Few parts of Jerusalem are as dynamic as the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. The sights, sounds and smells are exhilarating. To go right to the photos, please look here.
Our tour began with a taxi ride through the eastern part of Jerusalem. Palestinian Arabs call this "East Jerusalem," to set it apart from the rest of the city. While a walk through the western part of the city usually reveals a diverse mixture of Jews and Arabs, the eastern part of the city is almost exclusively Arab Muslim (although I don't think this was true before 1948). In any case, the reality is that Jerusalem offers everyone a choice to live in a diverse, pluralistic society much like the other parts of Israel I've seen, or to live in an almost exclusively Muslim culture.
Our taxi driver, a Muslim, is helpful and polite to the extreme. After some coaxing he comments on how he is seen as an "Arab Israeli," an indication that he identifies more as a Palestinian. In public discourse the word "Palestinian" is often used to wrongly imply that Jews and Christians are outsiders, but without a doubt the influx of Jews, returning in great numbers to their historical and biblical homeland, has created a backlash in the form of a Palestinian-Muslim national identity. Personally, I wish we could just all recognize that all three groups have been here for longer than anyone can tell, and that all deserve to live here in peaceful coexistence. But that will require a greater degree of flexibility and compromise than has yet been exhibited.
This was not to be (and will not be) the post about politics. Yet every vista, every new acquaintance, every new experience suggests multiple perspectives. This is the homeland of several distinct, ancient cultures, whose experiences have entwined, intersected and sometimes clashed. It's the crossroads of the conflict between between the new world and the old ways, between liberal democracy and authoritarianism, and between individualism and collective responsibility to family and community. In the Holyland, it's almost impossible to avoid the political.
Our driver took us to the top of the Mount of Olives, site of an ancient Jewish cemetery (political comment omitted). I got my first camel ride, and my first experience as the object of a Palestinian youth's anger. We continued along the Via Dolorosa and past the garden of Gethsemane, following Jesus' path to the Crucifixion. This took us into the Old City through Lion's Gate, and past several stations of the cross. I got to visit the birthplace of the Virgin Mary, and crawl deep into the crypts carved out of the stone underneath. Sometimes it's difficult to separate history from folklore, but as Nancy points out, historical accuracy is not the best way to measure the importance of religious sites or artifacts. Their importance derives from being recognized as a tangible connection to faith.
Nowhere else in Jerusalem have I encountered the level of crowding seen in the Muslim Quarter. Almost everyone here (except tourists) is in traditional dress, so unlike other parts of the city it's easy to identify almost everyone by their religion. . .at least most of the time. We did encounter a procession of men in white robes, followed by women in dark colors. They appeared to be members of a religious order, but I could not begin to guess more.
It's here in the Muslim Quarter that Jerusalem feels most like an ancient city, without the intrusion of the modern world.
Photos are here.
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