The Old City!

Today was a busy day!  In the morning we toured Haram al Sharif or the Temple Mount, and saw the two great mosques, Al Auqsa, and the Dome of the Rock.   What a beautiful place, but was called by our guide, the "most complex place in Israel"!  Of course the Dome of the Rock dominates the skyline of Jerusalem.  We learned that Israelis control the entrance to the mosque area, even though it is a Muslim area.  A small example of the layers of complexity we see everywhere here!  We learned of Ariel Sharon's visit in 2000 which provoked the 2nd intifada. We also visited the Western Wall,  the main part of the original temple wall which the Jews consider a sacred place.  It was captured in the 1967 war.  I prayed there and put my request on a little piece of paper in the wall.   Next up was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, reputed place of Jesus' burial.  Crowded beyond belief, it is nevertheless quite beautiful inside, and as a former pastor, led my small group in prayer in the structure that marks the spot where Jesus was buried, according to the Russian Orthodox Church.  Walking through all the quarters of the old city, the Jewish quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, it is easy to get lost, but it is incredibly evocative - lots of places to shop and eat, and enjoy the space.
In the afternoon, we had class with Marc Gopin, of George Mason University, author of a number of books on Middle East peacemaking.  Marc argues that we need to get to the personal and psychological aspects if we are to make any progress in peacemaking, so each day we hear moving stories from our guides and other experts in the area.  Our Jewish guide uses the word "fence" for the massive wall that has been constructed to divide Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian West Bank.  Our Palestinian calls it a "wall".  Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are not citizens of Israel, but rather "residents", and cannot vote for the overall government.  Residents of the West Bank cannot come into Jerusalem at all.  It is such a very complicated situation!!
In the afternoon I had to go back to the airport to get my passport, which I inexplicably left there the day before!  What a knucklehead!  I've never done that before!  That's the worst thing you can do as a traveler - lose your passport!
In the evening our group was divided into smaller groups and we shared.  Our group is mostly Christian, but many of them are real experts on peacemaking, while others are novices to the area.  For dinner, a smaller group of us met with the professors - a nice, intimate conversation about our work.  I'm talking a lot about NVP, and am very excited about our new connections!
After dinner, a few of my compatriots and I walked around the Old City until@ 11:00 PM.  It's the festival of lights here in Jerusalem, which means there are creative and interesting light displays all over the place.  It was fun to see the people of Jerusalem out and enjoying the beautiful evening.
In terms of big picture observations, I can't help but notice the systematic relegation of Palestinians to second class status.  In education, voting, economic opportunity, travel restrictions - they are not truly free, and this jumps out at you immediately, and is the undercurrent of the entire country.  Obviously, there is much to say on that subject, and I'll get into it further as we go along.
I think that's all for now!  See you tomorrow!