Shop till you drop

Although the Muslim quarter just had a bad feeling, it was only part and parcel to the reality of who controls most of this city.  The Via Dolorosa is in the Muslim quarter.  We exited the tunnels and found ourselves on this famous street where supposedly our Messiah carried His own cross to Golgatha.  

Lining this street and many others, were merchants selling souvenirs....anything you might think of...you can probably find here.  We saw clothing (Muslim of course), shoes, purses, luggage, jewelry, food vendors, and shop after shop of "christian and jewish" trinkets.  Quite curious, I thought, to see Muslims selling menorahs and nativity scenes.  Just didn't seem right to me.  After all, I would not sell a Quran or an idol of anyone's beliefs.  Guess the almighty dollar is still the number one "god" served all over the world.

Btw, the last picture is at the end of a street in the Muslim Quarter that intersects the Jewish Quarter beginning their shopping district.  Notice the difference.  The Muslim Quarter and their neighborhoods outside the Old City are filthy.  Literally, the streets are lined with trash.  Unlike the other parts of the Old City, especially the Jewish Quarter which is meticulously clean.

Jewish Quarter