Israel Trip: Jerusalem - Western or Wailing Wall (Part 4)

After Sepulchre Church, we headed to the Western or Wailing Wall.  This is the last part of our ancient city tour.

The Wailing Wall has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries, the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dating from the 4th century.  They believed that since this is a part of the original temple, this is the nearest place to where God resides.

These days, not only Jews visit here to pray.

the wailing wall with the fence..beyond the fence are the people praying

If there's one place where everyone unites and pray peacefully, regardless of religion, it is in this area. Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Jews and Christians' Jerusalem tour is not complete unless they have said their prayers here.



the wailing wall

This was called "Wailing Wall" since a lot of pilgrims wail while praying here.  Thus, emotions here are intense. Upon entering the prayer area, you can see a lot of people crying while praying.  Some are inserting their prayers, written in papers, inside the wall spaces. I forgot to bring my written prayers so I was not able to do this.

I must admit, I'm more overwhelmed in Gethsemane and Sepulchre Church (than here).  Maybe my overwhelming emotion have been drained already. Or maybe, I'm more curious why this was called wailing wall  ; ).  They say the louder you wail, the greater sins you have.  So, does it mean I have lesser ones??? I don't know, I just didn't cry.

a variety of people visit this wall



people of different religion go here to pray

The fence was built to separate the females from the males.  The bridge on the top is the path way to the Temple Dome; now a mosque for the Muslims.

I didn't have a closer picture of the wall with people praying since I wanted to respect the solemnity of the place and the people.

free water for all

There are some drinking fountains for pilgrims and travelers.  Due to the heat here during the summers, you really need to replenish your water supply.  We didn't drink here though since we are not sure if the water is clean.  Remember, it's hard to get sick in a foreign country.  Di puede ang medicard dito.

a Muslim family getting water from the fountain

the adjacent part of the wall

a group of tourist having a picture

I had fun people watching here since there are so many tourists.  My officemates even joined this group while having their group picture taken.  They are quite surprised.  Ikaw na ang Pinoy!

the golden dome of the Temple Mount

This the back entrance going to the Temple Mount through the bridge from the wailing wall.  Since the Muslims were the first one to return to Jerusalem, they have built their mosque on the original site of the ancient temple of the Jews.

the huge area

a school for religion

This is now the exit of the ancient city. 

At last! we saw a police car in Israel

Only in Jerusalem that we were able to see a police car.  There are also some soldiers guarding the entrances and exit.  I'm sure they are a lot hidden cameras here as well.

with our tour guide - Mary Ann

This is Mary Ann, our tour guide in Jerusalem.  She's so patient and kind with us. I learned a lot from her. I hope that I can meet her again.  Ooops, I remember we didn't give her and the driver a tip since I spent all the money I brought here.  Just look at the plastic bag I'm holding. I'll make another post of the things I bought here.

Jerusalem tour is really one of the best tours one can have in his entire life.  I'm so grateful to experience this for free.