there we drove through the Judean desert and followed the Dead Sea for much of the way.
Here’s a video I took from the bus. While we intellectually know that Israel is a modern country with modern cities, this is the Israel that was in our heads.
The other side of the bus had the prettier side but, once out of Jerusalem, it was mile after mile of the Judean desert.
At one point we could see Jericho in the distance. Jericho is the oldest city in the world and, while it would have been fun to visit, it’s in Palestine and not on our itinerary. This is the area where we spotted a shepherd and his goats high on a hill and a man with his camel. The camel was just off the road, but we were moving too fast to snap a pic.
We followed the Dead Sea for about an hour, and it was quite beautiful with the sun shining on it.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth at about 1200 feet below sea level. We actually felt our ears popping a bit as we went down. More on the lake later.
Once at Masada, we took a large cable car to the top of the tabletop shaped mountain.
From the cable car. It was only a 3-minute ride. You can see people walking up the Snake Path. It was a long walk in hot temperatures. I’m not wild about cable cars but it’s much better than walking. Unless they bought a ticket for the cable car, they will also have to walk down but I assume down is easier than up.
We arrived around 8:30am but it was already in the 90s, so it was quite hot, even on top of the mountain. The pathway was sort of wheelchair accessible, but it took 3 of us to get Peter up the steep, uneven path.
Masada was actually a small city, with a palace built by King Herod the Great between 37-31BC. After about 20 minutes, we got to a spot with stairs so we parked the chair and Peter walked a little bit. After just a few minutes, though, it was clear that it wasn’t safe for him to walk so he perched on a rock while I went with the group to explore.
One of our new friends, Adoria, providing a little shade for my honey. Adoria has visited the mountain several times so very kindly offered to stay behind with Peter. How could we have done this part of the trip without all these wonderful people??The remaining frescoes are in pretty good shape. The dark line of paint on the wall indicates what is original and what has been recreated by archeologists. Everything below the line is original.This is the sauna in the bathhouse. A sub floor would have rested on the top of the short pillars leaving a gap between that level and level on which we were standing. Slaves would have been fanning the flames that would have sent heat through these holes between the floor levels while other slaves are pouring water through the bottom. The result, an ancient steam bath. Not as easy as flipping a switch but…
In the story of the mass suicide, 10 men were chosen to kill the rest of the residents and then drew lots to see who would remain alive to kill the other 9 and, finally, kill himself. Archeologists were very excited to find the actual lots that were used. We didn’t see them but here’s a picture that shows what they looked like.
The tour was going to take another 35-40 minutes and I didn’t want to leave Peter for that long (and besides after a while, all the remains start to look the same), so I left the group and headed back to Peter and Adoria. On the way, I stopped to take a video of the valley from one of the highest points in the city.
Because of the heat, the sky is a bit hazy, but it was still a beautiful view.
We managed to get back to the wheelchair and the entrance of the complex where we were able to sit in the shade and wait for the rest of the group. There was a nice cool breeze, so it was a wonderful place to wait. We were joined by a few other people from our group as they bailed out of the tour.
Then it was back down the mountain and into the bus for the short drive to the resort area of the Dead Sea. The lake is on the border of Israel (west side) and Jordan (east side) and is a big holiday destination for both Israelis and tourists from other countries. This section of the lake was filled with resort hotels and beaches, both private and public. We stopped at the mall for lunch (pasta and pizza…so sorry foodies, I’ve gotten out of the habit of taking food pictures; I promise to do better), then went to one of the public beaches for a swim in the lake.
The Dead Sea has 10 times the salt content of the oceans, so it is literally impossible not to float. We had been dragging our swimsuits around with us for the last 3 1/2 months, so it was great to finally put them to use.
The water was crystal clear, cool but very comfortable.
Peter only stayed in the water for a short time as he had trouble keeping his feet under him. The water had a tendency to push you over as you were floating, and it was easy to lose your balance. Once I went flopped face first and the lower part of my face, up to my mouth, got into the water. My face burned for the next couple of hours. But it doesn’t hurt the skin of your body. We were warned, though, not to get any water in our eyes.
The mineral content of the water and mud of the lake are very good for the skin. Even after just a couple of minutes is the water my skin was much smoother. Tzachi had brought a couple bags of mud for us to use so most of us covered ourselves in goo.
I wasn’t quite covered yet.
Once covered, you let the mud dry, then head back into the water to wash it all off, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. My skin really did feel good when I was finally clean.
We played in the water for about an hour, then it was time to dry off and head back to the bus. Our short time on the beach was a ton of fun although the hotel may not be as happy, as we took our room towels and they’re now full of sand. Oh well.
It was just after 5pm when we got back to the hotel where we had a very short hour to get ready for our evening outing. It was dinner and a show that was an add-on to the tour. Dinner was at a restaurant in the city and while the food was good, it was nothing special. The restaurant, though, was beautiful.
Then it was back to the bus for a short drive to the Tower of David for the Light and Sound Show Spectacular. Through lights reflected on the wall of the fortress and sound, we saw the story of Israel from King David to modern times. It was incredible and, while expensive ($117 each), we thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Here are a couple of still photos but they don’t do the show justice. I took some videos but no way they upload on this internet, so I hope to be able to get them uploaded from the bus and I’ll post them with today’s update.
The was the location of the show and the lights before the show started. Wait until you see the videos. The people seemed to be alive. The 2nd Temple of JerusalemModern Jerusalem
It was after 9pm before we made it back to the hotel, so it was a long, 14-hour, day but we had a great time. Today, on the last full day of the tour, we are visiting Old Jerusalem. So, I’ve got to get ready. I don’t even have time to proofread this, so apologies for typos or sentences that just don’t make sense. Talk later.
