We arrived at the airport and tried to follow signs to the Jerusalem bus without success. We gave up and took a Sherut shared taxi. Our fellow travellers included a family who lived not particularly on the way to Jerusalem, but we made it eventually, but a somewhat circuitous route.
We were dropped at the Metropole Hotel, which was unfortunate, as we were staying at the New Metropole Hotel. Luckily, it was only a few doors away from our hotel, and we traipsed up the hill and checked in. Our hotel was in the predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.
It had seen better days. The biggest issue was the leak from the upstairs toilet through our bedroom ceiling. We called the manager. We googled alternative hotels and decided to lump it. The bin caught the drips and the cushion muffled the dripping sound. Following an excellent breakfast at the hotel much to our surprise it was time to explore Old Jerusalem , a city which just oozes history. Fact: pilgrims are mental. Church of the First stop, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , built on the site where Jesus was crucified.
Inside the door, the Stone of Anointing, where Jesus was prepared for burial. The stone dates from , so a leap of faith is required, but there was a scrum of people desperate to kiss it and rub it with an oily rag to extract some stone juice hence the need to replace the original which was evidently all juiced out. Great views across the city and an eclectic array of artefacts. My favourite; a diorama showing Muslims chasing Christians out of Jerusalem and vice versa. On to the Room of the Last Supper — one word — bonkers.
The Holy Spirit is said to be present here. We followed a group of Kenyan pilgrims. Immediately, the entire group were hit by the Holy Spirit, lots of shouting in tongues — obviously and crying. Cue a group of Korean pilgrims. They wanted some Holy Spirit too, so set about touching the Kenyans. Lots more shouting and crying.
