A Synopsis

A quick synopsis of my last two weeks - I might try to go back and explain things in detail, but, I'll at least let you know what I've seen so far.

Day 1 (6/6 -Sun) - Arrived at ben Gurion airport. Went to Passport Check. Told to sit in security box. Ministry of the Interior official interrogated me. Called Fr. Solana. Finally, let me through. Public transportation to Jerusalem. Traffic. Let out prematurely; walked through Old City to New Gate by Notre Dame Center. Got checked in, unpacked, showered, rested; met Fr. Julian, Vicente, Fr. Solana.

Day 2 (6/7 - Mon) - Stayed at Notre Dame Center entire day. Shown around by Vicente. Met everyone who works here. Started working on database. Learned how to work in the gift shop. Felt small and insignificant in the midst of fluent Spanish speakers.

Day 3 (6/8 - Tue) - Walked to tailor with Felisa, who runs the shop in order to get out and see the area. Abandoned as she went inside to get her clothes hemmed. Walked to Herod Gate (NE Corner) to Muslim Quarter, wandered to Damascus Gate (N Center). Later, went into Old City to find Holy Sepulchre. Followed signs and directions of multiple people I asked in the street - led in circles. Gave up. Returned to Notre Dame and explained my failure. Learned that Holy Sepulchre was by Mosque of Omar - by that point, I knew all of the roads in the area that I could walk there blindfolded. Went to Holy Sepulchre, not blindfolded for the sake of safety, saw the many side chapels, entered into the Holy Tomb, saw piece of stone rolled away from tomb at resurrection, walked up steps to Calvary and saw altars commemorating the last few stations of the cross: in room behind glass, altar for Jesus is stripped of his garments, to right of Calvary, altar for Jesus is nailed to the cross, in center of Calvary, altar at location where Christ was crucified.

Day 4 (6/9 - Wed) - Navigated streets with tourist shops to the Western Wall. Walked up to the Wall and prayed. Later, Mariana, the volunteer coordinator for the Magdala Project, and I compared pictures - we had two identical shots, same angle, same distance, it was crazy - one of the replica of the Maccabean manoreh, another of the Wailing Wall. She explained some more about the Holy Sepulchre - there is an altar with a metal design behind it of Christ and Mary Magdalene a couple feet from the tomb - this is the spot where Mary Magdalene noticed the risen Christ. At the entrance is this six foot long stone that pilgrims would kiss upon entering: I learned that this was at the spot where they lay Christ's body on a stretcher after taking him down from Calvary, this was the stretcher he lay on.

Day 5 (6/10 - Thurs) - Woke up at 4:45AM, met in lobby at 5:30AM. Went to Holy Sepulchre - Fr. Christopher celebrated Mass at the Holy Tomb (in Spanish). Fr. Sergio, who, after being in Jerusalem for 7 years, was preparing to fly out to Rome for his next assignment later in the afternoon, concelebrated. There were about fifteen of us. We could fit only about five of us in the tomb with the priests at a time, so we took turns moving in and out through the four foot tall archway connecting the two rooms. I got to be in the tomb for the first part (the liturgy of the Word). Afterwards, we had some time in the tomb before we had to give it up to the tourists and/or pilgrims. I learned more about the Sepulchre: there is an altar with a black stone underneath - this is the stone upon which Christ was scourged. There is a stone under the altar of the crucifixion which marks the location of the cross. Down a long stairway there is a small chapel with an altar and a statue of a woman supporting a cross. This is St. Helen, who evidently went through the Holy Land marking the holy sites. This altar is where she placed the crucifixion. Besides it is the location where there was found pieces of the true cross. After breakfast, I learned that I had been kicked out of the group that was going to Bethlehem. I was originally going with Felisa to see one of her suppliers and then we'd stop by the Church of the Nativity, of course, but Marcela, the archaeologist for the Magdala Project, and Mariana, the volunteer coordinator, latched on to the group so that they could arrange for volunteers at the excavation to stay in Bethlehem for a couple days. The car was too small to hold all of us, and I was the one who wasn't really going on business (that couldn't be completed without me), so I was uninvited. I took advantage of my being up and ready to be a tourist that early by going to the Temple Mount, controlled by the Muslims, which is open to tourists from 8AM to 10AM (except on Fridays, the Muslim holy day of the week). I walked around the Temple Mount for an hour. I didn't realize how big it was. I was a large space filled with beautiful pathways to porticos and little domed shrines, through groves of olive trees. In the center was the Dome of the Rock, open only to Muslims. I walked to the walls, climbed up a stairway and peered out at the Mount of Olives to the East. I also this building attached to the walls, twenty to thirty feet below where I was standing, connected to a staircase blocked by a gate. This was the Golden Gate, through which the Jews claimed their Messiah would enter the city, filled in by the Muslims for fear of this prophesy. When I had sufficiently wandered, I then strayed through the Jewish Quarter. I found myself in a Jewish synagogue in the south, central part of the Jewish Quarter. I followed it into another room, another synagogue; here was a man who demanded payment. I gave him the only 5 shekels I had on me; he demanded more, but finally let me off with half what he expected. Connected to this second synagogue was a small, narrow, third synagogue which acted as a hallway for a fourth synagogue. These were the famous Four Sephardic Synagogues. I left and returned through the city. I was stopped by a man who wanted me to help him spell 'sale' on a sign. I told him that I had to go. He told me that he didn't intend to eat me; that he was just asking for my friendly help, he would respond with neighborly hospitality. This was a ploy to get me into his shop so that he could a necklace of a star of David stuck around my neck so that he could get me to buy it. After I proved that I was sufficiently broke and had gotten that stupid necklace off of my neck, he let me leave disappointed. Yesterday, I was disappointed by the lack of creativity of the shopkeepers in Jerusalem. One shopkeeper told me that he needed me to enter his shop and write 'sale' on a sign for him. When I refused, he told me that he wouldn't eat me. I kept walking, he called back, but by then I was gone.

Hopefully I get to day 6. 7. and 8 tomorrow. To be continued...