What beekeepers do on their day off
- Dome of the Rock
We decided to take a day off and rather than visit our bees, we chose to visit Jerusalem. Maybe the beekeeping has emboldened us to not fear what some might think of as dangerous locations, we decided to ascend the temple mount and visit the site where the first and second temples were built. We arranged with an old friend of mine, Dani Barkai, to give us the tour. Dani and I went to Associated and CHAT together and lived on the same street. Dani is an excellent guide and is not only familiar with the regular tourist attractions, studied zoology at the University of Toronto and was a guide for Haganat Hateva (Israel Nature Authority).
The temple mount is currently the site of the Dome of the rock and the Al Aksa Mosque. It is where the first and second temples stood. It is the where Arik Sharon visited and was the excuse that was used to spark the second Intifada. In 1967, after Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem, the responsibility for the temple mount was given to the Waqf. Today, if Jews want to visit the temple mount, they must agree not to pray, tear their clothes (as a sign of mourning), sing, or anything that might be seen as a religious act. The temple mount is the holiest place in Judaism, and the third holiest place in Islam.
After going through security at the Kotel (Western Wall) we were guided through an additional x-ray and metal detector to get to the temple mount. We were six people and were assigned an Israeli soldier and plain clothed man carrying a bag and radio from the Waqf. It must have been a site for people to see because we were just six people walking around with our two chaperones. As you can see from the picture on the left, we do not have our arms around each other because we were warned that this is considered inappropriate behaviour. We walked east and saw the beautiful Dome of the Rock from the outside and and then made our way back to the western side of the plaza and then north to the Cotton Sellers’ Gate.
We posed for pictures and shmoozed a bit with the guy from the Waqf. At one point I turned to him and asked him exactly where the temple stood, and he responded that he and I have very different views of this location. He went on to explain that there is no evidence that there was ever any Jewish presence on the temple mount. I guess if you say the same thing enough times you start to believe it. Our police escort Danny, heard what he said and argued with him. Danny told the Waqf guy that he would show him the locations to point out the Jewish historical presence on the temple mount. When we left we thanked our escorts and Danny told us to come back often.
Dani Barkai guiding us at the City of David
Our tour continued and eventually lead us to the City of David. There is a lot to say about Ir David (City of David) but I am cooking meatballs now and have to stop. Ir David was interesting, a bit over-rated but important for anyone studying the history of Jerusalem and Israel.
After a few hours we headed back to the old city, a short visit to Dov Kempinsk,i and lunch.
June 12, 2009 4:13 pm 2 Comments
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By Michael, June 14, 2009 @ 8:11 am
Did you need to go to the mikva first?
By Stephen, June 14, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Yes, we did. Alison went the night before because you can’t find a women’s mikva open during the day. The mikva lady was quite upset because she was against the idea of Jews going up to Har Habayit.