Action-Man, 25 June, Jerusalem

Drew is out for round two of foraging. He is looking for leftovers from the Christ Church kitchen. A few minutes ago, I tried my luck, and came back with hands full of yogurt, cold Armenian pizza and apricots. Tonight we have our own beds and bathroom and air conditioning. But my brightest prospect is tomorrow morning's breakfast downstairs.

Christ Church is an old Protestant church in the old city of Jerusalem. It has a guest house and a chapel and a "heritage center." Many Jews, they say, have believed in Jesus after walking through the heritage center. Christ Church is just inside Jaffa gate of the old city. "Jerusalem," Jesus said, "is the city of the great King." It is is built on Mount Zion, encompassed by a Crusader wall, and divided into four quarters--Armenian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim.

Last night, Drew and I played soccer with some Jewish boys in the Armenian quarter. Old men with big beards like Russ Kress were driving their families home from Shabbat evening service. Meanwhile, daytime in the Jewish quarter, Orthodox Jews in black suits and white shirts and old-fashioned, black brimmed hats hurry down the cobblestone on bike and foot. The two ethnic groups that suffered genocide in the 20th century--the Jews and the Armenians-- live next to their oppressors--the Christians and the Muslims.

In the Christian quarter is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was a boring visit. In the Muslim quarter stands the Dome of the Rock, which is a very holy mosque to the Muslims. We walked under a big stone arch onto a spacious courtyard, and behold, the mosque, brilliant blue and marked with Arabic words and tesselations. Its dome is bright gold. At that big archway, some say, Jesus will come back.

Sam