Today was another packed day. We’re not used to doing so much in one day as, up until this tour, we’ve pretty much taken it easy. But the good news is that we’re not doing anything but climbing in and out of the bus and going where Tazchi tells us to go.
The day started at a few museums. Our first stop was at a 1:50 model of the old city of Jerusalem at the time of the 2nd temple (about 70AD). It’s made of Jerusalem limestone and was very impressive.
The next stop was at an adjacent museum where we saw the dead sea scrolls. The story of finding these ancient documents is very similar to how the Lascaux caves were found. In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd boy reached into a large opening in a rock where his young goat had disappeared. The boy pulled out a jug which he gave to his father who opened the jug and found the scrolls. Long story short, the jug eventually made it into the hands of people who understood what it contained, and the rest is history. Eventually, several other jugs were found in 12 different caves. The scrolls date back to 3rd century BC to 1st century AD. No photographs were allowed but here’s one I found online.
Then it was off to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum on the Mount of Remembrance. The first part we saw was the Garden of the Righteous Among Nations dedicated to non-Jews who saved even one Jew from the Nazis.
The Avenue of Righteous Among Nations
Every person or group who assisted Jews in the Holocaust, has had a carob tree planted in this garden. When the Garden was dedicated in 1996, over 14000 Righteous had been honored. There aren’t that many trees as some of the trees are planted in honor of groups, like the Danish Resistance, who, in 1943, transported over 7200 Jews to Sweden. Two of the most well-known Righteous are Raoul Wallenberg and Oskar Schindler.
Wallenberg from Sweden, saved between 7,000 and 9,000 Jews. Tree planted for Oskar Schindler, a German, who saved over 1,200 Jews. He was the subject of Stephen Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.
The next part of the museum we visited was the Children’s Memorial in remembrance of the 1.5 million children who were murdered by the Nazis. At the entrance of the underground cavern where the Memorial is located, is a sculpture of pillars broken at various heights. They symbolize the lives cut short by the Holocaust.
In the first room of the Memorial was a wall of photos of children who were murdered.
The main room of the Memorial is completely mirrored and reflects the light of five candles, so it looks like there are a candle for each child. As we walked through the dark room, names of the deceased children and adolescents, with their age and place of death, were recited by a looped tape recording. The recording takes about three months to list all the casualties. It was an incredibly moving experience.
View of Jerusalem from Yad Vashem
Just outside the Memorial is a statue of Janusz Korczak, the head of a Polish orphanage. In 1942, he was exterminated in Treblinka Death Camp with his orphans because he refused to let them leave without him.
Korczak and the Children
The final stop was the main museum which gives the history of anti-Semitism and tells the story of the Holocaust. It was very well done but due to the crowds and lack of time, we only did a quick walk through. We could have easily spent 2-3 hours, but we only had about 40 minutes.
I took these pictures before I realized that photographs weren’t allowed. The first exhibit told the story of over 2,000 Jews in Estonia were murdered as the Nazis were fleeing the advancing Soviet Army. They didn’t have time to burn all the bodies, so the Soviets found papers, pictures, and other personal effects on the bodies of the victims.
The complex was very interesting and well-worth the visit. After a quick lunch in the museum cafeteria, it was back on the bus for the short drive to our next stop, Mount Zion and the room where the Last Supper was held. There is some doubt among scholars that this is the actual place where Jesus had his last meal, but it is considered to be one of the holiest sites.
During the bus ride it started pouring rain and, while it slowed a little before we got off the bus, it was still too wet for Peter, so he stayed on the bus. I’m so glad he did because the pavement was way too bumpy for the wheelchair, and it was too slippery for him to walk. Besides, we were moving very quickly to try and get out of the rain, and he would have never been able to keep up.
The table was supposedly set up between these two pillars.
There were a couple of beautiful glass windows.
This room is located on the upper floor of the building that also houses the Tomb of King David, of David/Goliath fame. He reigned between 1010 and 970BC. This was the only time that we were separated by gender to see a site. The men were given paper yarmulkes and went to the right to view one end of the tomb, while the women went to the left to view the other end.
Here’s a picture of the entire building.
The Upper Room of the Last Supper is in the upper floor of the center part of the building with the 3 arched windows. Part of the original outer wall of the Old City.
The next picture is of Zion’s Gate in the wall. You can clearly see the bullet holes from one of the battles between Israel and Jordan during the Six Day war in 1967.
Our final stop for the day was only a mile away from the Tomb of King David but it took almost 45 minutes to get there. The traffic was ridiculous! Once again, Peter stayed on the bus while the rest of us visited what some scholars believe is the site of Calvary where Jesus was crucified. Our local guide gave a convincing presentation of why this is the site, but other scholars believe the actual site is at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which we will visit on Wednesday. So, no matter which one is the actual site, we have our bases covered.
The site isn’t terribly impressive as it’s actually a parking lot.
The wall in the background is also part of the outer wall of the Old City. A 2000-year-old wine press, which is one of the reasons the guide, Stuart, gave for this being the actual site. I really can’t remember, though, what significance the wine press held, but it was something important.
Then a short walk from here was the site of what Stuart, and a bunch of other people, believe to be the tomb of Jesus. Again, he listed all the reasons why this is the original site.
I’ve been trying for 20 minutes to get the last 2 pictures to upload but it isn’t happening and I’m very tired. So, I’ll include them at the beginning to tomorrow’s post. Thanks for understanding. Talk with you soon.
