The view from our hotel room upon our arrival in Jerusalem. The window looks out on the walled old city.
	Zion Gate, where we first entered the old city. There are eight gates in the walls of the city. This one leads to the Armenian Quarter, not far from the border with the Jewish Quarter.
	A typical road near the border of the Armenian and Jewish Quarters of the old city.
	Another view inside the Old City. I think this is at the edge of the Jewish Quarter.
	This is the Greek Orthodox Chapel inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The incredibly elaborate display marks the spot where Jesus was crucified; the room is built over the rock into which the cross was inserted. Under the altar you can see a cylindrical hole in the rocky surface. It's not actually clear if this spot is historically accurate; the Protestants favor a site a few hundred yards away.
	A view of the Jewish Quarter. The reason it looks so shiny and new is that it is; many of the older buildings were destroyed in the War of Independence (1948).
	This is the Cardo, the ancient Roman market road that has been unearthed by archeologists. The tops of the columns are just below the current ground level of the Jewish Quarter. A unit of Israeli soldiers is getting a history lesson. This is one of the ways the military tries to forge a united citizenry in a country of immigrants.
	My mom and I standing above the Western Wall plaza. Just below us are the metal detectors which you must pass through to enter the plaza. My mother and I, and most of the tourists around us, set off the machines, but were waved through without a search. The guards seem to rely more on visual impressions than the metal detectors.
	The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. This is actually the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount. Walls were built around the peak of Mt. Moriah so that a flat surface could be created for the building of the temple proper. The mount is now an Islamic holy site; the Western Wall is as close as Jews can get to the site of their ancient temple, and this is why it is a focus of prayer.

Photos of Jerusalem (Set 2) 

Description of Jerusalem
Israel Photos table of contents