Round Dos of the Old City

I was welcomed by The Man himself in what looked to be a very fine Persian Rug. Peace Jesus..
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Damascus Gate
Just inside the gate one can find the Arab bazaar and marketplace. Filled with many colors, blaring Arabic music and people moving quickly and with purpose. This may have been why I didn't stop to snap any photos. There was also a large IDF presence.

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Holy Sepulchre!
Look what we stumbled upon. I might have missed it since this looked just like any other unassuming small doorway until right before you walk through it.

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The main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

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I thought this was a great photo showing the size of these doors. Everything inside this church seemed to be over the top.
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Once you walk in the doors this is what you see. To be honest it's all very overwhelming. The large mural in the background, the gold plated hanging candles and visitors kneeling down to touch, kiss, and even put food and drink on the The Stone of Anointing/Unction. It's believed to be the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial.

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The Mosaic found in the entrance depicts Christ's anointing for burial

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Tomb of Christ itself is enshrined in a large boxy shrine decorated with candles and gold leaf.

The shrine, referred to as the edicule, is supported by scaffolding on the outside due to earthquakes and is where many visitors light candles and pray. The guy below is blowing them out and removes them once it becomes full.

There are two small rooms inside the shrine. The first is the Greek Orthodox Chapel of the Angel, which features an altar containing a piece of the stone rolled away by angels at the Resurrection. A low door on the side leads to the tiny Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains the tomb of Christ itself. This is the 14th Station of the Cross and the holiest site in Christendom. Here a marble slab covers the place where the body of Christ was laid and from which he rose from the dead. A vase with candles marks the spot where his head rested.

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The edicule is located in the rotunda. The dome is decorated with a 12-pointed star whose rays symbolize the outreach of the 12 apostles.
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Calvary
The Greek Orthodox Calvary, which contains the actual Rock of Calvary around which the church was built. The rock can be seen under glass on either side of the main altar, and beneath the altar there is a hole that allows you to touch the rock itself. I must note this was the most extravagant part of the church. I spent the most time here just looking at every detail. I enjoyed it very much and only wish this photo could do it justice. I suggest clicking on the image to enlarge it and see the detail.

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A stairway that descends to the large Chapel of St. Helena

On the stairway walls are many small crosses carved by medieval pilgrims. .
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The Catholicon is a Greek Orthodox cathedral with impressive thrones on each end. The lady on the bottom right of the photo was completely covered and was reading. She interested me 1st because she was behind the red velvet rope VIP style and 2nd because she was the first ultra religious female I had seen. Other than her, I had only seen different denominations of male monks, priests and patriarchs running around behind velvet ropes.

looking up while standing in the middle of the Catholion

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A little bit of symbolism and Irony. In the distance you can see the Wall being built by Israel to seperate and keep the Palestinians out of Israel and the Wall that is built around the Old city.