City of David

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June 13, 2007
So the Yeshiva I’m staying at is pretty chilled. It’s definitely laid back about the religious observance of its students. Obviously it’s not secular, but luckily they don’t force anything upon us. To give you an idea, I’ve barely prayed since I got here, and I wear shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt to the classes. Attendance, by the way, is optional. Most of the people in my program are at my level of observance (pretty low) or even lower. A few are a little more religious, but not too many.
My roommates and sweet mates are really cool guys. One of my roommates is British, the other a Ukrainian-born Californian. My sweet mates are all east coasters. Two are from Jersey, one’s from Philly. All cool guys.
Today the school took us on a kick-ass hike. We went through the Old City of Jerusalem, but we really focused on the ancient City of David, which actually predates most of the Jerusalem ruins by about 1,000 years. The highlight of the tour was a trip through the old water system. It was about a 20 minute walk through a tunnel that is just barely tall and wide enough to fit a single person. At some points I had to duck, at some I had to walk sideways or collapse my shoulders. The tunnel was filled with water that got as high as my knee, but for pretty much all of the trek it was about ankle-high. It was also freezing cold.
The tunnel was pitch-black, so we all had to carry flashlights, or torches as the Brits called them. There are a lot of British students here actually. I interact with them all so much that last night I dreamt in a British accent. It was creepy. Anyway, that’s off the topic. I’ll tell you about the rest of the hike through pictures, but I had to tell you about that bit separately because it was impossible to take pictures in a tiny, dark, and wet tunnel. I’m only going to post some of the pictures right now because the Internet connection is slow. I’ll post the rest when I get to Tel Aviv. I’ll also post blogs more frequently.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now. Sorry I didn’t post this sooner, but I haven’t had so much free time, and Internet hot spots are few and far between. I’ll update you all on my living situation and such later. All the best!
-Marcus

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Photos

Temple Mount Ruins
This was the main street outside of the Holy Temple

Umayyad Palace
Site of the former Umayyad Palace

Umayyad Entrance
Entrance to the Umayyad (Turkish) Palace in the Old City

Palace View
View from under the previous scaffolding. The surrounding walls are semi-recent (a few hundred years old) and were erected by an Ottoman leader out of fear that European nations were going to start a new crusade.

Byzantine House
View from the basement of a Byzantine house. The man with the map is our tour guide, Rabbi Ellis

Tunnel Love
My sweet mate Matt walking
Through one of many tunnels.

Resurrection
I know it’s hard to see, but in the background there are many rows of little stones. This is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. The headstones on the bottom, grassy layer are from the Second Temple Era. This is the site where the resurrection of the dead will begin at the end of days.

Silwa
The Arab village of Silwa that borders the cemetery to the right. Today it is a hotbed of fanaticism and fundamentalism.

Tunnel Entrance
Descent into the waterway tunnel entrance.