Holy Land Tour: The Western "Wailing" Wall

We moved on to the Western Wall, where signs reminded us that this is a sacred place.

We had a tour of the archaelogical excavations of the underground area. Squeezing through some very tight spaces we made our way through the tunnel that had been constructed, coming upon a group of women crying and praying in a small area. Our guide told us they came there to pray because it was the area believed to be closest to where the Holy of Holies had once rested. I didn't take any photos here because it seemed too intrusive. Here is one photo I took that did come out that shows the entrance to the underground tunnel.

Finishing the underground tour, we took a few minutes to approach the Western Wall area known as the "Wailing Wall." It is divided into two different spaces: one for men and one for women, following Orthodox Jewish custom. Slips of paper are available for those wishing to leave the names of deceased loved ones as a prayer in the niches between the stones.

El Jefe left the names of his late partner, John Heard,  who was a great friend of Israel and of Helen Rosenbaum, a Holocaust survivor and the late mother of another partner and friend. I left the names of my niece, M.E., our nephew Patrick Nicosia, and our beloved friend Diana Adams. May light eternal shine them.

As we were leaving in a somber mood, we passed a group of young schoolboys with their teachers, wearing paper crowns, skipping and running exuberantly.