You may have caught my post on our initial observations of Jerusalem after traveling their for the first time recently. It was certainly fun to write, and the post, ‘A Smorgasbord of Culture‘ certainly rang true as to how Jerusalem felt. Well, as I promised, I wanted to bring you a little further into this amazing city, a place that God’s very Spirit once dwelt, and a place He promised He will return to as the capital of His Kingdom.
Let’s take a walk, as we journey into the ‘Old City’. I’ll post pictures along our ‘walk’ and detail to their significance. The Old City get’s it name from, of course, it’s age… 
but you probably guessed that already. The Old City makes up the heart of historic Jerusalem, and is locally know as HaRova. It occupies just .25 square miles, but its personality is so much bigger, and is divided into four distinct quarters (Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish). So, take a walk with me as we journey into the Old City. We’ll start by entering through the Jafa Gate, a huge medieval buttress that serves as the main entrance to the city.
Old is not really a term that we as Americans tend to appreciate, but the ‘new’ walls of the Old City are actually about 500
years old. King David ruled this city some 3000 years ago, and today, remnants from the walls still exist. The paradox of 12 year old children playing on 3000 year old walls is something to behold.
Once through the Jafa Gate, you are flanked by the Christian quarter to the north and the Armenian quarter to the south. Heading east, you walk down a main drag of busy shopping, lined with family operated shops peddling their wares. We bought t-shirts for an incredibly 
low price of $25 each (I think they saw us coming!), but you can also find amazing deals on virtually any trinket or food item you could want. We had some amazing falafel and Arabic Coke Zero! For those who haven’t had falafel, it’s Israel’s version of fast food, and it’s delicious, cheap and sorta healthy.
you venture off the main drag, you end If Venture off the main drag & you end up in distinctly different quarters, each with a different culture and different character. Here’s a taste of just two, the Jewish 
quarter, with it’s clean square
lines, and the Muslim quarter, with it’s many arches and patchwork of roads and passages. Despite it’s small size, the Old city really takes days to go through it all. Alternatively, you can pay a small fee, and climb a ridiculously narrow (at least for me, I couldn’t turn around if I was carrying my small bag and our daughter!) set of stars that take you to a pathway along the 500 year old ramparts and walls of the entire Old City.
As you have seen, the Old City is a place full of history and character. It has seen rule by the Jebusites, Israelites, Arabs, Christians, Ottomans, Brits and now is back in the hands of its historical and Biblical owners, the Jewish people and the modern nation of Israel. Many of us in America are caught in a media war that portrays Israel as a hostile force, occupying what was a Palestinian city prior to 1967. I’m here to tell you that this is simply not true. Jerusalem is not only Biblically Israel’s capital, but historically it has been proven to be as well. The simple truth is this: Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in relative peace. Beyond all this, Genesis 1:26 serves as a great reminder that God is not partial, because He made all of us- American, Israeli and Palestinian- in His image. And that’s really how we need to view our differences.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our ‘walk’ today! For more pictures, feel free to check out our Facebook page or our Pinterest boards. And by all means, share this with your friends. Seeing Israel was an amazing experience, and too many Christians don’t even know what it looks like. I didn’t. Seeing the land for yourself builds positive bridges between Christianity and Judaism that have been missing for too long. So, help me share a Pro-Israeli message to other Christians. Israel is a huge part of God’s story- a story that changed my life, and a story worth sharing!
An interesting side note: Palestinian is a political label for the people of Jordanian heritage and affiliation that lived in the land of Israel during the British mandate period, when it was called Palestine. When Israel became a sovereign nation again in 1948, these people were allowed to stay put, right where they were, in Israel, by the new government. When they chose to take up arms with the surrounding Arab countries during the ensuing war of 1948-49, many of them were displaced. As unfortunate as this is, Jordan, their original country of origin, would not allow them in. Thus, the Palestinians became U.N. certified refugees, without a home country. Israel still has no stipulation stating that these people cannot become citizens of Israel, and a small minority have chosen to do this. But to date, their refugee status with the U.N. has not been changed, a unique and strange position, since no other refugee group has been allowed to stay under this banner for long. Also, to date, no Arab nation has offered to welcome their Arab siblings into their country. However, Israel continues to let them live within their boarders. So the Palestinians are left with only one choice. Become Israeli citizens, stay in their homes, become entitled to all the same rights as other Israeli citizens, or continue to live as refugees that are not accepted by other Arab countries, but are used constantly as a bargaining chip by these same Arab ‘brothers’ on international tables. Politics can be confusing, and nothing in this world is perfectly fair. But when you see the whole picture, Palestinians seem to be treated with the most dignity by Israel itself.
Raise Up Israel 