A Closer Look at the Old City

    Having just finished my first free day (and oh does freedom taste good!) I figured I would give everyone a closer look at the Old City. This place is full of amazing sights, sounds, and smells. I just love everything about it. There are 4 quarters: the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Jewish. They are all very different. This post will mostly be a picture dump but I don't think anyone will complain too much!

The street right outside our center.

So this isn't actually in the Old City. It's on our walk to the city and not far from the center. It seriously is a giant field full of garbage. This was one of my first views of Jerusalem and it really shocked me how dirty it was. 

Part of the city wall

Lion's Gate

Ok story time! We went to the city one day and saw this big class of kids all with matching cameras. They must have just gotten them because they were taking pictures of EVERYTHING!!! Well, they saw us white Americans and that was that. I've never felt so famous or popular before in my life. They were getting like 2 inches away from our faces to take pictures. I had their teacher take a picture of us because they were just too cute to pass up! I think this might have been one of my favorite moments so far. 

Just a small glimpse of all the kids. We couldn't even keep walking because they were crowding around us.

This parrot is awesome! Usually he is out of his cage and will wave to everyone as they walk by

The next several pictures from the Muslim Quarter. Everything here is done by bartering. Let's just say it is good to be Mormon (everyone loves the Mormons and gives you the "Mormon discount") and it is good to have blue eyes (I can usually get an extra 10 shekels off of anything for that!) 

This is right inside of Damascus Gate which is a major gate into the city. There are clothing and food shops lining all the streets

All the produce here is huge! I'll have to get a picture of the carrots to prove my point

Doesn't that look delicious?

Now we're in the Jewish Quarter. You can tell the difference can't you!? It is much cleaner, the shops aren't usually on the street, they will have windows and doors, it is much less crowded, and everything has a set price. I guess no more discounts for my blue eyes! It may feel a little more like home but it's not as fun in my opinion. 

A beautiful orange tree in a courtyard in part of the residential area.

This is from a cemetery right outside the city. All the graves are above ground which is a little weird but also cool.

See this awesome dirt hill covered in rocks. Well those are actually all stone caskets! This is just south of the center on the Mt. of Olives. Fun fact of the day: graveyards were always built East of the city because the wind usually blew from the west from the sea.

Really pretty Arabic writing

This is Golden Gate. It was closed up to prevent easy access to the city during the Ottoman Turk reign. Traditionally, it is also the gate that Jesus made his big entrance through when he rode the donkey and they laid the palm leaves down for him.