Inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem narrow pathways wound through the depths of Jerusalem. Often times we had no idea what direction we were going in or how deep in the ground we were because there were no landmarks to be seen.

This is the street just outside our hostel, "The Citadel." The hostel was named after the citadel of Jerusalem, which was about a five minute walk away. The streets that had been paved with stones were worn down almost to a polish through many years of foot and vehicle traffic. It had rained during the day before we arrived which made walking on the stones just that much more difficult.

The door to our hostel was a heavy steel door that creaked when it was opened. If I remember correctly, the structure was built in the 1100's. It is also built upon ruin after ruin since development in Jerusalem can only be done by building on top of the old. Chris, the young, friendly guy who ran the place told us that there is a old house under the hostel that he saw himself just before the space was permanently sealed.

This is the lobby of our hostel. It had an incredible architecture made entirely out of stone. Chris, the friendly guy who took care of the place is in the brown leather jacket and jeans.

Eric sitting and reflecting in the lobby of our hostel.

Another shot of a street inside the Old City of Jerusalem at night.

I was trying to find a moment's peace to delete some bad photographs off of my camera, (I had taken many) so I stepped outside our hostel and found several rambunctious kids playing soccer. One of them spotted me with my camera and they rushed me, wanting me to take pictures of them.

The Dome of the Rock at night from the roof of our hostel.

The Citadel of Jerusalem, the fortress inside the walls of the Old City.

The first night we were in the Old City, Jay, Eric, Stephen and I went wandering in the streets just to see what we could see. In less than ten minutes we accidentally came across the back entrance to the Western Wall (AKA The Wailing Wall). We decided to go ahead and take a look.

To get to the wall we had to descend a long ramp. At the bottom was a kiosk where we picked up paper yarmulke's to put on our heads out of respect. We watched men standing at the wall, rocking back and forth from the waist, nearly tapping their foreheads against the wall. They were practicing a form of prayer. As best as I understand it, Jews believe that God exists in the remnants of a temple that was destroyed over a thousand years ago. The only remaining structure is the western wall of the temple where Jews go to pray and "BE" with God.

The next morning we returned to the site of the Wailing Wall so the ladies in our group could see it. There are separate areas for men and women who wish to visit the wall. To the left you can see the Dome of the Rock, which is built on top of the land just behind the Wailing Wall.

The worship space just in front of the Wailing Wall was divided to separate men and women.

From the courtyard just in front of the Wailing Wall I counted no less than seven visible Israeli flags.

On top of the land behind the Wailing Wall was the Temple Mount, the place where Muslims built the Dome of the Rock, a mosque built over the site where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac to God. The Muslims believe Ishmael (Abraham's other son whose descendants founded Islam) was the son nearly sacrificed by Abraham. They have claimed it as "their" holy space so you can't enter the mosque unless you are a Muslim. During Teri's visit to Jerusalem a little over a year ago, the entire Temple Mount was closed to non-Muslims making this one of the few things she hadn't done before.

Me and Teri at the Dome of the Rock.

The top of the fortress wall that surrounds the Old City of Jerusalem.

The tour of the fortress wall lasted about 20 minutes, but we only covered about a sixth of the perimeter. The area the wall "protects" is one square kilometer.

A view from the fortress wall of the Mount of Olives. The large patch of land in the center is densely packed with the graves of Jews, some dating back a thousand years.

A beautiful Russian Orthodox church on the side of the Mount of Olives.

The graves of the Jews up close and personal.

This one is for you Aaron and Christy. Near the top of the Mount of Olives was a sign indicating the tombs of two prophets. "Maleachi" caught my attention because I have friends who named their son Malachi.

The tomb of Maleachi was in a cave. It was low, dark and was scattered with a few candles. The actual remains of Maleachi were long gone.

The walled off Old City of Jerusalem as seen from the top of the Mount of Olives.

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The graves of all the Jews face the location where they hope to one day to restore the temple that was destroyed. Unfortunately in order to rebuild the temple, they would have to destroy the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim holy place.

On the side of the Mount of Olives in a region called Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) was a chapel deigned by an Italian architect named Barluzzi. The design suggests the shape of a tear drop because it is on this site that Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem; you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather you children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you desolate, for I promise, you shall not see me anymore until you say: Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord." Matthew 23:37-39

Inside the Barluzzi chapel at Dominus Flevit. The view out the window looks on Jerusalem.

Underneath the alter was a beautiful mosaic of a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. It comes straight from the Biblical passage above.

A view of the Russian Orthodox church from Dominus Flevit.

We descended the base of the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. This was by far my favorite site of the entire time we were in Israel. One of my favorite parts of the Bible took place in this garden of olive trees. Jesus knew he was being betrayed by Judas and knew what is fate would be. Before his arrest he rested and prayed in Gethsemane with several of the disciples in anticipation of his capture. Many of the olive trees are believed to be 2000 years old, so might have actually been there at the time Jesus visited the garden.

The garden was fenced off so we could not enter.

A sculpture depicts Jesus praying to God.

The Church of All Nations was next door to The Garden. Teri called it "The Church of Perpetual Lent" because every mass that is held there centers around the scripture where Jesus was arrested. The stain glass windows along the sides of the church were purple crosses. In the center, just in front of the altar was the rock where Jesus wept and prayed.

After we visited Gethsemane, we began the route of the Stations of the Cross. This is a series of 14 traditional Roman Catholic sites along which Jesus supposedly traveled from the place he was condemned to the the place he was crucified. At each station an event took place and is commemorated with a small chapel. Teri was quick to point out that many of these events were never mentioned in the Bible and might be manufactured events. If you have seen "The Passion of the Christ," you will notice that each of the stations of the Cross are represented quite prominently. This stain glass window was at the first station, where Pontious Pilot sentenced him to death by crucifixion.

This is a chapel built at the second station where Jesus was tortured and flogged. I think it was called the Church of Flagellation.

I lost track of the station numbers, but this chapel marked the place where Jesus stumbled and fell the first time.

This station was closed, but over the door was a sculpture showing Mary seeing Jesus on the way to his crucifixion.

The last several stations are inside The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was built over the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial.

Inside there is a spot much like the place where Jesus was born but it marked the place where he was crucified. There is a hole in the polished marble that you can put your hand through to feel the supposed hole where the cross went into the ground.

The Greek Orthodox Church strikes again! Just over the hole where the cross stood was a visual cacophony of silver, gold, jewels, stone, and carved wood.

A large marble cube was built over the site of Jesus' tomb which was actually chipped away long ago by pilgrims wishing to have a souvenir of their journey. Just inside the door was a piece of the stone that was rolled in front of the door of the tomb. In the second room was the slab that Jesus laid on.

A photo through the door of the tomb.

In a lower stairwell, crosses that date back to the times of the crusaders were carved into the brickwork .