Every gate in the wall of this historic city is unique in it's appearance, and even it's character! The wall and gates are enchanting to me! I walk through the gates, just like people have done for thousands of years! Of course, the walls have moved in and out through the ages, as they were destroyed and rebuilt to accommodate the growing city. And, there are streets and gates BURIED FAR BELOW the ones I am walking on! The gates were not just for entry, they were where personal businesses and civic affairs were conducted (Ruth 4:1).

THE JEWISH QUARTER
The Jews have occupied the city for thousands of years . But when the Arabs captured the city in 1948, they expelled all the Jews from the city and destroyed their buildings.

When Israel recaptured the city in 1967, they began the rebuilding. Today the Jewish quarter is about 15 acres and has about 2,500 or so residents. The Arabs still have the largest population in the city.
 
There are men in tall, black hats and long coats. They have long dangling curls just in front of their ears and many have long beards. The women wear scarves covering their shaved heads. These are the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews. 
 
There are museums, synagogues, houses, schools, etc. But the Western (Wailing) Wall is the main attraction. I will have a separate entry for the Wall!

The Cardo Maximus
In an earlier entry from Madaba, Jordan, I wrote about the Mosaic Map on the floor of the church there. It's the oldest existing map of the Holy Land in ancient times! Well, on that map, I saw the 'Cardo Maximus' running through Old Jerusalem . Now, weeks later, I am seeing an excavated part of it for real! This amazing country is where history comes to life!

After the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 70 A.D., they built the Cardo. The Cardo was a main street. It was a monumental royal road, equal to a six-lane highway in width, typical of the grandeur of the Roman Empire! It was lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life for Jerusalem. 
 
It went from the Damascus Gate and ran right through the city to the Zion Gate in the Jewish Quarter.

Part of the Cardo Maximus was excavated in 1975. The open area of the Cardo is about 8 feet below the current Jewish Quarter Road. It is lined with those majestic columns I see all over the Middle East!

Part of the Cardo is open to the sky. As you walk through it, you can see walled-up Christian Crusader-era shops built into arches!

Continue on down the road and you come to an area excavated and restored! It's awesome to see! The present buildings in the Jewish Quarter are built overhead!

As you walk through this excavated and restored section of the Cardo, you see small shops operating in the original buildings from centuries before!

But, that's not all! In the center of the road are small 'wells' . You can look down and see pieces of the old city walls from the First Temple period, about 700 B.C.! Above where I am standing now are the present streets of Jerusalem. I begin to realize how far above the original level of the land the city has risen in its constant rebuilding on the ruins of each wave of destruction. And, how much underneath has not been discovered yet?

The Jewish Shopkeeper and The Brothers
I entered the Jewish Quarter, glancing at the goods on display, along the small walkway. Right away a shop owner asked me where I was from. Then he said he was having a Grand Opening for his shop and asked if I could come inside and help with the English spelling for the sign. I printed out what he said he wanted on the sign for him to copy later. When I tried to leave, though, he insisted I "owed" him to buy something. The whole thing was a scam to get me inside. After that, when a store owner spoke, I answered back but kept walking! . . . with one exception . . .

The Brothers were the exception! As I walked past one day, they yelled, "T-shirt, 20 shekels!" I would be leaving Jerusalem soon, and a t-shirt would be a nice souvenir! Two young boys couldn't be problem . . . or could they? . . . (story on photo)

THE MUSLIM QUARTER
One of my favorite Gates to enter was also the most beautiful, and just across the street from the Arab hotel, The Damascus Gate! It leads to the Muslim Quarter. A large gate from earlier times, with 3 arches, has been discovered underneath the present gate!

The gates are often named for the place they face. With that information, you have figured out this gate faces Damascus, which is now in Syria! 

Damascus gate is the most crowded to enter. You have to make your way past the Arab sellers, even before you reach the gate. It's a few steps, turn sideways, wait, and then continue . Once inside the gate it is shoulder to shoulder Arab locals shopping or going home! It's crowded like this constantly as you try to walk around this quarter of Jerusalem. Of course, this Muslim Quarter is the most populated in the old city!

But, before you reach the crowds or the Gate, you pass the group of Israeli Military, weapons at the ready. They are always here, and other armed guards are scattered all throughout the Muslim Quarter! This gate into the Muslim Quarter is the only gate or Quarter I have seen this heavy Military and Police presence. 

On several occasions I saw the soldiers stop one or more young Arab's, and, with weapons drawn, look at their papers. Sometimes they would have feet spread, leaning against the wall. I never stopped to see what was going on, and did not take photos (unless from a distance). I don't need to get involved.

It was difficult to walk through the Muslim Quarter because of the crowds . I bought food or fruit a few times from an Arab seller, but it was never a good experience and I never bought from the same one twice. I had the same problem trading in the Arab community my hotel was in. It was as though I annoyed them by buying from them. But, I don't know if it was that I was not an Arab. Maybe this is just their culture. I don't see smiles or lively conversation going on between them, either. Maybe it's just the way they do business?

