The Holy City

Today we saw Jerusalem. I thought this picture of us in an olive grove was a fitting one for a trip through Bible times!

We had transportation in a nice bus with plenty of room for just 21 people. It also had wi-fi and USB chargers in it!

We entered the Holy City through the Jaffa gate. Our tour guide, Daniel Rona, explained that this small door could have been the eye of the needle referred to in the scripture. It's hard for a camel to fit through that door when a merchant arrives at the city after the big gate is closed.

Ken and Laurie posed in front of this "loophole," the thin window big enough for someone to shoot at invaders!

We walked through some shops in the Arab quarter, and got to see (and smell) some real Frankincense burning. I thought it was funny that I never noticed the word "incense" in the word "frankincense before".

We visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which claims to have the crucifixion site as well as the burial tomb of Christ all with the city limits. It is all pretty unlikely, but Catholic pilgrims have been going there for years, so it's historic for that point alone. We decided not to wait line to go down in the crypt. It's empty, anyway!

There was a very pretty mosaic mural depicting Crists's death and burial, but surprisingly not the resurrection!

We enjoyed walking along the Cardo, the market street built by the Romans. Lucky for us, we had started early, and most of the shops were still closed! But we were still able to enjoy the pretty artwork along the way!

We didn't go inside the beautiful Hurva Synagogue, but enjoyed it from the outside. It was reconstructed in 2010 after having been destroyed for the second time in 1948 in the war for Independence.

In the Herodian Quarter of the Archeological park, Daniel showed us how they have pieced together an understanding of life at the time of Christ. Many of the stones in this display were original, and many of the structures were commissioned by Herod the Great!

Today is Thursday, and that means Bar-Mitzvah day for many of the young men in Israel. Daniel explained to us the special clothing they wear for the occasion!

The men went to the left and women to the right as they approached the wailing wall. The young men and their family male members participate in the bar-mitzvah. Female family members, (and inquisitive tourists), watch by peeking over a high fence!

It wasn't too bad, though as we had headphones supplied by the tour company, and could hear most of Daniel's explanation as we went along!

Each boy had a group of musicians as well as their family  follow the boy as he approached the wailing wall. They also walked under a canopy (not pictured here).

For lunch we had falafels delivered to us and enjoyed seating outside under a shady tree!

In the afternoon we visited the Davidson Center, which not only had more remains and re-construction, but also had on-going excavations continuing on its premisis.

We had more time to sit after lunch. I was really glad that the tour provided little stools we could carry around and sit on from time to time.
The Davidson center had pretty views of the city as well as view of the temple steps.

We walked today where Jesus walked. It was amazing to think that these were the original steps to the temple, and the stories in the Bible about Jesus in the temple actually took place on these same steps. The top layer has been replaced on the steps, but the bedrock is the original steps that are 2000 years old!

We enjoyed this low ceiling warning for Segway drivers. It looks like it is also a good morning for the rest of us! Crystal only had a few inches to spare!

We spent a little time on the hillsides above Bethlehem looking at a protective "cote" for sheep. Crystal did get a head-bonking in there. I was glad she took one for the team, because her cry of pain made me watch out before I stood up!

I enjoyed seeing all the wild flowers at the Elias church which overlooks Bethlehem. They had daisies, cyclamen, olive trees as well as red poppies known as "lilies of the field!"

We finished up the day listening to Daniel tell us some Bible stories about Bethlehem. It really helped us understand more about the area we were in, and the connection King David had to Bethlehem.

We also sang some Christmas Carols together. I know it wasn't snowing out, but we had all come under-dressed for the light breeze and overcast skies, so we were happy when we sang Joy to the World, and scurried back to the bus!

We ate dinner at an Arab restaurant called Philadelphia, and then came back to the hotel exhausted. Vacation is not a vacation!