Monday March 7 -Jerusalem

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Monday March 7, 2011
We are heading to the old city.We just finished at Dome of the Rock. We were not able to go inside.We headed to the Wailing Wall and got chance to see a number of Bar Mitsvahs being held. We also got a chance to pray at the wall and see all the written prayers tucked into the wall. It was quite a humbling experience to pray at the wall, all men had to have a yamika on their head. Women were separated from the men by a wall.
We then visited the Jerusalem Archalegocial museum and learned about the temple during King Herod and Jesus's time. We saw the gates and steps to the temple. Our next visit was to Mt. Zion. We visited David's tomb and the Upper room.It was somewhat disappointing. Sherry and I expected a room and it was a church. We went to lunch in the jewish quarter and enjoyed pizza and salad. We then headed back to the Wailing Wall area and headed off to the tunnels along the west wall. The city of Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. The tunnels show the walls and how King Herod built the walls and enlarged the city. Once we completed the tunnel tour, we ended up in the arab quarter and at the Pools of Bethesada. We shared the story of Jesus and the paralyzed man right in front of the pool ruins. We also visited a 900 year old crusader church built right next to the pools. We completed the visit of the old city and exited through the Lions Gate. We stopped at a Christian Armenian store and made some purchases. We have two more days and cannot believe how fast the time has gone. Our group has been great and we have made some wonderful friends! We are exhaused at the end of time and are to join our group for supper and that is it!!

Love
Doug and Sherry

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Photos

Dome of the Rock - Temple Mount
Here we are first stop, Dome of the Rock, Musilm holy site. We could not go in.

Dome of the Rock - looking east
This is a view from the gate to the west

Wailing Wall
Wailing Wall showing the separation wall for men and women

Wailing Wall
Wailing wall is the last remaining wall off the temple built by King Herod before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

Bar Mitzvah at the Wall
Monday and Thursdays are Bar Mitzvah day at the wall

Another Bar Mitzvah at the wall
There were at least three of these celebrations occuring during our time there. Very joyous with singing and dancing.

Doug at the wall
Praying at the wall. On the wall little folded prayers are tucked into the cracks of the wall.

Sherry at the NW corner
Sherry is standing at the corner of the south wall of the temple. You can see the size of the stones.

Entrance to the temple
This was the south entrance to the temple coming from the City of David

Hinnom Valley
Looking south to the Hinnom Valley

Jewish burial ground
This is a jewish burial ground on the east side of the Kidron Valley. It is a prime place to buried as a jew.

Robinson Arch
This is of the west wall and the Robinson's arch.

Walkway along the wall
This is a walkway along the temple wall used during the time of Jesus. The stones are from the wall that were knocked down by the Romans in 66 AD.

Genie lift in Jerusalem
This is for Nik Hamm - Genie in hebrew

The Upper Room
This picture is from a church built on Mt. Zion. It is the location of the Last Supper and where the apostles came back to meet after Jesus ascended.

Tunnel under the wall
Here was the start of the tunnel under the arab quarter and along the west wall.

Pools at Bethesda
Here are the ruins of the Pools at Bethesda. Jesus healed see John 5:1-9

St. Anne Church
Around 1130 AD a church was built by the Crusaders in honor of Mary's mother. It is still standing and being used.

Inside the walls on the north side
This is a picture of the inside of the north walls of the temple.

Lions Gate
A very famous gate in the Bible and in modern times. This is the gate we left from today. It is in the Arab section of the city.

Comments

[nik hamm]

Wow....What book is the "great blue" Genie in? Great pictures and nartive. We have really enjoyed it.