CENACLE IN JERUSALEM AND BUS TO TEL AVIV

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Day 10: JERUSALEM (CENACLE) - TEL AVIV

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Today is our last day in Jerusalem and after a day like yesterday in Hebron and Bethlehem we have done a little bit of bedridden. After our last breakfast at the Abraham Hostel, where we have been treated for 10, we check out and leave our bags, which we will look for again in the afternoon when we go to what will be the last destination of this trip to Israel and Palestinetouch Bus to Tel Aviv.

Today we have some pending visits that we have not been able to do the previous days due to lack of time and we want to do them in the morning, and then in the afternoon go to the Mahane Yehuda market area.
Today we do not follow the usual route of the previous days and after crossing the Jaffa Gate we turn to the right side, where the Armenian Patriarchate is located.

Armenian Quarter Road. Jerusalem

We know that the Cathedral of Santiago has very limited hours, so today, being Sunday, the opening hours are from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will only have half an hour to see one of the mysteries of Jerusalem. Let's see if we are lucky and we have the schedules!

Armenian Patriarchate. Jerusalem

We arrived at the Gate of Zion, one of the doors that we had not yet visited and that the other day, we forgot to say that we had already seen them all!
This door had to be made to allow access to the Franciscan Monastery that had been left out of the walls by decision of the architects of Soliman.

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During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, Israeli soldiers occupying Mount Zion also attempted to enter here in a desperate attempt to free the Jewish quarter.
First they tried to dynamit the wall and seeing that this did not work, they launched the assault on a large scale.
You can still see the scars that show us part of the hard history of Jerusalem.

Zion Gate Jerusalem

From here we pass through the Dormition Church and Monastery, but we find it closed for a mass being celebrated, so we retrace our steps, with the idea of going to our next planned visit, to return here later.

Dormition Church and Monastery. Jerusalem

The next visit we have scheduled for our last day in Jerusalem It is the Tomb of King David.

Tomb of King David. Jerusalem

It is erected as a cross structure two thousand years after his death, although it is not especially striking outside.
The authenticity of the place is quite debatable, however it represents one of the main sacred places of the Jews and is where, between 1948 and 1967, when access to the Wall was forbidden, they were going to pray. And still, today, it is a place of prayer.

Interior of David's Tomb. Jerusalem

The shady room has a section for men and one for women. Both face a cenotaph of stone, covered with velvet.

Interior of David's Tomb. Jerusalem

From here, we climb some stairs, from the courtyard of David's Tomb, to find one of the most recognized places by Christianity: The Cenacle.
The Last Supper Room or Canna It is revered as the room in which Jesus and his disciples enjoyed the last supper together.
It is considered the fourth holiest place in Christianity.

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It is believed that it was in this room where the disciples received the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages.

The Cenacle Jerusalem

Upon entering the Canna we find a room, big and cold. A coldness that we did not expect to find in a place like this and that, contrary to our will, does not make us feel that pinch we expected.
It's pretty, yes. It has something that makes it special, but it has not transmitted to us what we were looking for.

Details of the Cenacle Hall. Jerusalem

We are in the Canna just over 20 minutes, touring the room and when we see that no matter how hard we try, we still feel that coldness from the beginning, we go out through one of the doors that leads to a terrace from where we have less impressive views of Jerusalem than previously seen from other points.

Terrace of the Cenacle Hall. Jerusalem

Dormition Church from the Cenacle Hall. Jerusalem

Here we are quite a while, admiring what may be the last images we have of Jerusalem from this perspective.

Views of Jerusalem from the Cenacle Hall. Jerusalem

Terrace of the Cenacle Hall. Jerusalem

Before entering the Tomb of David, they had stopped us to sign us in a guest book and ask us for a donation, which we tell them we will do when we leave the premises.
And just now that we are dating, the man comes back to claim that donation we had said to make.
It's not yet 10 in the morning, so we decided to go to the cemetery where Oskar Schindler's Tomb is located.
We return to the Gate of Zion, from where, we descend the slope and take the path to the left when we reach the fork, leaving the Holocaust Chamber behind.
Then you have to take the curve and cross the street to find the cemetery.
This is one of the least visited places in Jerusalem, but that we strongly recommend for the history it has and the tranquility of the place.

