I am a Jew! (briefly)

I have many other tales to subject you to, but I have to tell you about our adventures at the Temple Mount, a.k.a. the al-Aqsa Mosque. As you probably know, this place is super-holy to both Jews (who believe it's the site of the First and Second Temples) and Muslims (who think that Muhammad ascended to heaven there). Muslims control the site and worship in the mosque.

Only one entrance to the site is open to non-Muslims and the security is severe. After putting my bag through a scanner, showing my passport, and saying that I was a nonreligious tourist, the guards waved me through. Outside security I waited for Bob, and waited, and waited...

If you're a Jew, it seems, you're not allowed to pray at the Temple Mount and the Muslims don't take kindly to Jewish prayers polluting the Islamic purity of the place. So "for your own safety," religious Jews are escorted by guards who make sure no one prays. And because I was with Bob, I got shunted off to join a group of religious Jews, mostly men.

A couple of the men in the group were walking barefoot or in socks or in rubber shoes, so as not to desecrate the holy site with shoe leather. They all sang a hymn as we walked along the ramp leading to the entrance.

Once inside, our group was flanked on all sides by serious guards as we were escorted around the site.

The Arabs have their own guards all over the place, dressed in white shirts and jeans.

 A cute little old Hasidic guy in our group kept trying to sneak in a prayer, but the guard leading us (on the right in the photo) amiably kept him in line.

Bad people who stray even a few feet from the group to take photos are quickly told to get back in place, I happen to know.

When we reached the place where the Jewish temples are supposed to have been, we stopped for some time and then retreated to a shady area where one of the Hasidim conducted some "teaching," which is apparently allowed.

After a while, the lead guard got impatient and said "let's go," but the cute little guy had to get in his little bit of teaching, too. Note the somewhat grumpy guard fidgeting in the background.

As we were walking back toward the exit, Bob struck up a conversation with one of the women in the group. "You can pray in Yiddish," she advised him. "They don't understand that language. I have a friend who comes here and prays in Farsi."

And after we walked out, a couple of the guys prostrated themselves on the ground just outside. Then they all broke out into another hymn as they walked away and dispersed in the quaint lanes of the Old City.

 
It was an experience! But next time I'm going back as a common tourist so I have the freedom to wander the entire site and see much more.