THE MANY LAYERS OF JERUSALEM by Lisa Silver

We have had such action packed days that it's hard to remember what we've done each day! We spent most of the day yesterday in the Old City, on a walking tour with our wonderful guide, Mike Hollander.

We were amazed toward how much has been excavated in the past 30 years. We went back in time about 2000 years to an ancient street, walked through the Cardo, the world's oldest shopping arcade, and on through the central square of the Jewish quarter; we rounded a corner just in time to see a beautiful rainbow over the golden dome. Lots of oohs and ahs from the group! We ate lunch in the Jewish quarter (if I haven't mentioned this already - I have decided that I am on a quest to eat at every falafel stand in Jerusalem) before an incredible tour of the Western Wall Tunnel, which runs under the Western Wall alongside the Temple Mount. Our Tunnel guide was part teacher, part actress and a total hoot!

We walked through the Christian quarter, including the Via Dolorosa.

After returning to our hotel we had a most interesting dialog with scholar Paul Liptz of the Tel Aviv University and Hebrew Union College about the current state and complexities of politics and economics in Israel. Our brains and senses are full!

Pictures are in random order