Because we couldn't eat at the hotel, we all gathered together and began walking towards the Old City...just a few blocks from our hotel. The wall that encloses the present-day Old City of Jerusalem was built in the sixteenth century by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent. Originally it had seven gates; an eighth, named the New Gate, was added in the late nineteenth century in the walls' northwest sector. We entered the Old City through the Damascus Gate. Called the Shechem Gate by the Jews, it is the largest and most splendid gate. Located on the wall's northern side is adjacent to ruins attesting that this has been teh site of the city's main entrance since ancient times. The gate's defenses include slits for firing at attackers, thick doors, and an opening from which boiling oil could be spilled on assailants below.
We meandered our way through the narrow streets until we found a restaurant. Yummy! Schwarmas, hummus, as well as several other things that I couldn't identify but sure tasted good.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a place of new ministry called the Jerusalem House. It will eventually be a place where people can come and pray. Several volunteer groups have been coming and helping the folks there renovate the building and landscape the grounds. It is a beautiful piece of property once owned by Horatio Spafford (penned the words of the hymn - It is Well With My Soul). While taking a tour of the building I met a volunteer group there from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Would you believe that the pastor of their church was Rev. Wayne Marshall - a friend of mine from college? Small world!