Cemetery where Schindler's Tomb is located. Jerusalem

Oskar Schindler was the Austrian businessman who saved more than 1200 Jews from the gas chamber and whose story was taken to the cinema by Spielberg.
At the beginning we take several turns until we concentrate a little and follow the instructions of the guide, in order to find the grave.
From the door you have to descend two floors down the stairs. The tomb is near the central part between the third and last floor.
It is not very well signposted, but it is enough to look for a cenotaph covered with stones to reach it.

Schindler's Tomb Jerusalem

After this visit, we feel like walking around Jerusalem without any objective that makes us run or miss something. And we do that. We go around the wall of the Old City, from which you have a totally different perspective of the city in sight until now.

Touring the walls of Jerusalem

Walking through Jerusalem

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Almost without realizing it we arrive at Dung Gate, which leads directly to the Wailing Wall area.

Dung Gate Jerusalem

Today we are leaving Jerusalem and we want to take the last hours that we will be in the city in a quiet way. Today is a "weird" day, it is one of those that give us a strange feeling and we usually spend the last days that we are in a country or in a city that has left us with a pleasant memory.

Crossing the Dung Gate ... Jerusalem

From here we move on to what is the Citadel of David, which we do not visit thoroughly, but we do take a walk and get an idea of what it is.

Pictures of Jerusalem

We meet again with the checkpoint that separates us from the Wailing Wall and we go back to return to what has been one of the places that have impacted us the most in Jerusalem and in this one trip to Israel and Palestine.

Post of Control of the Wailing Wall. Jerusalem

Today we do not return to the same places that we visited days ago, but we turn as soon as we enter to the left and go up some stairs that will take us to another viewpoint, from which you also have beautiful views of the area.

Western Wall. Dome of the Rock and barbed wire ... Jerusalem

Jerusalem views

In this area we meet many more tourists, who today have to run to reach all the places that leave them the few hours of their organized circuit.

Jerusalem views

Jerusalem details

From here we return to the Christian Quarter, with the intention of eating some pastries and having a coffee in a cafeteria that we have already seen several times and that when we arrive we are closed.
This will be one of the signs that announce that we must return to Jerusalem in a new trip to Israel and Palestine.

Colors in the Christian Quarter. Jerusalem

Walking through the Christian Quarter we cross a group of Nigerians who do not stop shopping at all the stores in the area, the guide tries by all means to gather them shouting that the bus is about to leave and will do so without them ...
Something that worries them little because they keep buying. And we continue watching the scene with eyes wide open, amazed at the little case they do to the guide who is going to leave his throat with such a scream.

The group of Nigerians appears ... Barrio Cristiano. Jerusalem

Attack!!! In the Christian neighborhood. Jerusalem

It's after 1 in the morning and we arrive at the Jaffa Gate area, where we return to take the road to the Armenian Quarter to reach the Cathedral of Santiago.
With the time it is, we give up the visit to the Cathedral (we will have the opportunity to visit it on our next visit to Jerusalem), but we do not want to enter the premises and take at least one image of the Cathedral.

Santiago Cathedral in the Armenian Quarter. Jerusalem

From here we return to the Church of the Dormition, which at this time we can already visit and will be the last of the religious visits that we will make in Jerusalem, in this trip to Israel and Palestine.
The beautiful church is one of the most famous monuments in the area and it is said that the Virgin Mary died or fell into an eternal dream.
The Dormition Church has a very bright interior that contrasts with the much more severe nearby churches.
The upper part of the apse sports a golden mosaic with the Virgin Mary and the Child. Below are the Prophets of Israel.

Church of the Dormition. Jerusalem

The crypt houses a stone effigy of the Virgin asleep on her deathbed, while Jesus calls her from heaven.

