Day 10 was our final day in Jerusalem. We each received information previously with details about where to be at what time to catch the group's bus back to Tel Aviv for our flight back later in the day. After our morning prayer time, we had breakfast as usual. After breakfast, I wanted to make sure I could get everything packed. I was a bit tired. Throughout the trip, I found it REMARKABLY EASY to wake up whenever I needed to wake up. The time zone change had almost no effect on me, and whether we woke up early or I chose to stay up late, I tended to do rather well. I ended up falling asleep after breakfast for a bit of a nap.
I woke up and realized I needed to finish packing. I also laid out the postcards that I purchased in the past few days and wrote on them, added postage, and mailed them via the main desk at the hotel. I knew there was a Mass at Saint Anne's just before lunch. I think we had an option to walk there or take the group's bus there...or not go. But we would eat lunch together afterward. I went to the Mass.
Note: For some reason, these photos ended up with larger file sizes than most of my other images. I intentionally posted the lower-resolution photos in most cases (any files with IMG in the names). And these photos are still the lower-resolution images, but they tend to have file sizes greater than 1 MB and sometimes 2 MB or more.
Here is a photo of the side of the Altar that faced me. If you were in the main body of the church looking at the altar from the front, I was to the right of it. This side depicts Saint Joachim and Saint Anne with the child Mary, the mother of Jesus.
We ate a great lunch. Then we had the remainder of our free day.
A few of us checked out some of the shops in the markets. But we ended our time in the Old City by taking the Rampart Walk. That's a walking path on top of the Old City walls.
As we neared the spot where we would head up, I saw a HUGE Christmas Tree...in mid-February!
I guess Santa's house is over there, too.
We went into a shop where they sold tickets to the Rampart Walk. Then we headed up. Partway up, there was an area where we had to scan the ticket.
The gates with access points to the Rampart Walk were circled. North is to the left. The marking for where we were is at the center bottom part of this map. Thus, we started at the Jaffa Gate on the west side of the Old City.
There was a sign with information about the watchtowers. All along the watchtowers, we would get a chance to look out at the city outside the Old City, or we could look inward toward the Old City section.
The towers stick out from the walls, so we get a glimpse of the city walls from above and outside of the main walls. Each gate has a tower, but not all towers have gates. The Jaffa Gate is the first gate we entered when we visited the city. The Latin Patriarchate is just ahead and to the right.
The Old City has lots of stuff in it. With all the old stones and religious sites, one...one doesn't expect a basketball court.
Let's look out from the wall again. I love the steps and the shapes of the concrete areas.
It wasn't just a basketball hoop...it's a full court! I thought I'd take a shot from this angle now that I turned the corner.
Some parts along the walk showed narrow gaps in the stones that made it easier to protect the city. They could see out more easily while reducing their exposure to enemy attack. They would have enough room to fire downward with arrows or other weaponry.
This is the view near the New Gate.
There's a park down below, just outside the city wall.
That Christmas Tree is huge! These ornaments are probably a few feet in diameter, or at least a foot each.
To get the whole tree in a photo, I had to switch to panoramic mode.
I liked this stone dome that's on the top of a Muslim site.
I believe this is the area around the New Gate, taken from above it.
I zoomed in to my shadow.
The street has very little activity at this time for some reason. It seems so calm. I see a sister walking below.
The Rampart Walk sometimes has stone walls on both sides of the path. I liked the feeling of that.
I lowered the camera in this next photo, which makes it look like a trench of some sort. I suppose this is what children would see. Keep that in mind if going on such a walk with children. PLEASE lift them to where they can see, assuming you think they will benefit from the walk. It takes a while to get from gate to gate. And there are only a few gates that have access points. We had to hurry to get to a gate before the walk closed for the day.
Some areas have the stone wall on one side, but metal on the other side.
The metal made it easier to see down. Some areas just have trash and rubble. But most areas are better than this.
Have I been imprisoned in the tower? No. But it feels like it from this perspective.
I really liked this spot. A narrow view is provided, and plenty of room for a weapon to strike outwardly with a reasonable range of angles.
Here is a broader view out of the city.
The path pops in and out as the towers come and go. They have steps going up and down, even though the lower level is still well above the city below. I think I see a statue of Mary hiding in the lower left area.
And there's a nice, but simple grass area in a courtyard here.
Yup, I see a statue of Mary.
I took several photos toward the Temple Mount, which has the easy-to-spot Dome of the Rock on it. We see the rooftops with lots of water tanks on them, satellite dishes, etc.
It would be weird to own a building in the Old City near the walls. The buildings are crammed in there, and I'm sure people value having some open areas. But the open areas are all walled in, and if they are near the city walls, then the privacy is limited. Some places try to provide coverings/tarps to provide a little bit of privacy.
Christian areas are easy to spot. We are in the Christian Quarter, if I recall correctly. A crucifix stands out down there.
Looking out again...
And back inward...
I'm not sure which direction I'm supposed to go.
When we reached the Damascus Gate, there was a corner post that offered some covered space for a few soldiers to be stationed, if they needed it. Since it's covered, there has to be a support column.
The Damascus Gate was the closest gate for entry from our hotel. So I thought I'd take more photos here. I walked up and down the stairs practically each day I spent in Jerusalem.
We came from up these steps that from this angle are going nearly straight up the photo. When coming out of the gate below, one would normally have to turn 45 degrees to the right to take these steps. We would then continue a few feet to the intersection and cross the road the angles back to being 45 degrees to the left (so the same orientation as the gate exit.
Those angles may be easier to follow from this photo.
Looking down on the inside of this tower area, there are clearly several levels here.
We're about to head down so we can return to the hotel. But let's get another photo in...but LOOK at that uneven surface at the bottom of the photo! Can we step out on that?
Another wonderful defensive position...
The construction zone to the east of the gate, which we barely avoided each day, since it was near the edge of where we walked.
Time to head down...in a moment...
But first, it's photo time of me in the corner post.
Now we can head down...and yes, we can walk on that wavy rooftop! How messed up has this gotten over the years?
These photos are showing lots of ups and downs. But I'm starting to suspect it's intentional.
Yup! It's intentional. Once I spotted a drain at a low point, I realized that they were smarter than what we have in America. In America, large buildings often have a flat rooftop, or a nearly flat rooftop. It makes it hard for them to drain. Snow piles up with lots of weight, and rain drains slowly. This encourages water damage from flat rooftops. It's easier to make a flat surface, and it might be safer. But this surface is really cool, and it looks like it drains well. But if it was wet, then the slopes might not be that nice.
I looked down a drain point. This is a look straight down to the zig-zag path of the Damascus Gate. The gate does not have you pass straight through; you turn a little bit here and there. This captures it better than any other photos I could have taken.
I just kept taking photos, knowing this was the last I would see of the city. And since this is the gate we would use each morning, the path visible in this next photo is the path we would use to get to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After leaving the Rampart Walk, we saw the familiar shops right around the gate.
I kept wanting to eat their breaded goods, but I ate well at the hotel and restaurants. I didn't find it necessary to eat anything more.
It was time to get back to the hotel. We would eat at the hotel one last time. Then we would board the bus and catch a ride to the Tel Aviv airport.
The final post about the trip based on the sites visited in the order visited will say a little bit about the trip home. I didn't take ANY photos once we were in the airport. We headed to the airport for a flight that would depart early the next morning.
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