We started the morning of the 17th going to the Wailing Wall which is the only part of the western wall remaining of the 2nd temple. It’s really part of a retaining wall that supported the temple. However Jews see this as the closest they can get to where God’s presence lived (the Holy of Holies.) Many orthodox Jews go to the wall and pray all day and read the Psalms. There were a couple of bar mitzvahs happening and it was interesting that the young boys went over to the men’s side and the women of the family had to stand on chairs on the female side and look over the fence to be a part of the ceremony. We felt kind of bad for them.
Then we had an appointment to go through the tunnels that run beside the western wall. Its only been in the last 20 years or so that they found this layer of wall underneath the current “street level.” We saw that quite a bit in Jerusalem that the city is in layers. Original gates in the wall are beneath the current gates into the city. Anyway back to the tunnels…very cool! Talking about stepping back into time! There’s a place below that is believed to be the closest to the original location of the Holy of Holies. There’s a couple of women that Jacob said come there everyday to pray. Like he said “Some people come to worship places and objects…others worship the man.”
Next was a short drive to the Garden of Gethsemane. There are olive trees there that are very very old – but not much of the garden is left. There is a Catholic church on site that we went into. Almost every holy site we visited was owned by the Vatican and for hundreds of years they have had catholic churches on them.
We drove to the top of the Mount of Olives and there awaited Tyler’s camel! Nancy (Mike’s mother) and Tyler took a brief camel ride. We had a great view from the Mount down across the cemetery, past the Kidron Valley and up to the temple site. We walked down the mount toward Jerusalem in remembrance of Jesus’ walk into Jerusalem. A great time to reflect on it’s significance.
After lunch we went back to the Old City, through the sheep gate, and walked the Via Dolorosa and stopped at each station of the cross. It was definitely different that I expected. Most of the Old City is narrow streets with markets in each of the quarters. We walked down these narrow streets with mostly shops on each side. There is so much going on, it’s more of a historical walk than a spiritual walk…at least for me. We walked through to the other side of the Old City and ended up at the Jaffa Gate. From there Mike and I knew how to find the hotel, so we hung back and stayed and did some walking and shopping as the others went back to the hotel.
That night we had our farewell dinner with Rani Levy (trip coordinator) Jacob (our guide) and Geovani (driver.) We had to do it a night earlier than expected because our last night in Jerusalem was Pentecost (a Jewish holiday that celebrates the harvest.) Obviously we as Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. A really long day, but a wonderful day!
Then we had an appointment to go through the tunnels that run beside the western wall. Its only been in the last 20 years or so that they found this layer of wall underneath the current “street level.” We saw that quite a bit in Jerusalem that the city is in layers. Original gates in the wall are beneath the current gates into the city. Anyway back to the tunnels…very cool! Talking about stepping back into time! There’s a place below that is believed to be the closest to the original location of the Holy of Holies. There’s a couple of women that Jacob said come there everyday to pray. Like he said “Some people come to worship places and objects…others worship the man.”
Next was a short drive to the Garden of Gethsemane. There are olive trees there that are very very old – but not much of the garden is left. There is a Catholic church on site that we went into. Almost every holy site we visited was owned by the Vatican and for hundreds of years they have had catholic churches on them.
We drove to the top of the Mount of Olives and there awaited Tyler’s camel! Nancy (Mike’s mother) and Tyler took a brief camel ride. We had a great view from the Mount down across the cemetery, past the Kidron Valley and up to the temple site. We walked down the mount toward Jerusalem in remembrance of Jesus’ walk into Jerusalem. A great time to reflect on it’s significance.
After lunch we went back to the Old City, through the sheep gate, and walked the Via Dolorosa and stopped at each station of the cross. It was definitely different that I expected. Most of the Old City is narrow streets with markets in each of the quarters. We walked down these narrow streets with mostly shops on each side. There is so much going on, it’s more of a historical walk than a spiritual walk…at least for me. We walked through to the other side of the Old City and ended up at the Jaffa Gate. From there Mike and I knew how to find the hotel, so we hung back and stayed and did some walking and shopping as the others went back to the hotel.
That night we had our farewell dinner with Rani Levy (trip coordinator) Jacob (our guide) and Geovani (driver.) We had to do it a night earlier than expected because our last night in Jerusalem was Pentecost (a Jewish holiday that celebrates the harvest.) Obviously we as Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. A really long day, but a wonderful day!
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