Kotel – the Western Wall. Looks like just another wall. But really?
Magic of the Kotel: Narration of my first hand experience at the Western wall on a Shabbat day.
The western wall is a Jewish religious site in the Jewish Quarter of the old city of Jerusalem. The wall itself dates from the end of the Second Temple period, being constructed around 19 BCE. It is often referred to as the Wailing Wall, in connection with Jewish practice of coming to the site to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple.
The disputes over the wall date back to the destruction and not until the 6-day war of 1967 did the Jews get an unrestricted access to the Wall. Even today, there are numerous disputes, the latest one erupted in 2004 when a stairway was being built to approach the Temple mount, which falls on the ‘other’ side of the wall, i.e. Muslim Quarter. Wikipedia has a fantastic blurb on the history of this place.
Kotel at night. Orthodox Jews dress in black
Why is it called The Wailing wall?
In Judaism, the Western Wall is venerated as the sole remnant of the Holy Temple that stood here. It is actually a remnant of the Herodian retaining wall that once enclosed and supported the Second Temple. It has also been called the “Wailing Wall” by European observers because for centuries Jews have gathered here to lament the loss of their temple.
Praying:
It is thought by Jews to be the most sacred of places, because the temple itself was thought to be the place where God resides on earth. Praying at the Wailing Wall signifies being in the presence of the Divine. Jews from all countries, and as well as tourists of other religious backgrounds, come to pray at the wall, where it is said one immediately has the “ear of god.” There is a much publicised practice of placing slips of paper containing written prayers into the crevices of the Wall. It’s as if the Buddhist prayer flags that carry the prayers all around.
Kotel during the day
Since I already wrote an intimate personal experience at this place, this post is mostly informative. Here I am reproducing a snippet.
[...]It was a sea of people at the Western Wall plaza, predominantly dressed in black. Honestly, I hadn’t seen so many people at the same time since I left India about a year back. I was also a little shocked to see many young soldiers with huge guns at the entrance, a sight so ubiquitous in Israel that I didn’t notice it after a few days![...]
[...]This was the wall whose pictures had mesmerized me for months, and finally I was standing right in front of it. Ok what should I do now?
Nothing complicated, I did what anyone else would do – touch the wall. I was picturing a bolt of divine energy zapping into me or me getting transformed suddenly to some other dimension, but (alas) nothing such happened.[...]
People praying at the Synagogue attached to he Western Wall
Western Wall Tunnels:
The Western Wall Tunnel is an underground tunnel exposing the Western Wall in its full length. The tunnel is adjacent to the Western Wall and is located under buildings of the Old City. A free tour can be booked via the Kotel tunnels website. It is very heartening to see the profound history of this place, excavated as early as 1987. The kotel tunnels tour is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to understand the wall closely.
A soldier and a civilian: Mourning / Praying at the Wailing wall
Visitors:
The Western wall is situated very much in the Old city (see map here.)
Visitors of all religions are welcome to approach the Wall and to pray silently beside it. Men who would like to go to the wall must wear a hat or take a free head covering (kippah) from a box beside the entrance to the prayer area. I don’t know the requirements for women but I would presume that they are expected to dress conservatively. Pictures cannot be taken on Shabbat day (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) but a shabbath experience at the Kotel is highly recommended. I visited this wall on three separate occasions and I would love to go there again. The whole place has a buzz of energy about it.
View of the Kotel plaza from the path that spirals up to the Dome of the Rock
This post concludes my travels in the Old city of Jerusalem – one city, three faiths. You might be (I was completely) surprised at how closely the religious structures of these Abrahamic religions are located to each other inside the old city. There is a battering religious environment everywhere you go 
Pictures and slideshow: Jerusalem Photo Gallery
The citadel of David
The Citadel of David – a defensive structure that was destroyed and rebuilt over and over!
Jerusalem has been a center of activity for such a long time that wave after wave of different civilizations battled for it. Beit She’an, Akko are few examples. The Tower of David is a defensive fort built on the edge of the old city and it has recorded this flavor. Built to strengthen a strategically weak point in the Old City’s defenses, the citadel was constructed during the second century BCE and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt by, in succession, the Christian, Muslim, Mamluk, and Ottoman conquerors of Jerusalem.
Citadel of David
The citadel is a cultural center today and is visited by millions of tourists. It offers very clean and beautiful views of New Jerusalem city, predominantly the Jewish areas and that explains its strategic importance during the old times and even as recent as the Arab control over the city before the 6-day war. Every ruler of this place upgraded it, thus leaving a mark of their presence.
