L is for Lost in Labyrinthine Streets - thanks so much to AI for today's title!!
Getting lost in an ancient city in another part of the world far from home is NOT on my bucket list. To me, that is the things nightmares of made of!!
We were in Israel back in February of 2023 and had some free time on our last day before heading to the airport to fly home. Mark had always wanted to see the St. Mark church in the Old City so he and I struck out on our own.
The streets in the old city truly feel like Labyrinthine streets. The streets meander here and there. There are four quarters - The Christian quarter, The Muslim quarter, The Armenian quarter, and The Jewish quarter.
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| photo borrowed from this site |
According to the same site (photo above), the old city is 220 acres. It is 220 acres crammed full of items to buy, food to eat, homes where people live, even a school (or maybe more than one?).
We knew where the sign that pointed "this way" to St. Mark's was located, so we started there. We tried to pull up a walking map on our phone, but didn't have good luck.
What made it even more "interesting" was the fact that Sabbath was about to begin and we were literally walking through a neighborhood of Jewish families. They wouldn't (couldn't perhaps?) answer our questions. We could see them rushing their children out of the doors of their homes, much like you would find a Christian family on Sunday morning in Alabama.
We finally found the church but first, I had an "almost" panic attack. Mark would probably say I was having a full blown panic attack. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find our way back to the hotel where our transportation to the airport was located. THEN we found the church and it was worth it!
It was a beautiful church.
According to AI - "St. Mark's Church in Jerusalem is a Syrian Orthodox church located in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. It is said to have
been built on the site of the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, where Peter
is said to have gone after being released from prison. Syrian Orthodox
tradition also identifies it as the location of the Upper Room of the Last Supper, the place where the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost, and the location
of Mary's baptism."
Just FYI, we went through the Christian quarter, the Jewish quarter, and ended up in the Armenian quarter.
I'm so glad we found it. To me, it felt like it might be more accurate of the site of the Upper Room rather than the tourist site.
Have you ever been in another country (or even another town) and felt lost on their streets? Did you panic? Or were you like Mark and just figured it out?
I was thinking how that was a great title you came up with then saw it was AI! Good title anyway
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Simpson county MS and I drove into Jackson, I almost always got lost. I was driving and I had my children with me so I figured it out.
I love getting lost in labyrinthine streets. When we go to Europe we always seek out places with an "Old Town" and wander around them. These days our phones and Google Maps get us out of trouble so we never panic. Getting lost is all part of the fun. Besides, my sense of direction isn't bad (unlike Mrs PM's - I ironically call her "Tonto" as I have lost count of the number of times I've had to rescue us when she has lead the way "convinced" she is on the right track).
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Cheers
PM
We got turned around in Paris in '01. I mean, we were very young at the time and we got so lost in the subway. In the end, we marked a specific statue that was right by the exit to our subway stop and that was how we marked location. Now, recently, we got lost in Atlanta! We were trying to walk to a brewery and maps took us to a dead end we couldn't get past because it was over railroad tracks. But there was a fence and it was impossible to pass. So we had to backtrack and walk through neighborhoods to go up and around. It was pretty crazy!
ReplyDeleteI have a terrible sense of direction and even on the straightest grid I can manage to get lost. Glad you found what you were looking for.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I am glad you got turned around in the right direction. Thank you for sharing a fun story and the photos.
ReplyDeleteCarla
Oh boy, when my sister in law had her baby and we went to visit her at the hospital... we drove around and around and around, if my brother hadn't answered the phone to give us directions to where they were, the baby would've been headed off to college before we met her.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting! I'm enjoying your A-Z posts and learn something new from each one so far!! I rely on my GPS more than I should but I do have a decent sense of direction. Cheers to another week ahead!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to read that you did find the church and it was worth it. How interesting to be there on the Sabbath. Great title for the post! :)
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