Last Lord’s Day we were in Galilee where Jesus spent so much of His time teaching and healing. This Lord’s Day we are in Jerusalem where he was crucified, died and was resurrected. We began our day with a worship service in the hotel before leaving for our sightseeing for the day. Ferrell spoke to the group today based on passages from Matt. 23 and 24 and reminded us of what a wonderful builder Herod was (and we have seen many sites to prove this fact), but that Jesus is the “magnificent builder” as He built a church worldwide and has built productive lives out of the hopeless. All of the Herods combined could not have done that!
This is Mother’s Day, and I received two cards signed by the three children that call me “mother”. It is an honor to spend this Mother’s Day in Jerusalem with one of my children, but today I am thinking of all three of them and their wonderful spouses that I count as children, also.
The first stop of the day was a visit to the Temple Mount in the Old City. We had never had the opportunity to do this on previous trips, and it was most exciting. Only Moslems have free access to the Temple Mount today. We were required to go through security checks in order to go into the area. There is a certain gate for tourists to enter, but Moslems can pass through any of the gates to the area. We took many photos while we were in that area, and one particularly interesting shot is one of “the James Miller” (of thejamesmiller.wordpress.com fame) getting the perfect photo of the Dome of the Rock. The famous Moslem mosque that is currently on the Temple Mount is huge, but Elie told us that the Temple was 1 ½ times taller than the existing structure.
From the Temple Mount we went to the Jewish quarter of the city and visited the ruins of two houses that date back to the destruction of Jerusalem. Today the ruins are well-displayed, but are beneath the level of the current city, so we had to walk down stairs to get to them. On the ground level there are modern houses that are inhabited by Jewish families in the area. Imagine living in a house that is located over the ruins of someone’s home that was destroyed in the horrors that took place in A.D. 70!
The Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is very modern and clean with tasteful shops along the streets. We had time to stroll through the area, but no time for shopping…too many important things to see. We did take 20 minutes (You heard me right…20 minutes!) for lunch in the area. We found very good food in the area…hamburgers…pizza…Magnum Bars. Who could ask for more than that for Sunday dinner on Mother’s Day?
We walked down the Cardo (main street) in ancient Jerusalem, which is located a flight of stairs below the current street level, and from there we went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) where the Jewish people worship at a sort-of open-air synagogue. There are two sections of the wall. One is for men, and one for women. The space for the women worshippers is much smaller than the one reserved for the men, so the ladies were very crowded at the wall.
The men were required to have their heads covered to enter the prayer area, and the men in our group who did not have hats or caps were given a head-covering for the purpose of meeting this requirement. In the photo Ferrell Jr. models his head covering while pointing to the sign that describes the requirement.
By late afternoon it was extremely hot. We looked at some of the reconstruction of the Temple Mount area that has taken place since 1967, and even walked on steps on the southern side of the Temple Mount that were probably walked on by our Lord and the apostles.
We finally left the Old City for the last time. Our bus took us to the Shrine of the Book where portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls were displayed. At the same stop we viewed a fantastic model of the city of Jerusalem depicting how it probably looked about A.D. 70. The model was very large. We estimate it was about 50 feet by 100 feet or so, and the detail work was incredible. We could have spent plenty of time there staring at the model and thinking about where we had walked in the city, but unfortunately the facility closed at 5:00 and they finally ran us out at 5:15.
So, it is our last night of the tour. We have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow, and then board the plane in Tel Aviv and head home late tomorrow evening. I will try to post again before we leave tomorrow night, but if I am not able to do that, I will add the final day’s events once I get home. This has been an absolutely fantastic trip. We are all tired…exhausted, to be exact…but we have seen unbelievable things that will make our Bible study more vivid than ever. Or, as Elie so adequately expressed it earlier in the trip, now we will read the Bible in “full color”. Such a blessing.
Headed home…with more than a little sadness about leaving…
This is Mother’s Day, and I received two cards signed by the three children that call me “mother”. It is an honor to spend this Mother’s Day in Jerusalem with one of my children, but today I am thinking of all three of them and their wonderful spouses that I count as children, also.
The first stop of the day was a visit to the Temple Mount in the Old City. We had never had the opportunity to do this on previous trips, and it was most exciting. Only Moslems have free access to the Temple Mount today. We were required to go through security checks in order to go into the area. There is a certain gate for tourists to enter, but Moslems can pass through any of the gates to the area. We took many photos while we were in that area, and one particularly interesting shot is one of “the James Miller” (of thejamesmiller.wordpress.com fame) getting the perfect photo of the Dome of the Rock. The famous Moslem mosque that is currently on the Temple Mount is huge, but Elie told us that the Temple was 1 ½ times taller than the existing structure.
From the Temple Mount we went to the Jewish quarter of the city and visited the ruins of two houses that date back to the destruction of Jerusalem. Today the ruins are well-displayed, but are beneath the level of the current city, so we had to walk down stairs to get to them. On the ground level there are modern houses that are inhabited by Jewish families in the area. Imagine living in a house that is located over the ruins of someone’s home that was destroyed in the horrors that took place in A.D. 70!
The Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is very modern and clean with tasteful shops along the streets. We had time to stroll through the area, but no time for shopping…too many important things to see. We did take 20 minutes (You heard me right…20 minutes!) for lunch in the area. We found very good food in the area…hamburgers…pizza…Magnum Bars. Who could ask for more than that for Sunday dinner on Mother’s Day?
We walked down the Cardo (main street) in ancient Jerusalem, which is located a flight of stairs below the current street level, and from there we went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) where the Jewish people worship at a sort-of open-air synagogue. There are two sections of the wall. One is for men, and one for women. The space for the women worshippers is much smaller than the one reserved for the men, so the ladies were very crowded at the wall.
The men were required to have their heads covered to enter the prayer area, and the men in our group who did not have hats or caps were given a head-covering for the purpose of meeting this requirement. In the photo Ferrell Jr. models his head covering while pointing to the sign that describes the requirement.
By late afternoon it was extremely hot. We looked at some of the reconstruction of the Temple Mount area that has taken place since 1967, and even walked on steps on the southern side of the Temple Mount that were probably walked on by our Lord and the apostles.
We finally left the Old City for the last time. Our bus took us to the Shrine of the Book where portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls were displayed. At the same stop we viewed a fantastic model of the city of Jerusalem depicting how it probably looked about A.D. 70. The model was very large. We estimate it was about 50 feet by 100 feet or so, and the detail work was incredible. We could have spent plenty of time there staring at the model and thinking about where we had walked in the city, but unfortunately the facility closed at 5:00 and they finally ran us out at 5:15.
So, it is our last night of the tour. We have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow, and then board the plane in Tel Aviv and head home late tomorrow evening. I will try to post again before we leave tomorrow night, but if I am not able to do that, I will add the final day’s events once I get home. This has been an absolutely fantastic trip. We are all tired…exhausted, to be exact…but we have seen unbelievable things that will make our Bible study more vivid than ever. Or, as Elie so adequately expressed it earlier in the trip, now we will read the Bible in “full color”. Such a blessing.
Headed home…with more than a little sadness about leaving…
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