We started our day at the top of the Mount of Olives overlooking the city.
The religious diversity of the city is striking from this viewpoint. You can see the tops of mosques and minarets, church bell towers and, of course, the Star of David. Some people chose to ride a camel at this location. It looked incredibly uncomfortable to me. Once all the photo opportunities were exhausted, we started down the mountain, following the likely path of Jesus on Palm Sunday.
Because the Mount of Olives faces the Eastern Gate and is outside the city, there are hundreds of graves, Jewish, Christian and Muslim. Some of these are from ancient times. In fact, there is one marked Sarah’s Daughter from 10 B.C.
We stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane. What a beautiful place. The church there has made it quite a tranquil spot. There are very old olive trees and beautiful flowers.
I finally realized today that I have spent my time so worried about getting all the pictures. I have forgotten to be in the moment and truly reflect on where I am and what I am seeing. So while I was in the Garden I took some time for myself and prayed. Then when I walked into the church on the premises, the monks were singing a Gregorian chant. It was beautiful. What a nice way to finish a meditative time! We crossed the street and visited the cave where Jesus was likely arrested.
The Kidron Valley separates the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. It is not an easy climb! We drove by the Potter’s Field (Matthew 27:3), the Pool of Siloam (John 9), and the newly found ruins of the City of David. From there we headed into the city.
Once inside the city gates, we visited the tomb of King David (I think it is the traditional site).This is a place of prayer for many Jews as their connection to King David is very strong. The stones upon which this place is built were from a first century synagogue where the disciples likely worshiped. We went up the stairs to the site of the Upper Room (Mark 14:15, Luke 22:12, Acts 1:13; the place is accurate while the building is Medieval construction).
We traveled through the ancient Zion Gate into the Old City of Jerusalem. We ate lunch in the Jewish Quarter and had pizza! Yum-o! This was funny because you can’t get pizza with meat on it because it is not kosher to combine meat and dairy. There were lots of veggie combos to choose from, including a pizza with corn on it! Hubs and I both got cheese pizzas. We got to spend some time in the market. What a cool experience. The Jewish market and the Muslim market are right next to one another. The differences between the two were marked. The Jewish market was “upscale” with very little bartering. The Muslim market was more like what I expected. Someone was always offering you something. The walkway was much more crowded. And they had everything from meat to industrial size brooms to jewelry to undergarments. It was an amazing array and very colorful.
We visited The Wohl Museum of Archeology. Just like every other archeological discovery in Israel, this complex of mansions was found while digging for a foundation. Many scholars believe that this could have been the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where Jesus was taken after His arrest (Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, Luke 22:54, John 18:12-15). This was an exquisite home, a mansion even by today’s standards, overlooking the Temple Mount. I look forward to the day that all of these mysteries are solved. It will clarify so much!
Some observations: I have noticed so many unaccompanied children. Kids that are Gator’s age (5) are responsible for walking their younger siblings who are Bull’s age (2) to and from school. I could not imagine allowing such a thing! Another observation is that kids are kids are kids are kids. It does not matter what side of the world you are on, kids all act alike! I loved watching the children play and run and shout. There was a little Muslim boy, probably 5 years old, wearing a US Army vest. We saw something quite humorous in its irony: an ultra-Orthodox young man in his early twenties text messaging a friend on his cell phone. The clash between modernity and traditionalism is evident everywhere you turn here.
This was another tiring day, but I am glad to finally be in Jerusalem! I can’t wait to see the rest of the city!
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