Defensive fortifications.
I was in the western side of the old city (Christian and Armenian Quarters) for an entire day because there is so much to see here. Christian pilgrims swamped the whole place, mostly dominated by Russian Orthodox Christians (it was their Christmas holiday). There are several (maybe hundreds of) churches in these two quarters and hundreds of young volunteers work at these religious centers from all across the world.
Hagia Maria Sion Abbey, or the Dormition Church
Mount Zion is a hill south of the Armenian Quarter just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Mount Zion is the modern name of the hill – the result of a misnomer dating from the Middle Ages when pilgrims mistook the relatively large, flat summit for the original site of the City of David.
Important sites on Mount Zion are Dormition Abbey, King David’s Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. Oskar (Oscar) Schindler is buried in a cemetery here.
Dormition Church
Situated on the modern Mount Zion, just outside the walls of Old City is the The Dormition Church which was called Abbey of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, but the name was changed in 1998 in reference to the church of Hagia Sion that formerly stood on this spot.
::::
Room of the last supper:
Christian pilgrims praying in the room of last supper
Among the little joys of exploring a place yourself is finding something that you least expected. I was walking in this area very casually, admittedly in the Christian / Armenian quarter and stumbled at this place. What an amazing piece of Bibical history! I was overwhelmed and wanted to run around screaming “I saw the room of the last supper!” “I saw the room of the last supper!” Yeah, so? Soon I realized that nobody would have cared – it was as if I go to Egypt and say ‘oh I saw the pyramids’. Indeed, everyone else has done the same.
I had already seen so many prominent Christian sites (that most of my information about that religion today comes from Israel), some of them being:
° Church of Nativity, Bethlehem: The birth place of Jesus,
° Via Dolorosa (Stations of the cross), Muslim and Christian quarters, Jerusalem: Jesus’s last walk
° Church of the Sepulcher, Christian quarter, Jerusalem: The site of crucifixion.
° Numerous sites along the Sea of Galilee, Galilee
So this room was another significant addition in my trip seemingly overloaded with Christian pilgrimage sites, haha 
I think religious Christians will have a ball in Israel visiting all these sites (duh, ofcourse!) Several tourist companies bring pilgrims from all over the world. There are endless number of things to see.
Beautiful window in this room.
Next post is about the Jewish quarter.
Pictures and slideshow: Jerusalem Photo Gallery
Note: Beginning now, I’ve adopted a less rigid approach to the travel series. Posts will no longer be titled ‘Scrolls from…’ etc. but will have the same content nevertheless.
Last Supper: Picture by Leonardo da Vinci (1498)
“Your website looks great, do you use Dream weaver?”
I get that question sometimes and it always used to bother me. But I don’t get annoyed anymore. Instead, I quote the following story:
::::
A photographer was invited to a dinner and he took along some photographs to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented, “These are very good! You must have a good camera!“
He didn’t make any comment at that time, but as he was leaving to go home he said, “That was a really delicious meal. You must have some very good pots!“
::::
Lance Armstrong, in his book It’s Not About the Bike, wrote a whole page describing some neat features of his cutting-edge bike. That description alone would make a bike enthusiast like me quiver. But he concluded it saying (paraphrased) – “But at the end, it’s not about the bike!“
::::
I worked for 3 years as a project planner. People’s standard question was: “Do you need to know Primavera and Microsoft Projects to become a planner?” (those are the two leading project management software.) I wish I could say “Yes”. A planner, like Isaac Asimov’s Hari Seldon, accumulates current data, examines macro/micro factors and uses historical behavior to predict the future. I wish it was as simple as clicking some “Tools > Plan Now!” button.
::::
I thought of the following people while I was composing this post. They (I think) get lots of comments about their ‘art’. Care to tell me:
° Nita, Prax, Bob – If online research is one mouse click away, why don’t we find blogs that are comprehensively researched as yours? Do you think that research is an art and online resources are mere tools? Taking it one step further, how much do you think have certain tools helped you become a journalist, stock market specialist and an astrophysicist respectively?
° Rambodoc – How much of today’s medical marvel is attributed to the surgeon’s instruments? (I desisted from using the word ‘tool’ – some readily available fodder for your twists that would occur anyway )
° Shantanu – About software tools and Dilbert’s talent! You are also welcome to add a story about chefs and foods!
