Underneath it All at the Western Wall

A rainy day in Israel provided the perfect opportunity for an indoor activity: visiting The Western Wall Tunnels.

To visit the tunnels, one must join a tour, which starts at the base of the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter. It is given from a most assuredly Jewish perspective, which is, at times, hilarious. And at other times interesting/possibly controversial, but always it is just so "Jerusalem."

In any case, the base of Temple mount goes down about four layers of city beneath what is lived in/walked around in today. Over the years, buildings were built on buildings on top of buildings. It's the same in Rome, or any other very old city. The Temple mount as it exists today was leveled out by the Romans, who flattened the area by installing a base of very large to freaking-massive stone blocks. And by freaking massive, I mean larger than a couple of elephants standing side by side. BIG. Way BIG.

Wikipedia has this to say about the largest stone used in the base:

The Western Stone, located in the northern section of Wilson's Arch, is a monolithic stone block forming part of the lower level of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Weighing 517 tonnes (570 short tons),^[1] it is one of the largest building blocks in the world. The stone is 13.6 meters (44.6 feet) long and 3 metres (9.8 feet) high and has an estimated width of 3.3 meters (10.8 feet).

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When the Israeli government dug the tunnel along the base of the Western wall (without telling anyone, which was a HUGE deal when the story finally got out), they were able to literally uncover layers of history dating back through the years, over various occupations: Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Caliphate, Crusaders, Ottoman... the proof was all there, in the layers of buildings. 

A model of Temple Mount and Solomon's Temple, used to show the various building phases

Our tour guide was phenomenal. Just the right combination of history and hilarity and not a little bit of Chutzpah. 

Ahead you can see a room built along the base of the Western Wall. The room (shown below) is for Women to pray at the Wall. Men are allowed at the actual base of the wall.

This is considered to be the closest that Women are allowed to the base of the wall, and therefore the holiest spot they have access to.

Rain

"Whatever you do, don't hit the wall too hard. They" Our tour guide motioned up above, to the Temple Mount, run by Muslims, "They have seismographs up there. Any big movement recorded and *smack*," He clapped his hands together in a finite motion, "atomic war!"

At the end of this long hallway is a very, very narrow cleft in the cavern that you have to pass through. It measures only around a foot wide at it's narrowest point. Our guide told us a story about one VERY large guest. He told her she wouldn't be able to fit and she became offended. He shrugged and let her come along. At this point, she tried to shove herself through the opening and became seriously lodged in place. She couldn't move forward, couldn't go back. Other people on the tour had to push from one side and pull from the other to free her... Yah. Tour guides know what's up.

The tour is one-way and exits onto Via Dolorosa, just above an old cistern pool, which is actually connected to the cistern that is under the Convent my friends and I stayed in. Except our tour was apparently 10 minutes late and the Jewish guards who were posted at the exit to prevent heaven-knows-what happening from the Palestinian quarter (actually, violence is known to happen at that doorway on occasion) decided it was their break time, so instead of offering us an escort back to the entrance from street-level (per normal), we were told that we were extremely lucky in that we would be able to wander back through the tunnels to the entrance at our own pace. So we took our time, wandered, really enjoyed it and then walked all the way back to our convent/guesthouse at street level.

Welcome to Israel!

Visiting the "Kotel"/Western Wall Tunnels:
The entrance is located at the base of the Western wall, in the Jewish Quarter. If you're facing the wall, look to the left near the restrooms.

Opening Hours: Sun-Thurs 7am to "Evening"
Reservations: Highly recommended (but small groups of 2-3 will easily be able to join a tour)
Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cost:  I don't remember. Around 20 shekels.
Cool official website: http://english.thekotel.org/VisitorInfo.asp?id=1
Bring: Water, camera capable of taking photos in dark, indoor spaces

Jerusalem: The Western Wall

My first encounter with the Western Wall was completely unexpected. After a day of wandering around old Jerusalem, looking for a way into Temple Mount from the Muslim Quarter (don't try it), my travel companions and I happened upon a security checkpoint, which are not uncommon in the Middle East. We shrugged at each other, slipped our things through the xray and walked through metal detectors. Once through, *BAM* there we were. Seemingly the heart of traditional Judaism. The place hummed with vibrancy, spiritualism and anticipation. The wall itself is nothing especially exciting. It is a wall, a very old wall. Were it not for the circumstance, for the regard paid by onlookers and the big setup of partitions and crowds of people humming, singing and chanting, a visitor could pass by "THE WALL" entirely, not having a clue that this particular wall is the only remnant of the Temples of Solomon and David in Jerusalem.

Immediately after entering the square beneath Temple mount, a group of Israeli soldiers gathered, nearly under my nose and began to form up for a photo. I took the camera from an at first suspicious soldier, but then very friendly when he understood I meant to take the photo for him. Afterward, the soldiers were very accomodating and posed for several shots for me. After the photo, they all joined in a circle and began singing, dancing, and shouting. I was struck by the patriotism, the pride these soldiers had for their nation and traditions.

Visiting the wall itself seemed almost akward. Being surrounded by people who cherish this wall so much, it seemed almost as an intrusion to approach the wall, to touch it and to simply observe.

Did you know that Jews will not enter the Temple Mount? They regard it as holy and do not want to walk where the Holy of Holies once stood, according to their traditions. So you'll see Jewish people at the Western Wall, but never directly above it, on Temple Mount.

 Women touching the Western Wall. The slips of paper in the cracks are prayers. 

The wall is divided into two sections - one for men and one for women. 

 Washing before approaching the wall.

 Sunset at the Western Wall.

Israel: A Quick Photo Update

In pictures (and a few words), here are a few of things I've been up to lately in Israel, in no particular order:

Visiting the Western (Wailing Wall)

Climbing lots and lots of stairs to get to my room in the Convent I'm staying at... 

this place is huge and has many, many places to get lost in!

Exploring Temple Mount (and finding the proper way into Temple Mount... Oy Vey!)

Finding the "Chuck Norris Approved" places to drink fresh pomegranate juice. 

 Eating a very American Thanksgiving feast of Schwarma and Falafel... *snrk*

Waking up to this view of the Dead Sea from our hostel at the base of Masada.

Viewing the Garden Tomb. 

Visiting the Dead Sea.