Last night was my last cantorial lesson before going home to visit my family. It was a good lesson in that most of what I have been working on is now done, and I was given the music for the remaining portions of the morning service for Shabbat to work on while at home.

I went to the Kotel (the Western Wall) this morning to thank Hashem for my progress so far and to ask for his continued support in the weeks and months ahead (as well as other, more personal and private prayers).

This time, I brought my camera with and snapped a few pictures to share with you.

The first two pictures are of the approach to the Old City along Jaffa Street and of the Jaffa Gate.




The next pictures are of part of the market area as you enter the “streets” of the Old City. As you can clearly see, the streets are for pedestrian traffic only and are quite narrow.





The next 2 shots are of Jewish Quarter Street.




This next one is of a street in the Jewish Quarter that leads to an observation area for viewing the Kotel.



This is the view from the Kotel observation area.




As you can see in the next two pictures, there is an excavation project going on in the area in front of the Kotel.




Also taken from the observation area, this picture shows the Kotel’s Hanukkiah (the candelabra used to hold the Hanukkah lights; which could be candles, lanterns, gas or electric). Hanukkah is 2 days away so preparations are being made for the holiday.



After walking down to the Kotel I took a few more pictures in that area. The first is a closer shot of the Hanukkiah.



The next 2 pictures are of prayers that have been placed in the wall by visitors. This is a common practice and I know I have posted this before, but these pictures are much better quality than the previous ones so I thought I would post them for you.




The next few pictures were taken from just outside the walls of the Old City as I was walking back to the apartment. The first is a view of the valley from just outside the walls.



In the next 2 pictures of the walls themselves, you can clearly see the slits in the walls for armed defenders (archers).




While walking down the hill just outside the Old City I came across the cemetery where Oskar Schindler’s grave is located. I wandered around inside for a few minutes, but did not find the grave and there was nobody to ask. Perhaps I’ll go back again and take the time to find it. If so, I will post a picture here. (For those who may not know, Oskar Schindler was responsible for saving the lives of many Jews during the Holocaust. The movie “Schindler’s List” is based on his story.)



I know I have posted a picture of this before, but it bears doing so again. The next 2 pictures, also taken from just outside the Old City walls, shows the territory just across the valley from the Old City where the fence erected along the “Green Line” (the armistice line) was erected. (If it looks REALLY close, that is because it IS!)




I took this last picture “just because”. I would expect to find Martin Luther King Street in the USA, but did not expect to see it in Jerusalem.