Jerusalem's Old City

We took the kids into the Old City on Sunday morning (Saturday is our Sabbath here, so Sunday is a play day) to see the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount. The line was too long for the Dome of the Rock, even at 8 a.m., so we decided to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where most forms of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity believe Christ was crucified and buried. The church is fifteen hundred years old and each of seven sects owns a particular part of it. Ed says if you get there before it closes at night, you can sleep inside. But they won't unlock the door until 7 a.m., so you'd better be sure that you really want to stay.  Anyway, our kids were (un)remarkably whiny from the very beginning of the excursion, so we didn't get very far, and Ed and I didn't enjoy ourselves very much. But it was a good reminder: don't take your kids to the Old City unless you want to carry them.

Can you believe my cheesy daughters? And at the Wailing Wall, of all places!
(Standing next to Abby is Elizabeth Schade, one of the other faculty kids.)

Yes, it got so bad that at one point we were dragging Abby through the Old City. I think Ed was ready to duck into a side alley and never reappear. Good thing he loves me so much he couldn't ever really leave me.