Jerusalem – Monday May 26, 2008

After a week of jam packed activities, a day off! Some go on a trip to Bethlehem. I was interested in going up to the Temple Mount while Marilyn found a place to paint near the Western Wall.

The Temple Mount is controlled by the Muslims and the four of us that went up had to go through security after waiting in line for about an hour. The Temple Mount platform is quite a large area and the major buildings are a mosque and the Golden Dome. The door to the Golden Dome was open and as I approached, a man jumped out at me, waving his hands shouting. “Closed, closed!” I learn that these buildings are off limits to non-Muslims so we made our way back to the Old City.

We found Marilyn painting away and headed off to do some shopping, taking a look in at a shoemaker’s shop.

Back at the hotel, I had a chance to work on this blog and get present to how hard it is to keep things straight, even when you’re taking notes. It’s been a busy trip, indeed.

In the evening, we have a meal at a lovely restaurant, the Nafoura, inside the wall – in fact, the wall is part of the restaurant and it’s a terrific backdrop to just gaze over at. The restaurant specializes in Armenian and Greek food and it’s a special meal as we celebrate our time together. Mark took charge and presented stoles to our leaders on behalf of the group and we all gave them a big round of applause for their fine work on our behalf.