Early Minute

Had an early return to the Hotel today.  The Mount of Olives tour I was going on was cancelled because of the security situation on the Mount.

All up it was an interesting day.  On my way to the Old City about 9am today there were police and army everywhere.  I had to go through two roadblocks to get to the city walls and then through a check point to get into the Old City.  I didn't know if this was normal Friday practice or something happening.  I got through check points quite easily but some Palestinians were searched or checked.

                                                               great way to do a walking tour

I was hoping to go from The Damascus gate to the Dung Gate to have a look at the City of David, but that section of the Old City was closed.  This was for Friday prayers at the Dome of the Rock or Al Aksa, which explains all the tradtitional Arabs in the city.  I then couldn't find the Zion gate as an alternative exit so gave it a miss.

Next stop Yad Veshem the Holocaust Museum.  A really moving and harrowing experience.  It is very hard to remember the atrocities involvedand blame the Israelis for stringent security.  If your people went through that you would never let it happen again.  There was one filmed extract of a pile of naked, dead emaciated bodies being bulldozed into a pit.  It fails first attempt and backs up for another go.

Perhaps one of the most poignant photos was a picture of a sole soldier, one of the liberators at a camp, he is sitting alone on a low wall howling with anguish at what he sees.

In the afternoon the tour of the Mount of Olives was cancelled because things were a bit "hot" up there.  Apparently a home made grenade had been thrown.  I decided to go back to the hotel and maybe see if a taxi driver could take me to the Garden of Gesthemane and back.  Significant sections of the Muslim section of the Old City that I had to go through were eerily deserted and there was a high security presence.  I wasn't fully comfortable so went back to the New Gate Gate and went out that way.  

                                                                        New Gate

On the way back to the Hotel there was still a huge police presence,  though the road blocks were down there were huge numbers of Police and army still at most points.

i have to say I was a little relieved to be back at the Hotel.  I am off to Tel Aviv tomorrow so it looks like I have missed the Mount of Olives etc.  I did wander off a little on the way back to see if I could get a look and some photos and think I might have photographed the Valley of Jehosaphat.