To summarize my stay in Jerusalem this summer in one blog post? It’s a tall order, but here goes. We spent an inordinate amount of time on an exceedingly hot day trying to find the passageway to the Ethiopian Monastery on top of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (I had read about it in an old guidebook as one of Jerusalem’s secret tips) in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

We found it! Deir As-Sultan
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an inside view (The church is actually a conglomeration of many different chapels rather than a grand cathedral.)

Wandering about the colorful stalls of the Christian Quarter searching for a particular type of incense for my Ethiopian friends back in Chicago–we found it off a passage way from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

For my daughter and me, every visit to the Old City includes stopping by the Austrian Hospice in the Muslim Quarter to enjoy the apple strudel served by the steadfast nuns. This time, their roof top terrace was open and we enjoyed these stunning views despite the excruciating heat.

The Wailing Wall

The Smart car–the proper vehicle to deal with traffic jams in the Jewish Quarter and to find a parking spot to boot.
U.N. vehicles, not a sight I am used to, but rather ubiquitous in Jerusalem, especially here at a crossing point to East Jerusalem.
The “border” to East Jerusalem in Abu Tor, close to where we were staying. You can see in line in the asphalt and where the wall was broken open. (Jerusalem was a divided city from 1948 to 1967.)
View of East Jerusalem from Abu Tor

Evening stroll through Abu Tor

Shuk Mahane Yehuda – another evening excursion

Laundry Israeli style – the picture above is our laundry hung up on our patio–
it was so hot even wet towels were dry within half an hour.

“Our” neighborhood, the German Colony, features the Train Track Park (formerly the old railway from Jerusalem to the coast)

I passed by this street library on my way to Hebrew school every day.