Day 8 - Jerusalem

Day 8, Jerusalem - Dome of the Rock / Temple Mount, Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne’s, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Cardo St., Herodian and Byzantine ruins, the Southern Steps … Information overload.

Up early (6:15) to be on the Temple Mount before it closes… the Muslims, who control the Temple Mount, close it to tourists at 9:00 AM, so you have to be there relatively early. The Temple Mount is a very large area, probably ½ mine one direction and ¼ mile the other. At the South end is El Aqsa (sp?) Mosque, and in the middle is the Dome of the Rock. The Mosque is where worship takes place; the Dome of the Rock is a shrine over Mt. Moriah where Islamic tradition has Mohammed ascending to heaven (temporarily, in a dream) - but he came back. The North end has an Islamic school for what looks like Jr.. High and High Schoolers. The Israelis captured the area in 1967 but gave it back, presumably so the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world wouldn’t declare Jihad to regain one of their holy places back.

We sang in St. Anne’s, a crusaders’ church with amazing acoustics - the others enjoyed singing, and I enjoyed listening. Walked along the Via Dolorosa. No reason to think it was Christ’s actual path, but it’s been the traditional one for a thousand years. Arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher… there have been churches on top of the traditional crucifixion and burial sites since Helena, Constantine’s mother, declared this the place in 325 AD. Lots of icons, statues, candles, incense, and tourists.

During the walk along the Via Dolorosa and from the Christian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter, we walked through the Bazaars (Soqs) or shopping areas… for people used to the Malls of Texas, it was slightly claustrophobic, but interesting nonetheless.

The Jordanians controlled the old city of Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967 and leveled the Jewish Quarter… actually, a good thing for archeologists; they could dig for older ruins. To rebuild, the Israelis built new strructures on pillars, and exposed older, Herodian and Byzantine ruins. Cardo St. was one of these areas - Byzantine.

Had lunch overlooking the Temple Mount. Falafels, salmon.

Last tour stop was the Southern Steps. This was the main entrance to the 2nd Temple, and had been buried when the Temple Mount was destroyed in 70 AD. This area was just reopened a couple of years ago. It was the main public entrance during Jesus’ time; a triple arch entry gate, and a double arch exit gate.

Then, for those who could still walk, some more shopping. Not enough time (or inclination) to revisit the Western (Wailing) Wall.

As I said before, information overload. So much history over nearly 4000 years - the Canaanites originally settled the area, and it may have been the home of Melchizedek (Salem?), the Jews from David to 70 AD, Romans/Byzantines to 800 AD, Muslims/ Crusaders/ Marmalukes/ Turks/ Jordanians/ and, finally, Israelis. And it’s all there, in stone.

Tomorrow, the Holy Land model, Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, Shrine of the Book, and the Garden Tomb (and Golgotha). Short day. (??!!!!!)

I may not upload a picture for today… lots of visuals, but nothing can capture the range of things we’ve seen.