Mount Zion and the Tomb of David

Inside David's Tomb, men and women worship separately.

The entrance to King David's Tomb (above) is pretty simple.

In order to make the most of what time I had left. I decided to take a quick walk from the Jaffa Gate to the Zion Gate and the Tomb of David. The latter is considered a major holy site for Jews, but pales, of course, in comparison with the Western Wall. There wasn't too much to see, but the area of Mt. Zion is pleasant to walk through ... as long as you're not inhaling fumes from idling tour buses.

Mount Zion itself is dominated by the Church of the Dormition (see above), a 15th century (or so) church. I never did find the Upper Room, where Jesus and his Disciples had the Last Supper. That building was built a bit later than that, I figured, so it was a representation.

Afterwards I walked back to the Petra Hostel and packed up. But the day wasn't over despite our 4 a.m. sherut (collective taxi) to Ben Gurion Airport. Lily and I decided to get a nice dinner at an Armenian Restaurant a few blocks away. There we ran into Maria, whom we'd met earlier at the Armenian Museum. After a really nice dinner in the restaurant's walled back courtyard, we decided to accompany her on a walk to see her hostel (run by the Church of Scotland) and have an espresso in the German Colony. It was a really nice way to end our trip.

The next morning came early and the sherut was right on time. After a wild ride through nighttime Jerusalem picking up passengers we quickly arrived at the airport, with no choice but to face a 22-hour voyage back to Juneau, Alaska.