Touring Again, Finally! Scenes from a recent Old City Tour

How wonderful. After nearly 20 months, I have actually toured the Old City with friends and international tourists. On November 1st Israel opened up its gates to vaccinated tourists. What a joy to see familiar faces and sites in the glorious November. weather. This is a great time to visit. Sites are pretty quiet and accessible and locals are happy to see tourists. I want to share some of the places we saw on our walk from the Jaffa Gate along the Ramparts to Damascus Gate - one of my favourite routes. The colours, the sights and even the smells are tangible through the wonderful pictures taken by my friend, Viva Press, who visited from Tel Aviv. Apart from the Ramparts, we wandered through the Muslim Quarter savouring the sights, tastes and smells. We toured the Haram eSharif - The Holy Sanctuary housing the beautiful 7th-century Dome of the Rock - a Muslim shrine marking the site of Mohammed's ascent to heaven, and in the Jewish tradition site of the First and Second Temples, the place of the Foundation Stone and the Binding of Isaac by Abraham. Below are views from the ramparts: the bustling market streets, fresh sesame breads and delicious foods, and views to the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives from the Haram. We ended up in the iconic Mahane Yehuda Market at Rachmo where we ate Kurdish kubeh soup. Yum! We hope to see you here soon!