On our first day in Jerusalem we started at the Jaffa gate, walking around some of the perimeter streets of the Armenian Quarter.

Inside the Jaffa gate

A quiet corner

Zion Gate- the divots in the wall are from bullets and shrapnel

We progressed through through the Jewish Quarter and toward the Western Wall.

stalls crowding the walkways

After turning a corner and passing through metal detectors we were very suddenly looking at the famous remnant of the former Jewish temple.

Western Wall

While in the Jewish Quarter we came upon several boisterous bar mitzvah celebrations parading toward the Western Wall, complete with drums and other instruments.

Israeli soldiers jumping into a bar mitzvah procession

After a lunch of schwarma we stopped into the Wohl Museum of Archeology to see part of the Herod-era ruins that are under the current city.

Lots of ritual baths and mosaic floors

After making our way back to the Jaffa gate we managed to find two cabs that would take us to the Israel Museum, home to many of the Dead Sea scrolls, other antiquities, and artwork. This is really a museum campus with several buildings all for a single admission– the breadth and depth they have on display is stunning.

Dead Sea Scrolls dome

Inside the dome with some of the scrolls

50:1 scale model of the Second Temple and City in ~66 CE (fullsize)

interesting art work- the dandelion is painted bronze, and the apple is ~10′ tall

You can easily spend several afternoons here and it was well-worth the admission price. We ended the afternoon with tea in the home of my parent’s friend.

Day 1 was reasonably easy on the feet; day 2 would prove to be much more strenuous and equally memorable.