Crypt of the Dormition Church. Jerusalem

While in the crypt we feel again, for the last time, surely, that pinch that we have told so many times in this travel diary and that we have noticed in certain places of the holy city of Jerusalem…
Is it because it is the last sacred site we will visit in our trip to Israel and Palestine?
It's after 1 noon and it's the right time to say goodbye to Jerusalem, from the Old City, which has given us so many things, to go to the area of our accommodation, the Abraham Hostel and know the Mahane Yehuda market, which we want to go for a long time.
And around the area of the Jaffa Gate, we do it this time on the outskirts of the walls, to have another perspective of the city of Jerusalem.

Around the walls of Jerusalem

The Mehane Yehuda Market is a fascinating spectacle when first visited.
The last market we visited was in Budapest and we have to say that it is one of the best ways to get to know a city and especially its people.
Whenever we can, it is a visit we make in all the cities we visit.
To reach the market we have to follow the rest, once past the Abraham Hostel and we find it on the left.
Once we enter we find a market full of fruits, spices, sweets ... and especially color ...

Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

Nuts in the Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

Today's idea is to eat here and walk around the area until it is time to catch a bus to Tel Aviv, which will be our last destination trip to Israel and Palestine.

Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

Colorful in the Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

And more nuts in the Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

We are looking for a place to eat that they recommend in the guide, but we have to say that we do not find it for more laps that we give ... all the signs are in Hebrew and we cannot locate the one we are looking for. So we went into one that is almost full of people and after making a hole, we ordered a plate of fresh pasta, a salad, two lemonades and two coffees for 161 shekels.
Everything great !!!!

Eating at the Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

When we have just eaten it is after 3 in the afternoon and how we resist even leaving Jerusalem, we go around the market again, wishing that time would go back and be the day we arrived at Jerusalem.

Cheeses in the Mehane Yehuda Market. Jerusalem

When we see the clock at 4 pm, we return to the Abraham Hostel, where we check-out and after saying goodbye to the staff, who are all wonderful ... we go back to the street that took us a few hours ago to the market , but this time we do it in search of the station where we have our bus to Tel Aviv.

Saying goodbye to Abraham Hostel. Jerusalem

Looking at the map we have, we locate the bus station and think that it is close enough to be able to walk.
And the truth is that it is not far ... but come on, to be our farewell to Jerusalem, we are more than 15 minutes walking.
And when we already think that we are lost (although it is to continue straight on the Market Street) and we start to be alarmed, we see it in the next corner!
Before arriving at the station they stop us to offer us to go in a sherut to the Tel Aviv station, for 25 shekels each, but not having it very clear, we say no and continue to the station.
The station is big enough that at first we get a little disoriented. We don't have the tickets because they told us at the Abraham Hostel that it was not necessary, so we ask and they tell us that if we hurry, in less than 10 minutes the bus number 405 leaves from door 17.
So feet for what we love you and running has been said !! We go up to the second floor and then we find door 17, where we pay at the same door 18 shekels per person.
Once accommodated, we are consulting some notes on the mobile and we see that we have wifi signal, we can not believe it !! It turns out that Egged buses have wifi !!!
What a surprise! So we spend the time and little travel, taking advantage of the connection to answer some emails and revise tomorrow's tour in Tel Aviv.

In Egged our bus to Tel Aviv !!

When we arrive at the station Tel Aviv We are quite disoriented and we do not know very well whether to look for public transport or take a taxi to take us to what will be our accommodation, the Sun City Hotel.
But seeing that it is almost closed night, we opt for the second option.
As we approach the beach area, hopelessly and we don't know very well why, it reminds us of the beaches of Venice and Santa Monica. Could it be that the night makes us see strange things?
In the end, after just over 15 minutes by car, the odd lap of more than 75 shekels, we arrive at what will be our accommodation tonight, the Sun City.
Today, that we have slowed down considerably, compared to previous days, we are much more tired. So after checking in, we rested for a while in the room.
We went down to dinner at 9 p.m. and the truth is that, as we usually do when we arrive at a city at night, things do not look like daylight. So after a couple of laps up the street, down the street, we ended up in a place that sells pizzas, where we bought a pizza for 2 people, huge and two soft drinks for 66 shekels.