Walk about Zion, and go round her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. (Psalm 48:12,13)

There is something alluring about the ancient walls of Jerusalem which thrust out of the ground in a defensive posture. These impressive stone walls are the creation of conquerors of ages past. Their crenellated tops, strategically designed for the warriors of old to protect the city, are only broken by eight beautiful gates that are still busy points of entry and exit into a world all its own. Like a magnet, even a picture of these walls draws you in and causes most people to start imagining about all that has gone on within this city throughout centuries past.

I have had the blessing of living within these walls. In fact, the building I lived in was built into part of the wall near Damascus Gate.

In 1976, knowing I was hired to be the Administrator of the Spafford Children's Center located high on the walls of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City near the Damascus Gate, I read everything I could about Jerusalem. I pored over city maps, and by the time I arrived here in January, 1977, I think I could have walked to my new home with my eyes closed. But, nothing could have prepared me for the emotion I felt when I saw the real thing. I vividly remember the day I first saw old Jerusalem for the first time.

It was a cool, clear January afternoon. By the time I traveled from the airport to the Damascus Gate, the sun was beginning to set. Never having seen the Old City of Jerusalem before, I was immediately drawn in by the majesty and beauty of the city - her ancient walls illuminated by the setting sun and the domed roofs becoming 3-D in the long shadows. Street vendors were trying to make their last sales, calling out to the crowds of people who buzzed like a swarm of bees, pouring out of the Damascus Gate on their way home. I could hear the call to prayer from the minaret of a nearby mosque, while church bells added to the din of activity.

I knew the location of the Spafford Center, and could see it jutting out above and within the old walls before me. The taxi had left me on the curb with two large suitcases, because vehicles cannot travel on the narrow, stepped footpaths of the Old City. There I was, standing in awe of the sight before me. I was fascinated by what appeared to be a living scene right out of the Bible, which was the setting of my new home. By then, the sky had turned a deep ultramarine blue, showing its first stars, as the ancient walls loomed before me. Suddenly, a donkey driver approached me for hire. Strapping my heavy suitcases onto this beast of burden, we proceeded through the Damascus Gate on the way to my new home. I had left the 20th century, and I had gone back in time, back to Bible times.

I was excited to be living inside the Old City walls. While not as convenient as the modern apartment complexes that cover the hills of Jerusalem, the Old City was more "authentic," because it "felt" like a biblical city should feel. My first day, I decided to take a stroll though the Old City markets to soak in the atmosphere of my surroundings. I was so excited I could hardly wait for the sun to come up and greet me so that I could start my adventure.

As I left the Spafford Center, I ambled down 120 broad steps that cascaded along the inside of the wall from atop the highest place inside the old city to the Damascus Gate below. Just inside the gate were crowds of people coming and going to do their marketing and to pray at the many places of worship. In the days of the Bible, the area inside of the gates was one of the busiest locations where merchants from outside the walls came in to hawk their wares, money-changers exchanged currencies and people met to negotiate business.

It is no different today. Peasant ladies sat with baskets and mats piled high with fruits and vegetables grown in their own gardens... you can even buy a live chicken she has brought for sale - its feet bound and laying on its side looking quite perturbed by its situation. Once sold, hopefully early in the day, the ladies hurry home to their villages near Jerusalem, after buying some needed goods in the city. Yes, the money-changer is there, as are the men on the side of the street at small tables in front of a coffee shop drinking strong, sweet tea with mint. Some negotiate business while other play sheshbesh (backgammon) and talk about everything from politics to the weather. Peddlers are shouting about their goods and prices, as donkeys carry loads of merchandise into one of the many shops that line both sides of the street. Most of the residents of the Old City do not have kitchens, so the young people bring mother's freshly prepared dough to be baked into round loaves, or pots of meat or rice dishes to be cooked in stone ovens heated with wood that are located in each neighborhood. Truly, it is a scene from days gone by.

Walking deeper and deeper into the heart of the Old City, all your senses are confronted with new sights, sounds, tastes and smells. Each shop displays its wares out front, creating a canopy that just about blocks the sunlight filtering down from above. It is quite a colorful display to behold.

The sounds of life are all around you, as the people bustle throughout the Old City. The merchants are shouting out their wares and prices, and donkey drivers are calling out to their donkeys who bray in stubborn resistance to the crowds they have to press through. The Moslem muzzein is calling out prayers from high above, as church bells start ringing to call the faithful inside for services.

