A Summer Afternoon in Jerusalem's Old City

We used to live in the Old City of Jerusalem.  It was much more challenging then, forty-three years ago.  Our old place, Maon Betar, is now the center of what's called the Rova HaYehudi, The Jewish Quarter.  The truth is that prior to the Arab attacks before Israeli Independence, there were Jews living all over the Old City.  The Jewish population wasn't at all restricted to one area only. There are buildings all over the Old Walled City that were owned by Jews. 

When I go to the Old City, I don't make a point of going to the "Jewish Quarter."  I only go there if it's convenient.  The closest I get is the parking lot near the walls, not far from Sha'ar Tzion, Zion Gate.  To go to the Kotel, Western Wall I walk along the inner road by the city wall.  I've always gone that way, ever since I first came to Jerusalem as a student in Machon Greenberg.

So that's the route I took when my sister-in-law and I decided to go to the Kotel.  One never knows who else will be there.

We couldn't help but to notice this group of people. There was lots of singing.  We followed them for a bit.

Passage ways are pretty narrow, so it took a while until we could get ahead of them.

Apparently it was a Bar Mitzvah, though I never had heard of doing one in the afternoon, unless this was just the "fun," not the religious prayer, Torah reading part of the festivities.

They made a left turn to go through the Jewish Quarter, and we kept going down the road.  Suddenly more music.

I should use this for a "caption this" post on me-ander.

Finally, to the Kotel and the Ezrat Nashim, women's section, which wasn't all that crowded.

Afterwards we took the bus out of the Old City.  That was a mistake.  We should have walked; it would have been faster and more fun.