We spent the entire day touring around inside the old walls of the city of Jerusalem. The bus dropped us off at 9:00am and didn't pick us up again until 4:30pm. Security in the old city is always a very visible presence. It's not uncommon to see the police and military always walking around with machine guns strapped over their shoulder. Many are dressed in full swat and at one point we walked past a huge stack of riot shields. It was kind of shocking at first and we wondered if this was heightened because of the conflict in Gaza. Our guide explained that it's always like this because so many people of different backgrounds and religions share space inside the old city, the security stays on high alert and is always overly cautious and prepared.
We started off at the Temple Mount (the raised area that served as a foundation area and grounds of the temple). Our guide had received special permission to take us up there. We weren't allowed to go inside the Dome of the Rock but we were allowed to walk all around it on the grounds. To get there you have to go through a security checkpoint with a metal detector run by the Israelis and walk up a ramp. The spot is sacred to Muslims and Jews because of their claim to Abraham. The temple in Jerusalem was built upon Mt Moriah, where Abraham followed God's instructions to sacrifice Isaac but then provided the lamb instead. After the temple was destroyed and the Muslims later took control they built the Dome of the Rock over the spot because they believe that Abraham was sacrificing Ishmael there instead. Inside the Dome is a stone where they believe that Abraham bound Ishmael for the sacrifice. The Dome of the Rock has undergone two restorations during the last forty years, with funds coming from the personal accounts of the late King Hussein of Jordan.
This cupola is said to be over the site where the Jewish temple's Holy of Holies sat. It is northwest of the Mosque on the Temple Mount. The Western Wall is to the left. That wall is holy to the Jews now because it is the wall of the Mount which is closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been.
On the eastern edge of the Temple Mount you can overlook the Mount of Olives and the Palm Sunday road.
The inside of the closed up eastern mercy gate to the city.
We exited the Temple Mount area through this gate to go out to Bethseda on the northeast corner. This gate is a great example of the "eye of the needle" gate that Jesus talked about. The eye of the needle refers to the smaller door inside. When the large gate was closed at night, people entering the city would have to leave their animals outside and come in through the smaller door. And after riding on a camel, I can definitely tell you there's no way a camel could get through the that little door!
We came back into the city through the Lion Gate.
Just off to the right was St. Anne's Church and the Pools of Bethseda where Jesus healed a man who was lame.
We started walking the Via Dolorosa through the Old City. Not exactly a quiet reflective place - there are shops and vendors all along the way, just as there would have been in Jesus' day.
Station 2 on the Via Dolorosa - the Church of the Flagellation marking the spot where Jesus was sentenced to death and beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Stations 10 through 14 on the Via Dolorosa - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the supposed places of Jesus' crucifixion and burial and was built over an old rock quarry that used to be outside the city walls. This church is jointly held by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholics. Because they couldn't agree on how to operate the church and order of "status quo" was put in place in 1852 and since that nothing nothing is allowed to be moved from where it was. See the ladder in the upper level propped up against the window? It was there that day and has not been able to be moved since.
None of the religious communities control the entrance to the church though. In 1192 Muslim conqueror Saladin assigned the job of doorkeeper to two Muslim families. This man is a descendant of one of those families holding the original key to the church.
This altar lies over the site where Jesus is said to have been nailed to the cross.
This altar sits over the top of the rock where the crosses would have been placed for crucifixion. On the sides you can see the rock under the glass.
This is supposed to be the site of where Jesus' body was brought to be wrapped up for burial after being taken off the cross.
This structure is built over an excavated rock cave which is supposed to be Jesus' tomb. The structure has two chambers, an outer chamber containing a box with a piece of the stone for the door and an inner chamber containing the slab where Jesus' body would have been laid. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the structure and the priests went through the line gesturing for folks to take their hands out of their pockets, interpreted as a sign of disrespect.
This is the decorated ceiling of the church above the tomb.
Back outside and wandering through the streets of the old city, we met two of the members of the former Christian music group, Audio Adrenaline. That's them facing this way talking to Dr. Tuttle.
In the Jewish Quarter, you could see several excavations down to the level of the city in Jesus' day.
We also got the privilege of visiting the Western "Wailing" Wall. It was Bar Mitzvah day and so the place was full of families and celebrations. The area in front of the wall is divided into two sections: a large one for men and a smaller one for women. Even for the bar mitzvahs, the mothers had to stand on the women's side and watch over the dividing wall. When you approach the wall you do so with all reverence and you are required to wear a head covering. Many people are there praying over the wall and putting notes into it. And when you go to leave, you do not turn around, but rather walk backwards for quite a distance to show respect.
The Israeli soldiers make a regular practice of visiting the wall and sometimes doing their swearing in ceremonies here. We ran into another large group outside on R&R waiting to come in.
Afterwards we went out to a museum on the southern edge of the temple mount and sat on the Teaching Steps for our devotional time. These steps are generally thought to be the place where Jesus did his teaching when at the temple.
The purification baths at the bottom of the steps. Everyone visiting the temple would have needed to be cleansed here before going inside.
A view of the Mount of Olives from the steps.
Next we visited the site of the Upper Room. As Dr. Tuttle often said, "if it didn't happen right here, it happened very close to here and that's good enough for me!"
We closed out our day in the old city by visiting the site of King David's tomb. The space for approaching the tomb was divided into two sections: one large space for men and one small space for women. You were required to cover your head here as well. Some people stood or sat in chairs and were praying the Scriptures. Daryl took this picture from the men's side.
We went back to the hotel for dinner and another meeting and headed off to bed early. This was our last night in a hotel and everyone needed to pack and try to find ways to cram in their souvenirs. Many folks, including Daryl, had purchased small suitcases or duffel bags from the vendors while touring through the old city. Daryl didn't even have to break stride from keeping up with the group to complete his transaction!
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