can ask questions of historians and curators throughout the day. williamsburgonial beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span 3. week, "realach america" bring your couple films that help provide context for today's public affairs issues. >> our first impression of damascus is one of surprise when we notice a modern appearance in the center of the city. our opinion soon changes as we step two paces away. of the 300,000 inhabitants, about 80% are muslims and there are naturally many pledges of worship. the largest and most important,

the mosque of omar you, is open not only to the faithful but to the nonbeliever as well. all must remove shoes before entry. damascus is a hot and dry city. of cool vendors sweetwater do a thriving business. at this open-air grill, tidbits of goat are served. perhaps not sanitary, but no doubt very delicious to the damascus. syrian oranges are delicious and inexpensive, too. they are sold by weight. a dozen large ones cost only a few pennies.

headdresses, which remind us of mende co-characters. a new rug from persia. and here is a novel way to display a rug, an auctioneer carrying it over his shoulders, soliciting bids as he walks. damascus is at the end of the .aravan route from mesopotamia many camel trains enter the city and trail through the winding streets. bazaar streets are covered by arched metal roofs. the name of this one is familiar to all of us. we stopped at a small outdoor .akery

the strange manner in which bread is baked interests us. the ball of dough is twirled. when it is large enough, it is placed over a pillar and thrust into an oven. causes it to cling to the hot walls. the pillar is removed. let's watch it again. no, the baker is not wearing gloves. the bread is fresh when bought over-the-counter. it isom a merchant, generally after much handling and when many flies have sampled it. damascus has long been famous for its many oriental coffee houses where men gather in the evening and smoke a turkish waterpipe.

the tobacco is placed in the metal top and kept burning by a small piece of charcoal. the smoke is cooled by being drawn through the water in the bowl. we look upon the walls of old jerusalem, walls which have been destroyed and rebuilt many times . there is a modern jerusalem with many fine buildings and splendid streets and boulevards. but on this visit, our interests lie within the old city.

at the jeff a gates, an officer ofects a strange assortment traffic. no vehicles are permitted within the walled city. all trucking must be done on the backs of animals or men. the finest gate in jerusalem is the damascus gate in the old wall. beneath the gate, a man of the desert reads fortunes in the sand.

the streets of jerusalem have changed little with the passing of time and present today very much the same occurrence they did 2000 years ago. the narrow david street is the chief business sort affair of the old town. it leads from the jeff i gate down one of the hills on which the city is built and ends at gate.stga

moneychangers are still found in the marketplaces. small boys with large baskets act as messengers. and for a few pennies, carry packages for shoppers. a quarrel over candy. it is going to end with smiles when they notice someone from whom they can beg. a gift. for old automobile tires. crude but serviceable shoes. many of the streets of jerusalem are vaulted, dark and dirty.

the sole light comes from small openings in the top. and only in the middle of the day does any son penetrate, casting as it does a strange light on the passersby. jerusalem, sacred to the three chief religions of the world, is one of the holiest of cities. to the christian, the amount of olives is the amount of disseminate, where christ is said to have borne the cross and the church of the holy supper quark are -- holy sepulcher are shrines. it still has the walls built by the crusaders and the chapel of the holy sepulcher. city,he house tops of the we see the ancient site of the hebrew temple and now a shrine

of the muhammadan's. streeth it, we pass the and then down below day the street. we recall that come on its side, king david erected an altar. king solomon built his palace and temple. king herod built a third temple. and then a basilica to the virgin mary. muslimst belongs to the , the mosque of omar that carries the stone that mohammed carried. we follow a narrow street to another place of sanctity. jews come here to the walls which are said to be part of the foundation of solomon's temple. since the middle ages, they have come from all over the world to this, the wailing place, and have stood before these stones to pray and to lament the downfall of jerusalem, the

capital of the israelite empire. week, american history tv will bring your archival coverage of presidential candidates on the campaign trail. back to the 1988 campaign of vice president george h.w. bush.

he speaks here at the florida republican party convention where he is introduced by his son, florida state commerce secretary jeb bush. vice president bush won the florida primary in march 1988 on his way to the republican nomination. he defeated michael dukakis in the 1988 general election to become the nation's 41st president. [cheers and applause] >> where's george? come on up. introducing the next candidate is my brother george bush and my daughter noel bush. next speaker is a man of tremendous couriers, conviction and experience.