Day 4: The Western Wall...

The most holy site in Judaism is the Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Temple (destroyed in 586 BC and 70 AD, respectively). All that remains of the Temple Mount is this wall, known as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. This plaza serves as an open-air synagogue. Men and women are separated while worshipping. Ironically, this sacred site stands directly in the shadow of one of Islam’s most holy sites.

To enter next to the plaza, we encountered our first security check since leaving Holland; surprisingly, it didn’t even seem like the machines were turned on. It is a popular practice to place prayer notes in the cracks of the Wall; over one million notes are placed each year and twice a year they are removed and buried in the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. I opted not to leave a note in the Wall as it would have seemed too contrived, but Linda did (she was raised Protestant, but converted to Judiasm several years after marrying Al).