After walking all around the city Rachel and I were extremely tired. Our bus stop was back across the entire city through the Dung gate near the Archaeological ruins. This required that we return to the Western Wall.
This is the typical street view when walking the pilgrim path along the stations of the cross. There are stores selling many items as souvenirs and kiosks with snacks. A nice treat for us was when walking through the Arab and Christian quarters the restaurants were open and serving non-kosher food.
The smaller entrance to the Western Wall is not separated by sex but you still need to go through a metal detector. Rachel and I ran into a mob of people trying to squeeze by each other and descend down the stairs to the security. The stair case was about wide enough for two people to walk side by side. But the Israelis kept trying to push past us on the sides. I locked my elbows and pressed against the side wall to keep a small woman from pushing between us.
There is a ledge where you can see the whole plaza. It was much much more crowded now.
You can see that the woman’s section is one quarter the size of the men’s. At this time families are showing up and both the husband and wife will want to pray at the wall. Some the woman’s section is always more crowded than the man’s.
It is considered a great blessing to have your Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall. This usually happens on Thursdays. During this time there will be multiple Bar Mitzvahs going on and the woman will race and scramble to get chairs so they can see over the divider and watch their sons preform the rite.
I was very excited to see so much activity and so many different looking people. I pulled out my camera and began to take some pictures.
A man in a yarmulke, white button down untucked shirt and a little disheveled came up to me and asked, “Who do you work for? Why are you taking pictures.” I had my white canon 70-200mm L lens which is an entry professional model and looks quite conspicuous. I think he was undercover security and I could not remember if it was okay or not to take pictures on the holy site. I answered that I did not work for anyone and I was just taking pictures for myself. I thought later I should have said I was a professional photographer for iStock.
He was barking at me and standing very aggressive towards me. He was shorter than me, but was standing on a step above so that he was looking down at me. His build was heavy around the middle and he was pumping himself up to be bigger.
The man, “Why are you interested in this? I am interested in this because I am Jewish.”
I thought quickly and said, “I have Jewish ancestors.” This may or may not be true, Rachel’s grandmother was Jewish so I technically have a Jewish grandmother-in-law.
The man: “hmm interesting. why are you in Israel?”
Me: “I am working.”
Quickly, the man said, “Really!?! You are working? What do you do?”
Me: “I am a software engineer.”
The man moved closer, “Where are you from?”
I answer, “Boston.” I think, ‘why is he asking all the questions?’ and turn the tables, “Where are you from?”
The man answers, “New York.”
Ahh, I think quickly, “Our baseball team is better than your team.”
The tone and edge is completely taken off and this is not longer a man protecting his religion but two people jibbing about baseball. I tell him that both New York teams together don’t add up to the redsox. He laughs about the Ortiz jersey that was dug up. I warn him that that was only the jersey that the Yankees know about and that there are more hidden around the stadium. He laughs, and we part. I put my camera away. I found it very interesting that a sports rivalry was able to defuse a possible religious conflict.
As Rachel and I left the plaza I noticed a sign that cameras are not allowed on holy days. However, check out these next two images. Clearly I am not the only person taking pictures.
The last adventure was for Rache. She needed the toilet and the closest public WC was in the plaza. The was enough room for one line of woman to go in and another line for woman to exit. At the start there were two line on the sides of the walls and woman would exit out the middle. As Rachel stood in one of the lines some people decided that the middle would be a good way to get in and now there were women standing three abreast muscling and working their way towards the stalls. Their faces red flushed and the dripping with sweat and frustration. To exit a woman would have squeeze and pinch through the flow of red-faced women. Then you wait for the stalls, but you don’t wait in lines you just flow towards the stall. If you don’t watch people will push by you. Rachel had some children sneak under her to get to the stall. There was a large pregnant woman behind Rachel and she was driving her big pregnant belly like a bull-dozer. Rachel locked her elbows on the walls and protected her space in the chaotic queue. Sadly there are no pictures to document this.
A Hasidic man adjusting his hat:
People playing music outside the walls of Jerusalem:
A man’s head is blurry as he moves back and forth in prayer:
Inside the air conditioned part of the Western Wall there are books and chairs and tables to rest.
A man sitting cutting an apple:
Al Aqsa mosque above the Western Wall: