Jerusalem, the Golden City

I had the opportunity to attend a retreat just on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in a village called En Kerem. This is said to be the birth place of John the Baptist and thus the place where Mary came to visit Elizabeth when she was told that she would bear the Christ. So, of course, there is a church there called the Church of the Visitation.

The retreat I attended was a wonderful time and situated in a beautiful spot in the hills of Judea, the convent of Notre Dame de Sion, a French order of sisters. The location was beautiful, with well-kept gardens and peaceful surroundings - a place to nurture the soul. On one day, as a group, we went into Jerusalem to see some of the sights, including the Menorah outside the Knesset, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden tomb and the Mount of Olives. It was a memorable day.

Following the retreat I spent 3 days in Jerusalem doing some exploring on my own, and with a new friend, Colette, who I met at the retreat. On one day, I walked on the ramparts of the city wall, on the south side from the Jaffa Gate to the Dung G ate. From this side I could see the Armenian Quarter and the Jewish Quarter. On the second day, I walked the ramparts on the north side, from the Jaffa Gate to the Lions Gate. From there I was able to see some of the Christian section of the Old City, and the Muslim Quarter. At one point walking along, I looked down into a yard and there was a woman baking bread!

With Colette I went to see the Temple Mount, a huge space now occupied by the Dome of the Rock. On my own I went to see the western wall, going over to the women's section and saying my own prayer near this holy place that the Jews regard as holy because of the very presence of God there.We wandered through the narrow streets and made our way slowly through the Muslim section filled with shops and vendors eager to sell. On the last day I also went up the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw the craziness there.

By the end of three days, my feet were soooo sore but I had seen a good deal of the city, if not every tourist site. We did enjoy the Tower of David Museum, where they had the history of the city in various displays and diaramas. On our last night we went to an evening spectacle at that same museum that was a really amazing light show, using the walls of the fort as a screen for some awesome visual effects. The next morning we left our accommodations at the Rosary Sisters' Guest House and rented a car to drive north to Galilee.