On a sunny February day, our volunteers met again for a get together in the holy city. First, the trip led them to the Mahane Yehuda Shouk for some beer tasting. After exploring, the sights, smells and tastes of this oriental shopping bazar, a culinary treat from the Middle East – humus and pita – waited for them just around the corner.

After the rather heavy meal, the stroll downtown all the way to the old city and the Jewish quarter was a relaxing opportunity for the volunteers to chat and exchange their experiences.

For many, the view of the Kotel (the wailing wall) was a first-time experience and certainly an impressive one. A tour guide was already waiting and the volunteers were then entering the underground world of Jerusalem’s old city with it’s historical and architectural secrets to be revealed.

The tour was impressive: from ancient ritual baths – mikvot – to the massive boulders of the western wall and a brand-new underground synagogue, the tour guide left nothing out. Tired, but certainly filled with awe, the volunteers emerged back into the daylight.

TreADIng in the footsteps of ancient history is an exciting part of ADI’s volunteer program and this particular outing ended with a perfect view of the ancient Western Wall of the Temple.