Depending on the stall you walk past, you can enjoy the smells of freshly ground coffee, exotic spices, or freshly baked bread, all mixed with the occasional scent of incense escaping from a nearby chapel where it is burned as part of the service.

The wide, open area inside the gate almost becomes a tunnel as the narrow alleyways shrink to about 10 feet (3 meters) wide. Just as in the days when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, nothing has changed except for the addition of electricity. From archaeological ruins found near the Western Wall at a street level from the time of Jesus, to the Crusader ruins in the Cardo from a period 1000 years later, it is evident that time had stood still. In those days, shops also lined the streets, each about 15 feet wide (5 meters) or less, each selling something different. One sells vegetables and fruits, and the next imported tea and coffee from faraway lands. This one sells housewares, while another sweets of every kind. Then, there are the butchers with whole, skinned animals hanging on hooks ready to carve off whatever piece it is that you want. It is better to get there early in the day while it is still cool and the meat most fresh.

One of my favorite shops to go into are the spice shops with countless bins of exotic spices from around the world. It is a feast for the eyes and the nose, as you are free to sample a pinch of this or that to be sure you like it. Mounds of bright red cayenne are accented by the orange turmeric, the green zatar (a local spice eaten on bread with olive oil), the yellow saffron, the rich browns of cinnamon and nutmeg, the black pepper, and white mounds salt and lumps of rock candy. Many spice salesmen have their own special blends of spices for adding to cooked rice or other dishes, and they are eager for you to take a taste and hopefully then buy some to take home.

Another stop for me is the pastry shop. The local pastries are quite good, and baked and displayed in large, shallow round trays. In the Old City, you can go into the shops and choose freshly-made baklava, which is filo pastry filled with walnuts or pistachios and drenched in hot syrup. Or, there is the bourma which are whole, green pistachio nuts rolled in a tube made of shredded wheat, baked and also drenched in hot syrup. My favorite is a baked sweet cheese that is kept hot over a gas jet until purchased, called kanafe. While you can take it home, it is best if you have the shopkeeper put a generous square of the hot, gooey cheese on a plate, so you can sit and eat it in his shop along with a glass of hot sweet tea with mint. As you eat and marvel at where you are and what you are doing, you can watch the passersby in elaborate outfits. They range from the many religious clerics with flowing black robes and headgear of every shape and variety, the peasant women from the villages in their beautifully embroidered dresses, to the pilgrims from Africa with brightly colored costumes from their home countries.

A stroll through the market streets would not be complete without stopping into a carpet shop with their locally woven carpets outdone by the more elaborate Persian carpets from Iran. The rug merchants like nothing more than to lure you into their beautiful shops where they bring you hot cups of strong Turkish coffee or more tea, while they unroll carpet after carpet hoping you will see one you can't live without. Once inside, you will probably not leave without a new purchase for your home.

Then, there are the leather shops selling everything from shoes to handmade ottomans, purses and belts. And, don't forget the pilgrim shops with gifts to take home, from religious art carved in beautifully grained olive wood, to mother of pearl covered Bibles. Colorful, Armenian hand-painted ceramic ware is very popular, as are T-shirts with dozens of different designs to tell the world that you have visited Jerusalem.

Finally, a stroll through the Old City of Jerusalem would not be complete without stopping to reflect and pray at holy sites that commemorate the very roots of our faith. A walk along the Via Dolorosa is an event experienced by most pilgrims. It begins at The Pavement where Jesus was tried before Pontius Pilate, and culminates in the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one site of Golgotha and the Tomb of Jesus (the other being the Garden Tomb outside the walls). The church's many chapels of various denominations give testimony of the faithful Christian pilgrims who have come here since the days of Jesus, to relive the last footsteps of Jesus in Jerusalem before His crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Another important site to Jews and Christians is the Western Wall, which is a remnant of the outside retaining wall of a great platform built by King Herod on which the ornate Second Temple stood. A steady stream of worshippers visit this site 24-hours-a-day, and prayers are often written on pieces of paper and wedged into the cracks in the walls in hopes that they will be answered.

Archaeology is another feature of a stroll through the Old City. Not only are there the living artifacts like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall or the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount, there are new discoveries made in the past 30 years.

The Old City of Jerusalem offers unending opportunities to experience one's faith in a new way, see the ancient stones of the past and feel history all around you, and enjoy the sites, sounds and tastes of today. As a travel destination, I believe Jerusalem should be the destination of every person once in their life. This is especially true for Christians and Jews to come to this remarkable city that validates the very foundation of our faith.

With appreciation from: