May 5 - Port of Ashdod - Gateway to the Holy City of Jerusalem

It was off for a six hour Jerusalem Old City tour. It took about an hour to drive from the port to the Dung Gate of the old city where you have to go through an airport type security check point before entering the old city. First stop was the Western (Wailing) Wall where men and women are segregated as to where they can go to the wall. Being Thursday there were many Bar Mitzvahs with music and celebrating on the men's side while female family members stood on chairs to see over to the men's side for the celebrations.
From the plaza at the wall you can see the Muslim's sacred Al Aqsa Mosque dominating the Temple Mount along with the Dome of the Rock.
We continued our walking tour up the narrow Via Dolorosa - the way of suffering tread by Christ - with stops at the stations of the Cross - from where Christ was judged and sentenced, to three points where he fell while carrying the cross, to where Veronica wiped his face, where Mary prayed as he passed and on to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Church is believed to enshrine the sites of Christ's crucifixion, entombment and resurrection.
Steep steps take you up to the shrine situated on Calvary (or Golgotha) where Jesus was hung on the cross. Down steps on the other side is a beautiful modern mosaic of the crucifixion, anointing and burial. Next to it is a slab of rock that it is believed is where Christ was laid, anointed and wrapped for burial. His tomb was right next to where he was crucified and is marked by another shrine built over the original rock that sealed the tomb.
It was an interesting experience to walk the path of so many pilgrims through the ages. And to reflect on the co-existence of holy sites of various religions within the Old City walls.
Our group was fortunate to be ahead of the crowds throughout our time in the old city ...so no line-ups to wait. That gave us some extra time to stop for a local culinary favorite - falafel pitas - very tasty, seasoned with herbs and served crispy hot with salad veggies in the pita.
We exited through the Jaffa Gate as our bus took us to a viewpoint to capture Old and New Jerusalem. A quick bathroom and shopping stop then it was on past Bethlehem and its protective walls, in and out of the Palestinian controlled West Bank with its armed guards at the checkpoints, before a scenic drive through the agricultural and forest areas took us back to the Port.
A most enjoyable trip in my view though the shoppers on the bus were upset they could not shop in the Old City. It's true we passed a ton of shops but it would be hard to let a group go shopping there as it is a labrynth of 100 streets and over 1000 shops and stalls that you could quickly get lost it.
I forgot to mention that our bus also took us past Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, and the windmill seen on so many postcards from Jerusalem.
I was exhausted by the time we returned to the ship so a quick snack and nap were next on the agenda. That gave me enough energy for supper before calling it a night and heading early to bed.