::::
For a long time, I thought that I needed a brand new Sitar from Kolkata and only then I could play some awesome music. Fortunately, few months back I met some guru who plays the Sarod. He picked up my Sitar and played something beautiful casually.
“Wow! I didn’t know you played the Sitar too!” I said.
“No, ofcourse I don’t…. But I know the basics of music! “
I regret not meeting him before. But hey, its never too late
::::
To end this non-travel post, I leave you with a quote from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
If you are a wizard you will be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results, however, must always come where there is a strongest affinity between wizard and wand… An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.
::::
Question to the reader: I think that it doesn’t really matter what tool you choose to express your talent. If you are not the right person (by birth or by training), the tool won’t make you one. What do you think? Any stories?
Masada (मसादा meaning ‘fortress’) is a site of ancient palaces and fortifications on top of an isolated rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of Jewish rebels, who preferred death to surrender.
Masada fortress, the desert and dead sea at a distance
The Masada Story
Roman client king Herod the Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt. In 66 CE, at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War against the Roman Empire, a group of Jewish extremists called the Sicarii overcame the Roman garrison of Masada.
In the spring of 73 CE, the Romans successfully breached the wall of the fortress . When they entered the fortress, however, the Romans discovered that its 936 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed mass suicide rather than face certain capture, defeat, slavery or execution by their enemies.
The account of the siege of Masada was related to Josephus (the historian) by two women who survived the suicide by hiding inside a cistern along with five children, and repeated the Jewish commander’s exhortations to his followers, prior to the mass suicide, verbatim to the Romans. Because Judaism strongly discourages suicide, Josephus reported that the defenders had drawn lots and killed each other in turn, down to the last man, who would be the only one to actually take his own life. So ten men were picked to kill rest of the inhabitants and then one of those ten killed the other nine. The last man committed suicide. The Jewish commander ordered his men to destroy everything except the foodstuff to show that the defenders retained the ability to live, and so chose the time of their death over slavery.
The last Jewish resistance in the war was thus defeated and Masada fell to the Romans again.
Masada fortress
The Masada story is very dear to the Jews since this event is considered to cause a significant turn to their history in Israel. The Israel Defence Forces initiated the practice of holding the swearing-in ceremony on top of Masada of the soldiers who have completed their basic training. The ceremony ends with the declaration: “Masada shall not fall again.” (This ceremony is also held at the Western Wall)
Excavated buildings, houses, synagogue, store houses, bathhouses, a byzantine church etc.
Masada, a world heritage site, is still being excavated and restored to its past glory. This site is about an hour’s drive from Jerusalem (two hours from Tel Aviv) and is very close to the Dead sea. Dead Sea + Massada can be an ideal one day excursion. There are several tourist companies that organise these trips and it is advisable to go with them since they come with tour guides and it is easier to navigate through the Palestinian West Bank.
Entrance to the Masada. Dead sea is seen at a distance
Reference: Wikipedia
For the complete photo set, slideshow and comments, please see my Masada – Dead Sea Photo Gallery
Dead sea is one of the most fascinating places on Earth and visit to Israel is incomplete without a dip in the dead sea.
Dead Sea. Jordan is on the other side.
Where is it?
Dead sea is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 420 metres below sea level (shores) and 330 m deep, making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River. The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges. There are no outlet streams.
To go to the Dead sea from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, the route passes through west bank territories and once can see the checkpost and the (in)famous wall. It is a part of the the Negev desert.
Why the name ‘dead’?
With 31.5% salt content, Dead sea is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment where aquatic life (fish, plants etc) cannot flourish. Hence the name ‘dead.’
Swimming Floating in the Dead sea:
To float or not to float. The Dead Sea experience
It’s fun to even write about it. You cannot drown in the dead sea.
But how is it possible? How can one not sink in the water?
This is something everyone has to experience themselves. I can only try to describe the strange feeling. Due to such high salinity, water of the dead sea is so dense that we can easily float in it. I’m not sure if an elephant would.
So when I first stepped on the water, it felt strange. It felt like something heavy, like oil, but definitely not water. I dove into the water and surprise surprise there was not a big splash or anything but instead a little glopish sound. Then I was simply floating in the water. The water continuously tries to push you. If you simply release yourself, your ass and torso would sink (due to the weight) while other body parts would be suspended on the surface. Very unreal feeling! So it’s really not possible to ‘swim’ in the sea per se but you can float, and simply hang out, read a newspaper or something. Make sure you don’t swallow the water because it is deadly. It was a great feeling to float on water, something almost as rare as flying in zero gravity. I even thought of performing the miracle of walking on water
And oh, yes I went to this place twice
Four hundred meters under the sea. Very cool!
