To Table of Contents
After leaving the Mount of Olives , we parked in an accessible parking garage at the Mamila Mall near the Tower of David . We toured the Tower of David and found it to be fairly accessible . Cobble stone-like pavers were used to help make the site more wheelchair-friendly on walks and ramps , but take it slow . The pavers are still bumpy . The Director of Tourism and PR was quite accommodating as she took on a private mini tour and shared that soon the upper levels of the Tower will be accessible via an outside elevator . Quite an impressive site and the accommodations were very much appreciated .
From the Tower we trekked over to get inside the walls of the Holy City . Not only was it surprisingly accessible , but most of the storefronts and restaurants and even holy places were , too . I found it fairly easy to push my wheelchair around inside the Holy City mostly unassisted . Being adventurous with a never say never attitude , I did venture off the beaten path with the others from time to time and although I encountered very steep small streets , alleys and even stairs , my tour mates jumped right in and either pushed or lifted me to make the inaccessible possible .
Once inside the Holy City , I was taken back in time – centuries to be precise . The original stones and wood were still in place . We walked along the Via Dolorosa – the Stations of the Cross - and entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which can take your breath away . The church is in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and contains two of the holiest sites in all of Christianity : Calvary , the site where Jesus was crucified , and the tomb of Jesus where he was buried and resurrected .
The Aedicula , a nineteenth century shrine , is built around the tomb and is guarded by Greek Orthodox priests , a tradition since the 12th century . There were hundreds of people waiting in line to enter the Aedicula but as soon as the Greek Orthodox priests knew I wanted to enter , they asked the line of people to wait so that I could go in . The inside is very small , literally room for just a few people , very ornate and adorned with candles and small paintings of Jesus on the walls .
The entrance to the tomb of Jesus is quite small , with literally just enough space to squeeze my wheelchair through the opening as I leaned forward to clear the short height of the entrance carved into the huge stone . Only one person at a time is permitted inside the tomb for just a couple of minutes . For me , it was a lifetime of reverence , belief and faith shooting through my body as I quietly recited the Lord ’ s Prayer while my