Alrov Mamilla Avenue Archives - Escapes From The Little Red Dot

Earlier we had made a reservation from the hotel for a tour (Under Bein Harim) in Bethlehem, having not able to figure out how to go by ourselves (and avoiding the hassle of doing so). A bus with a couple of passengers already picked us up from the hotel and drove a short distance to the “immigrations”, a gate in a long stretch of 10meter tall concrete wall of isolation surrounding Palestine.

We got off and proceeded to go through with passports but there were no stamping required. Then it was some more walking before we reached the other side where we got on another bus. We were officially in area controlled by the Palestinian Authority, there were only 2 of such isolated areas and the other one is the infamous conflict zone of Gaza. With this, there was a certain feeling of tension as we go on our tour, the first attraction is the Shepherd’s fields.

The location we arrived at was open wide as expected of a field. The sheep shepherds of old used to have sheep grazing here but we didn’t see any that day. There were stories told by the guide about what the place was about, and caves that were once inhabited to explore. At this location we could also see Israeli settlements that built into the Palestinian land and it seemed some unfairness in this complicated political game.

Approaching the walled city of the Palestinian Authority.

Entrance to the Shepherd's fields. — Entrance to the Shepherd’s fields.

Fountain at the Shepherd's field. — Fountain at the Shepherd’s field.

One of the buildings at the Shepherd's fields. — One of the buildings at the Shepherd’s fields.

One of the caves in Shepherds' fields. — One of the caves in Shepherds’ fields.

Chapel at the Shepherd's fields. — Chapel at the Shepherd’s fields.

Extension of Israeli's settlements into PA land. — Extension of Israeli’s settlements into PA land.

The next location which was a short drive from the fields was the Milk Grotto. We arrived at a small church, built over a location where baby Jesus was fed milk, and therefore called the Milk Grotto. There was also a story told about how a drop that fell to the ground had whitened the entire floor. We left after exploring the area for the next destination, Church of Nativity.

We alighted at Manger Square to get to the Church of Nativity nearby. We had to skip to the other locations to avoid the crowd earlier at this popular church. Many pilgrims were here to see and pray at the location where Jesus was born.

There were two entrances, one with a shorter door frame, called the Door of Humility. Upon entering the church, we could see the old interior of the church with traditional deco and the wall mosaics. Similar to the Church of Annuciation, there were many people crowded around to pray at the location of Jesus birth location, marked by a star. After spending some time exploring the church, we left through the bigger entrance.

Another entrance, but much smaller in size. — Another entrance to the Church of Nativity, but much smaller in size.

Stained glass depicting the birth of Jesus.

Grotto of Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus.

The main entrance of the Church of Nativity.

Took a photo together with the square. — Took a photo together at the Manger square.

The tour ended as we returned the same way we came through the gate and then with a drop off at the Jaffa gate and we walked over to the Mamillia Mall for lunch.

There was still some time left so we drove to the Masada Fortress which was an hour and a half drive from Jerusalem. En-route, we noticed a Ahava visitor’s center and popped in to have a look. Purchased some goodies as souvenirs for the people back home as they were substantially cheaper than home and continued onwards to Masada.

Ahaha visitor's center. — Ahaha visitor’s center.

The fortress perched atop a barren hill. There was a cable car we took to get up to the fortress. From there, we had a tour guide to bring us through the fortress.

Just like any other fortress that we had been to in this trip, this ruins had an interesting history about being under siege and how the enemy built a ramp to reach it. There were a few levels that we could get down to as it was built on the edge of the cliff and that offered different viewpoints of the expanse below.

Once was a commandant's residence. — Once was a commandant’s residence.

Location of the breaching of the fortress.

Another bird's eye view. — Another bird’s eye view.

Our final stop before heading back to Jordan was to enjoy a spa. We drove to a popular Dead Sea spa destination at Ein Bokek where many hotels were built to serve the same purpose. We choose a familiar hotel chain Le Meridian and went in.

Had always wanted to try mud wrap, which we did. We were separated and went to different rooms. The room which I was in felt more like an abandoned surgeon’s room right out of a horror movie but why so was because it would be very messy to deal with so much mud that that had to apply and cover all over my body. The male therapist proceeded to wrap me up after the he was done with the application and then with a blanket above. It was so warm that I was sweating. The end result was smooth skin (I think) after I bath off the mud.

At the Le Meridian cafe before our treatment.

Drove back to Jerusalem, had dinner and packed for the trip back to Jordan.

Started the morning with breakfast at the restaurant next to the hotel, Yotvata at the promenade. Bought the vouchers from the hotel reception at a discount.

After retrieving our vehicle from the carpark, it’s a one and a half hour drive to Jerusalem. Parked along the road side on the Alcazar Hotel and checked in. The simple room given was a twin and came with a balcony but not much of a view.

The walled city of Jerusalem was a lovely place to visit, the architecture of old seemed to bring the us back in time. The 4 quarters (Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian) that formed the city but each separated from each other by a small walking street. Location of importance to 3 major religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) of the world, I felt that there seemed to be a small tinge of tension within the different quarters but it could very well be from myself, influenced by media before coming here. The people just carried on with their day to day though.

Souks selling every stuff in the quarters.

The area of the city was huge and some strategy for walking about would be required to cover as much with as little time as possible. Streets were only as wide of people to walk about and there was so much walking required. We first visit the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall). Men and women were separated at the entrance to their own sides. There were kippas for temporary usage that had to be won to enter these areas. There were many people who come to pray beside the wall. There was also a library beside the wall and there too many were seen praying, some moving about wildly like as if in some kind of trance.

Notes place into crevices of the wall. — Prayers placed into crevices of the wall.

In the library next to the Wailing Wall. — In the library next to the Western Wall.

After that, we went to the Christian side and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I felt that it wasn’t easy to find this place as getting here we had to walk into a small pathway from the main street of the Christian quarters and we missed it the first time around.

Though I wasn’t a Christian, I was kinda excited to visit this place (maybe I heard more of the stories than the other religions?). This was the place where Jesus was crucified and laid to rest. Though from the outside, the church didn’t look all too impressive, once inside, we could feel the confusion as it was a huge areas with multiple chapels within, each with their own significance. Tried to follow the map and explored but it was difficult to get close to some of the more significant spots (Edicule, rock of Calvary, Stone of Anointing) as there were lines of pilgrims waiting!

Courtyard of Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Mosaics on the walls at Chapel of the Nailing to the Cross.

Chapel of the Crucifixion, where pilgrims go touch the stone of Calvary. — Chapel of the Crucifixion, where pilgrims could visit the spot where Jesus was crucified.

Rock of Calvary, supposedly the site of crucifixion.

Stone of Anointing. Pilgrims pray and kiss the stone. Supposedly the place where Jesus was placed after removal from the cross.

St. Helen Chapel. — St. Helen Chapel, with a huge mosaic on the ground.

Our third place of interest was in Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock. Entry into this place was limited to just one entry through the Mughrabi gate at the Western Wall, as we were non-Muslims. We had to queue to enter as entry was controlled and entrants were checked. There wasn’t many places we could go into the mosque or the Dome of the Rock but simply admire visually the beauty of its architecture.

The area at Temple Mount. — The area at Temple Mount, with El-Kas fountain in the foreground.

Al‑Aqsa Mosque, third holiest site for Islam.

From Temple Mount, we could see the shining golden top of Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives.

Church of Mary Magdalene seen from Jerusalem.

By the end of the visits, we were looking for a place to have lunch and so visited an interesting looking restaurant that was within an arch, known as Between the Arches.

Spiral staircase within the restaurant. — Spiral staircase going from the main street level to the restaurant.

Entrance of Between the Arches restaurant.

There were still some more places to go such as the Church of Dormition where it was said that this was the place where the Virgin Mary died.

We also visited Tomb of King David. There weren’t much signages here and we ended up not seeing anything that resembled a sarcophagus. On the second storey of the building was the Cenacle, where the Last Supper was supposed to have taken place. We couldn’t make up where that was too, with only an imagination based on Da Vinci’s paintings.

At the courtyard of King David's tomb. — At the courtyard of King David’s tomb.

We also walked to Oskar Schindler’s grave, having been inspired by the movie Schindler’s list, where he had saved so many lives from the Nazi persecutions during WWII. Unfortunately it was closed and we didn’t had a lot time.

Gate to Oskar Schindler's grave. — Gate to Oskar Schindler’s grave.

There were just so much to see in Jerusalem. There were also ruins of archaeological importance as we walked about. It was rather tiring to absorb so much and walk so long in a day.

What it might have looked like in the past.

One of the gates into the city, Damascus Gate.

Went back to the hotel for a rest before getting out of dinner. There was a modern mall, Alrov Mamilla Avenue, so we went there in search of dinner. Settle in at a restaurant with a view. Thoroughly enjoyed the day in Jerusalem.

Israel 2012 Day 14 – Bethlehem in Palestinian Authority, Masada Fortress

Israel 2012 Day 12 – Jerusalem