One Man's Holy Land is Another Man's Lasagna

I say Lasagna because I think our tour guided used the analogy of Lasagna to describe Jerusalem and the Holy Sites in general about 4,543 times. And as you can see below he is describing the different periods in Jerusalem's history with a laminated Lasagna visual.

Today's 1st stop on the tour is none other than the tombs of Samuel. Yes that is right. In this one site there are two tombs of Samuel. One that is set up in the basement of this building and where the Jews go to pray. ....
...this is just outside the tomb of Samuel. These are different books that can be used to study and/or pray near the tomb. I wasn't allowed to take a picture of the tomb itself but it was a big rock covered with an elaborate blanket with some Hebrew writing. There was also a place where worshipers would leave little notes with prayers near the tomb. Now out of the basement and on to the main level where the Muslim's believe the tomb of Samuel REALLY is...
This is a picture of the mihrab, which is used to indicate the direction of Mecca. Muslims face Mecca when praying. I again was unable to take a picture of the actual tomb of Samuel in this level as well because it was behind a locked door. Now going up to the top layer of Lasagna which is the rooftop. This is a significant spot for Christians...

This church was originally built by the Crusaders in the 12th century before the Jews built their Synagogue or the Muslims later built their Mosque on top of it. From the top of the this mountain known as the "Mount of Joy" the Crusaders got their first view of the Holy City. From the roof you can see all of northern Jerusalem and in the distance the mountains of Samaria. Around the tomb are excavations where cisterns and quarries have been uncovered from the time of the Crusaders (you can see below).


And if you were wondering...there WERE stray cats all over this Lasagna. ;) Can't get away from them.