Natural resources:
Many people believe that the mud of the dead sea has curing properties. There are several therapy centers around the coastline that do mud therapy, salt water therapy and such. Due to below sea level conditions, the sun is powerful and atmospheric pressure is also higher.
High salinity and minimum turbulence makes the composition of the water very interesting. The composition varies slightly at different test points. Unlike sea water which is mostly (97%) Sodium Chloride, this water has lots of other anhydrous chlorides such as Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium while Sodium Chloride is only 30%. [Oh watch the Chemical Engineer speak!]
The sea is a source of various chemicals and minerals that are used for the manufacture of beauty products. It was one of the world’s first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers.
Its the Negev Desert afterall.
Religion:
How can this place not have any religious connotations? Comeon, its Israel!
The human history of the Dead Sea goes all the way back to remote antiquity. Some cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis which were said to have been destroyed in the time of Abraham, were on its shores. A specific prophecy over the dead sea that the water will “.. be healed and made fresh…”
In Islamic tradition, the Dead Sea was about the land in which the Prophet Lut lived. The people of the towns and cities were wicked for their acts of homosexuality (cough cough), raping men, robbery and murder and had therefore been given a punishment for such deeds. The punishment arrived when angels in the form of beautiful men were sent down by God as guests for Lut to host. When Lut’s people heard of the men, they rushed to Lut’s house to misbehave and rape the men. This was their final test which they failed so the angels raised the land where the prophet’s people lived, tipped it upside down and threw it back on earth, causing the ground near the impact to cave in. Thus, the lowest land on Earth was formed because of this punishment.
Reference: Wikipedia
For the complete photo set, slideshow and comments, please see my Dead Sea Photo Gallery
Shalom (शलोम)…. infact being a Saturday, I must say “Shabbat Shalom” (शब्बात शलोम) It’s been six months since I last posted a travelog on Isreal and so, here is a brief(!) recap. The links will lead you to corresponding blog-posts.
Jerusalem:
Kotel (Western Wall), Old city of Jerusalem
My first foreign backpacking experience started in Jerusalem where I (un)fortunately landed on a Friday evening – beginning of Shabbat – when the whole city shuts down (literally). In few hours, I got cheated by a cab too. Fortunately it was all good, because I got to experience a Sabbath evening at the Kotel, which was a truly magical experience. Win some – lose some.
Dome of the rock, Jerusalem, viewed from Mt. of Olives
Soon, I ventured into the Arab dominated area of East Jerusalem. Mount of Olives gives a picture perfect view of the old city.
Typical street in the old city
The old city will charm you with its crowded narrow alleys, hundreds of little stores, security men, sights and smells, and oh, a overpowering feel of religious energy that one cannot escape. The old city is walkable in a day and is divided between Jewish, Christian and Muslim areas.
Bethlehem:
Church of Nativity, Bethlehem
In the Palestinian territory of West Bank was the Church of Nativity where Jesus was born. The feel of West Bank area, after crossing the big wall and the security checks, was noticeably different.
Galilee:
Sea of Galilee
After plenty of pushing and squeezing and struggling with a bus full of army boys and girls, I reached the lovely town of Tiberias.
Seeing that there are so many sites in a route that runs abt 75km, I decided to pick up a bike and go cycling around the sea of Galilee. Several little sites of tourist and religious interest dotted this ancient bibical-era lake.
Ancient city of Beit She’an
Beit She’an was next. It’s a remarkable ancient city which is still being excavated and fans of architecture should definitely visit this place.
Typical street in Tsfat
Safed is a little town drenched in the Jewish Kabbalistic traditions. I loved the calm and quiet of this place perched on a hill top. It was fun to hitch a ride with soldiers on the way back.
Haifa and Akko:
Haifa city
Haifa is located on the shores of the Mediterranean and a little north of Tel Aviv. It is a pretty serious town with industries, educational centers and prominently the home town of the Bahai religion (newest religion this place produced). However the most fascinating thing I found here was the condom beach, which I am told is closed now.
Old city of Akko
My Israel series has so far reached Akko, the walled city.
[And I thought this would be a brief post]
Sorry for not finishing this series before (blame it on Peru!) But if that was a sufficient refresher, lets get ready to move on to the Dead Sea
Subscribe
Follow on Twitter
RSS Feed
E-mail updates
