I am not really a religious person and being in such a religiously iconic city I decided it was be a pity if I didn’t get anything out of it. Thus I decided to take one of those free tours that I’ve been accustomed to back in Europe. The meeting place is towards Jaffa Gate and I leisurely stroll past the open air markets.
I arrive early at the meeting point just inside Jaffa Gate at half past ten and have half an hour to kill. So I browse around the shops near that area where everything is about double what I pay near Damascus Gate. I site opposite the two tour guides that look like they’re picketing with two huge red signs advertising the free walking tour. By 11 o’clock there is a fairly large group of tourists gathering around that area and I move from my bench where I was enjoying a circle shaped sesame seed bread and coke.
The tour was very informational and full of religiously important sites. We also toured the many different quarters of Jerusalem where Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Armenians all co-exist. Jerusalem has such a significant presence in so many religions that we are only able to cover a fraction of what the city has to offer. There are other different walking tours that are more dedicated towards certain topics.
One of the discoveries on the tour was a small coffee shop connected to a hotel that is inside the city walls. This cafeteria for the hotel is raised up above the busy and noisy streets of Jerusalem. There at the top is garden, tree providing shade and an aura of peace that is hard to come by in this city. It is amazing how quite a few meters make and I can even hear birds singing. This coffee shop would be visited many times during my stay in Jerusalem.
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