If you had
been with me Years
ago, during my first trip to Israel, I was offered a ‘deal’ that may have been
sincere…then. For a bargain price of $150, a personal escort, a former IDF intelligence
officer, would take me to the Temple Mount. Perhaps because I misunderstood
where we were to rendezvous, I never saw the man, never made it there. (please see: The Temple Mount in Jerusalem The Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Where
were the First and Second Jewish Temples Located? templemount.org -)
“Yesterday, we
went to the Temple Mount,” said a Mormon visitor at the Allenby B ‘n B. It was
breakfast and most, like me, who’d rented rooms there, sat at one long table. I
listened carefully; it had cost them nothing to go to the Mount. “Go in the
morning at 7:30. Lines are short and you’ll get in easily.”
That afternoon, I
walked to the Old City, confirmed the information in addition to gathering
printouts about times and conditions. When I was told that the entrance was
near the Women’s section of the Western Wall, I asked for and received a map to
the Kotel. I remembered that getting to the Kotel (the Western Wall) on my last
visit had been tricky, too tricky.
With that map and
the other information, I knew I would easily reach the Temple Mount, site of
the First and Second Jewish Temples; both had been destroyed, on the same day
although more than six hundred years had passed since the Second Temple was
destroyed in 70 C.E.
In 692 C.E., the
Muslim’s Dome of the Rock was completed. Some believe it to have been built on
or near the foundations of the destroyed Jewish Temples. Indeed, so holy is the
site to many orthodox Jews that going near that area is seen as dangerous and
is generally forbidden. When I made my plans known, such warnings were shared
by loved ones who feared harm might come to me when I ventured there.
Mindful of that,
I found the Kotel, went through a check point where my camera and hand held
light meter were closely examined, and crossed the marble floor of the grounds
of the Western Wall. To my left were men actively praying. To their right were
women, in their own section. To the right of them, about 120’ from the Wall, I
was ushered through another checkpoint. From there, I was instructed to join a
line of about forty people. Behind me were German tourists; in front,
Americans.
To my right were
two signs that explained conditions of entry; I photographed both. One
stipulated that no religious symbols nor jewelry (e.g., crosses or Star of
David necklaces) would be tolerated. Although I’d chafed at hearing that the
day before from the Mormons at the Allenby, I wasn’t concerned by it that
morning. Actually, I’d found a way to take a Jewish star with me to the Mount!
Before leaving
that morning, I drew a Star of David underneath the back of my shirt collar, a
yellow polo I would wear all that day. Apparently, no one noticed. When the
gate eventually opened at about 7:40 a.m., I marched in.
What I saw
surprised me. Although the original area had been about 250 meters square, the
Mount was expanded by the Hasmonean dynasty to a much larger size. (please see: Temple Mount - העיר העתיקה
ירושלים The present Temple Mount area is the result of
King ... the Hasmonean dynasty apparently did a significant amount of
renovation and expansion of the Temple Mount. ... www.jerusalem-oldcity.org.il/pages_e/Templ_Mount.aspx?..)
Most of the site
was paved with stones similar to those leading to the Kotel. Like a quiet plaza
with well-placed raised marble boxes for what appeared to be very old trees,
the area was almost serene; groups of people sat in circles, seeming to study
or converse. Smaller groups sat in folding chairs. Men and women were there.
Two women, dressed in niquabs sat on
a concrete stoop away from all of the others. I maneuvered close enough to see
that one was reading from the Koran to the other.
By shooting
pictures near the perimeter of the Mount, I was able to get a more inclusive
perspective. When finished, I decided not to exit at what seemed the stairs to
the back wall of the Old City; I knew that was deep in the Muslim sector.
Instead, I retraced my steps that led to the Jaffa Gate.
Very near there was a stairway, one that intrigued me. It led to the Ramparts
at the top of the walls; I wanted that vista. Curiosity had led me to ask about
it the day before. Hurriedly, I climbed to the top; there I saw a sign that
instructed me to buy tickets at the Visitors Center fifty feet from there. It
was 8:30 a.m. (please see: The Ramparts Walk: Climb the Walls
of Jerusalem The ramparts walk allows you to walk
along the walls of Jerusalem, getting a bird's eye view of both the Old
City and modern Jerusalem.
www.jerusalem-insiders-guide.com/ramparts-walk.html -)
That office didn’t open until nine. I couldn’t wait until
then because I’d promised to meet my daughter at another location.
When I saw her, I mentioned the Ramparts. “Would you like
to go?” I asked.
She loved the idea.
Buying tickets was a cinch. We climbed and were rewarded
with a view of Jerusalem on one side and the Old City on the other that neither
of us had ever expected to see. For hours, we traversed the Ramparts’ narrow
stone walkway as it wound up and down windows and gates in the Old City’s
walls. A few times, we saw people sitting in small backyards; patios and
compact courtyards connected to the Wall. Basketball courts belonging to
churches were unexpected, but empty.
At the end of our trek, halfway around the Old City, we
saw another couple. Like us, they hadn’t known that the trail would come to an
end at a midpoint before it reached the western corner. All of us had to exit.
That’s when I saw the stairs that led to the Temple Mount,
the ones I had chosen not to exit from earlier. Seated at the bottom of the
stairs were two Israeli police officers. As I walked toward them, a few young
neighborhood boys hissed at me that the area was closed.
I didn’t answer them; instead, I moved closer to the
policemen and asked for directions to the Kotel. It would have been easy to
climb the stairs, enter the Temple Mount, and take the stairs at the other end
of the Mount. But, although Muslims and Muslim tourists could cross at any time
into the Christian and Jewish sectors, crossing the Mount was only allowed at
specific times to non-Muslims.
The next time would be tomorrow. By then I would be gone,
too late to see the Mount from the Ramparts of the Western Wall.
B.Koplen 4/11/13
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