Today I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City for several hours in the afternoon. This is a fairly highly traveled side street on the way to the Western (Formerly "Wailing") Wall - The only remaining remenant of the second temple. In the photo is a Jewish boy following his father down the stairs toward the Western Wall.

This is a military assembly that was taking place at the Western Wall when we arrived. There were three or four times as many soldiers as is shown in this photo. I believe that it was a graduation ceremony for basic training. From what I understand the final week of basic training is spent inside the Old City, learning how to defend it and fostering national pride. Of course Police and Military are everywhere in both the New City and the Old City. Most major streets have at least one soldier present.

A view of the Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock visable. A truck was unloading something for the military assembly.

A Jewish man offering prayers just outside the inner gate of the Western Wall.

Prayers being offered at the Western Wall. Many orthodox Jews pray here as well as other Jewish believers who normally cover their head such as the boy with the backpack on the left. No pictures are allowed to be taken in the inner area and everyone must wear a head covering as illustrated by the paper caps seen here. Also if you look closely written prayers are visible as paper tucked into the cracks of the rocks. My friend and I went up to the wall and prayed and also went into some of the underground chambers that have been excavated. There are a number of impressive chambers that now house prayer rooms and arks for Torah scrolls. While we where there a barmitzva was being held and a Torah scroll in a large impressive silver case was brought out from one of the inner chambers for the boy to read. There is a court of women and a court of men and the inner chambers are only open for men to enter so the men brought the scroll out of the chamber and then took it over to the wall between the two courts and the women were standing on tables looking over the wall and throwing candy while the Rabbis and the other men were carrying out the ceremony.