The Petra Hotel

We expected to have difficulty finding affordable accommodations. It was the 50th anniversary celebration of the modern nation of Israel. We were fortunate to find a room at the Petra Hotel, just inside the Jaffa Gate in the Old City.

It is actually more of a hostel than a hotel. The adventurous can sleep on the roof for $5.00. There was one private room with a bath available for $50 a night and we took it. From our balcony on the second floor, we could sit and watch a fascinating array of people in every kind of exotic dress walk by. It was within easy walking distance of most of the places we wanted to see.

The Petra is the oldest hotel in Jerusalem. It was built in 1830. American author Mark Twain stayed there during his travels to Israel and Herman Melville conceived of the idea for his book Moby Dick in this hotel.

This photo was taken from atop one of the towers in the citadel, built by Herod the Great. A citadel is a castle built into city walls. The citadel is one of the only structures in Jerusalem not destroyed by the Romans. They used it to house their legions for 60 years after the Jews were driven out, to prevent them from re-entering the city.