A strange (and annoying) thing about walking around the Muslim Quarter is the way you are just walking along, looking at the shops and things, and suddenly, from out of nowhere, a Muslim man will jump in front of you and start talking in Arabic. He only wants Muslims going further. 

There are no signs (in any language) anywhere that might say not to enter. It's just the city streets with the markets full of Muslims and some foreign visitors. I have seen them push a foreigner in the opposite direction! This would be a fighting offense in the U .S.! They do not allow non-Muslims to enter their mosques, so, maybe there is one up ahead? You never know, when this will happen!

This was never a problem in the other quarters. The other religions welcome you in their synagogues or churches! (Put a cap on to enter a synagogue, remove it to enter a church!).

Also, only Muslims are allowed to walk through the streets where their houses are. In the other 3 quarters you walk anywhere, including where they live! It's a city, after all!!! But, the residents and businesses in Old Jerusalem are mostly Arab. Israel only recently gained control of the old city after the 1967 war. The Arabs see Israel as occupiers of the old city!

I never felt as if I was among friends in the Arab places, anywhere in Israel, . . . with 2 exceptions . . . one was one man that worked the desk at the hotel. (The same one that brought me food during the Muslim holiday .) The other exception was at a falafel stand deep in the Muslim Quarter. (Story on Photos).

I could not stay out of Old Jerusalem! I would go almost everyday, if I was in Jerusalem! Sometimes I had a certain Quarter in mind to explore. Sometimes I just wandered around (and usually got lost, which was the best part).

RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE
Half of the world's population has religious roots in Jerusalem! Thousands travel here for religious pilgrimages all year.

*For Jews, Jerusalem is the city King David conquered from the Jebusites and made the capital of his Kingdom. It's also the site of the First Temple, that held the Ark of the Covenant, built by his son, Solomon. The Temple is now in ruins. Only the Wailing Wall remains.

*For Christians, Jerusalem is the place Christ taught, was tried, crucified, buried, and rose again!

*For Armenians, they were the first country to adapt Christianity as their official religion . And arrived in Jerusalem in the 4th century A.D. They built a church building over "The Upper Room"!

*For Muslims, Jerusalem is where they believe Mohammed ascended to heaven from.

THE GATES OF JERUSALEM
There are 8 gates in the wall now, but one of them was bricked up over a thousand years ago by the Arab ruler. This Golden Gate (also called Eastern Gate), faces east toward Mount Zion! It was closed by the Muslims in 810, reopened in 1102 by the Christian Crusaders, closed in 1187 when the Muslims again took Jerusalem. Then, finally when the Arab Ottoman Sultan conquered the city and rebuilt the destroyed walls, he bricked this gate up again in 1541. It is still that way today! 

The gate was bricked up by the Muslims because the Jews believe the Messiah will come into the city from the east. Christians believe that, at the second coming, Christ, the Prince of Peace, will return to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem through the re-opened Eastern Gate . (Zechariah 14:4).

As I started to soon realize, there are always different opinions surrounding religious issues. The "events" are believed, but often the "locations" are disputed! But, this information seems to be widely accepted about the Eastern (Golden) Gate. But, others point out that the gate Jesus entered on Palm Sunday is buried beneath the present one.

Gates in Prophecy: Ezekiel 48:31-34 says when the Messiah rules the world from the Holy City, there will be 12 gates one for each of Israel’s tribes.
 
NO PEACE IN JERUSALEM
Around 1000 B.C. David conquered the small settlement of Jerusalem from the Jebusite settlers. But, the city never knew peace, and has been fought over ever since.

In Old Testament times, the Babylonians captured it, destroyed the First Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylon (now Iraq). Then, it was captured by the Persians, Greeks, Syrians and Romans (who in 70 AD destroyed the Second Temple) .

Jerusalem was ruled by the Roman Empire starting with the Christian era. Then the Persians, Arab Muslims, Christian Crusaders, Muslims again, Egyptian Mamelukes, the Ottoman Turks and, from 1917 to 1948, the British.

Jerusalem was divided between Jordan and Israel after the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Then, following the 1967 Six Day War, Israel took control of the mostly Arab populated Old Jerusalem (East Jerusalem). But, the rightful owners of Jerusalem remains a key issue in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

PEACE IN JERUSALEM!
Christians believe there will be no permanent peace and safety for Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace Himself comes to establish His reign on earth. The second coming of the Messiah!

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Psalms 122:6."

JERUSALEM IN THE BIBLE
Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac: Genesis 22:1-18
David makes Jerusalem his capital: 2 Samuel 5:4-10
Song of praise and prayer for Jerusalem: Psalm 122
Solomon builds the Temple: 1 Kings 5-6
Jesus enters Jerusalem: Matthew 21:1-11
Jesus is crucified, buried and rises again: Matthew 27:66—28:10; Mark 15:47-16:8; Luke 23:26, 24:12; John 19:16-20:10
The coming of the Holy Spirit: Acts 2:1-4
The first Church Council at Jerusalem: Acts 15:1-29
The new Jerusalem: Revelation 21:1-4

NEXT: "DEATH ON THE MOUNTAIN"