Jerusalem

Another wonderful day in the Holy Land! I spent most of my morning haggling over hotel rooms and ended up moving from my grungy, over-priced hotel in the Christian Quarter to a much nicer, much cheaper hotel in the Muslim Quarter.

After settling into my new digs, I walked to the Zion Gate and had a slice of pizza for lunch before heading to the Western (Wailing) Wall -- Judaism's holiest site. I must have sat there for 3 hours just watching the people come and go. The Hassidic Jews really have the run of the place, and they are quite aggressive in approaching Orthodox, secular Israeli, and non-Israeli Jews in an attempt to bring them into their fold. As with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, there was some confusion about what to do when finally confronted with the reality of a sacred place known heretofore only in myth. The Hassidic Jews had their routine down pat, but everyone else seemed a little less certain about how to proceed. Some would make meager attempts at immitating the Hassidim, while others would pose for DisneyLandesque photos. And again, I was just as happy as could be to watch the whole thing unfold.

When I express my delight, I hope it is clear that I am sincerely delighted to be here. Not because I am wanting to mock religion or laugh at the religious -- but because I have dedicated the past 18 years of my life to the study of religion, and it is very exciting for me to be in this place! One need not be religious to appreciate the spectacle that unfolds here day after day. And like every other pilgrim, I have traveled far to get here -- physcially, mentally, and emotionally. And so it was with sincere appreciation that I watched the Koreans rolling on the floor of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and I would have joined them sooner than I would have mocked them. And while the confusion over the location of Christ's "real" tomb was a little laughable, I shared in that confusion, and in the end laughed mostly at myself.

And today the search for Christ's "real" tomb continued. After leaving the Western Wall I headed to the Damascus Gate where I exited the Old City and proceeded to the Garden Tomb -- the "true" site of Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, according to Protestant Christians (apparently they reject the Church of the Holy Sepulchre altogether -- as one Protestant explained to me today, "It's too Eastern." She said Eastern the same way I say Face-Herpes.) The place was filled with large tour groups, mostly from the US, but also from Korea and Nigeria. At one point the Koreans and the Americans got into a Gospel-shout-down, trying to sing louder, but certainly not better, than each other.

(This internet cafe is on the Via Dolorosa, the path that Jesus walked during the Passion, and at this particular moment there is a large crowd of Spanish pilgrims standing behind me being led in prayer by two Franciscan friars. It's really like a religious DisneyLand here! I LOVE IT!!! This internet cafe is apparently one of the Stations of the Cross -- Jesus sends His last e-mail.)

And of course, while I'm playing with the faithful and their Imaginary Friends, all Hell is breaking loose around me:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4804424.stm

One must wonder when, "Palestinian militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Gaza City warned US and UK nationals to leave the Palestinian territories immediately", if they consider East Jerusalem part of the Palestinian territories. It was taken in 1967 during the Six Days War, and according to international law the Israelis are here as part of an illegal military occupation. At the same time, unlike the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, the Israelis have officially annexed East Jerusalem, and they have no intention of ever returning it to the Palestinians.

This situation in Jericho puts the Israeli checkpoints in a slightly different light. I was happy to see the two young Israeli soldiers out in front of my hotel this afternoon, looking very serious with their grenade launchers. And I was even happy to see them stopping (not-so-random) people to check their bags and their papers, in spite of the fact that such checks exacerbate the situation in the long run (after all, I won't be here in the long run). Security is a very real concern for the Israelis, and one cannot blame them for being careful -- especially when it's my ass their taking care of! We'll have to see what the coming hours and days bring, but I suspect I will have to cancel my planned trips to Bethlehem and Hebron.

In the highly unlikely event that some kind of serious Hell should actually break loose in Jerusalem, I'm staying in the El Hashimi Hotel on Souq Khan al-Zeit in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. I'm in room 106 -- it's got cable t.v. (awwww yeah!), but no telephone.

Also in the news:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4804334.stm

Isn't religion fun!!??

(Photo by Eric: The Western Wall, Jerusalem)