Pesach is coming up and as is traditional the AACI (a non-profit organisation in Israel) is offering its usual chag (festival) Tourist Project Walking Tours of Jerusalem.In the picture: smiling participants of a previous tour help out by holding up the sign. Thanks Liz, Adrienne and Sarah!
Cost NIS 35 for AACI members, NIS 45 for non-members; children aged 5 and under free; family discount price of NIS 120/150 for families of 4 or more. Responsibility for each tour is in the hands of the individual tour guide leading that tour. No reservations are required.
I am quite busy this year but couldn't resist signing up for one day - as there is something I have been wanting to try out for some time and this is the perfect opportunity.
As a Jewish guide obviously I always enjoy showing my “eternal capital city” to anyone who wants to see it, but the nature of things is that the Jewish tourist wants to see Jewish sites and the Christian tourist wants to see Christian sites – (it is rare to get Muslim tourists but of course they too want to see Muslim sites) - and naturally each perspective is different.
So here’s my idea! I hope it will attract people of every religious persuasion.
Sunday 16th April.
A Jewish perspective: Christian Jerusalem through Jewish eyes.
Meet outside Jaffa Gate at 10 o’clock.
The Holy Sepulchre – is this Jewish burial? The view from the rooftops – what is the connection between a Jewish soldier and the Church of the Redeemer? Where is the map that denies the Temple Mount? The Upper Room on Mount Zion, traditional place of the Last Supper - was this leyl haseder?
In passing, discover some hidden delights of Jewish History.
We will finish in the Rova at 12:30 in time for lunch!
As it happens this is Easter Sunday, so I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. It will probably also be very crowded – but we’ll cope!
And in contrast, here's my afternoon tour, which will show hidden nooks and crannies, and attempt to answer lots of questions!
Jewels of the Jewish Quarter - How they lived then … how we live now.
Meet at 2:00 am inside the Zion Gate.
Where can you see what happened on that fateful day we lost the Old City? Hurvah – a ruin no more? Four Sephardi synagogues & one that wasn’t but said it was. What connects Baron Rothschild to defenders of the Jewish Quarter in the War of Independence, and what’s a Roman column doing in Batey Machseh?
Who really built the Roman Cardo, and what does the map have to tell us?
I am looking forward to having a lovely day!
Chag same'ach and Happy Easter!
1 comment:
The Holy Sepulchre – is this Jewish burial?I recently read that when Dr. Sukenik started publishing his find of the Third Wall and both the Protestant and Catholic sites thought to be 'his' burial place were within the Third Wall's boundaries. The Pope actually interceded and requested that the Israeli government stop Sukenik's dig. In fact he was moved over to another site closer to the City of David until the excitement died down!
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