Our last day in Jerusalem began with a guided walking tour through East Jerusalem, and specifically the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. We had requested a Muslim guide and were happy to see Ibrahim Ghazzawi again, who had already guided us on the Haram al-Sharif, or the Temple Mount.
The Paulus House/Schmidt School.
In spite of the rain and cold, gusty wind, the students were very cheerful. We began the tour on the rooftop of the Paulus House/Schmidt School, just outside the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, which offers a fabulous view of much of the Old City. From there we walked through the Muslim Quarter, marveled at several Mamluk buildings that had just recently been renovated, and enjoyed coffee in a local coffee shop (see picture).
Coffee in the Old City.
After a quick lunch on the go it was time to say goodbye to Ibrahim, and our bus took us to the Israel Museum, where we met David, our “regular” guide. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel’s finest museums, with elaborate permanent exhibits on topics including ancient archaeology, synagogues from around the world, and modern Israeli art. David showed us an impressive, large-scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem, which was an ideal way to review many of the places we visited throughout the week. Then we went into a part of the museum known as the Shrine of the Book. It was built specifically for the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in the first Qumran cave in 1946/47 and now houses several of the famed scrolls. The students had an hour and a half to roam the museum on their own before the bus took us back to the hostel.
Tonight we will have our festive farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Our bus will pick us up at 4am from the hostel to bring us to the airport for the long trip home.