Day Nine - Final Day with the Tour.

Today we are traveling to the wailing wall and will be visiting the portion of the Western wall which is not open to the public and only accessible via a tunnel going through the Muslim Quarter. As I mentioned previously in my journal only 57 meters of the wall are currently exposed the rest has been built over with housing. After traversing the tunnel it is our plan to then visit Yad Vashem, which is a holocaust museum in West Jerusalem. After lunch we are going to the shrine of the book another museum, which houses the scrolls that were found in Kumron.

Here is a rubbing of the Wailing Wall that can still be felt when you gentle stroke the page in my journal. Tactile memory is one of the strongest and this page brings back many memories.

As we enter into the tunnel Aaron our guide points out the model which shows the Western Wall and the difference between what is exposed outside and currently called the Wailing Wall to what we will see within it’s depths.

The Wailing Wall is only a small portion of what we saw under the current housing above us. To our surprise we descend some distance and are confronted by the larger base stones which make up the actual base of the wall, and not visible from the courtyard above. The biggest stone that has been discovered is 40 feet x 10 feet x 10 feet and estimated to weigh 576 tons which equals 60 Elephants. This stone as you can imagine is called the master stone and is considered the largest ever found and currently resides on the sixth course. It has been explained to us that lead balls and numerous cranes where employed to set this stone onto the course previous. Aaron points out that it is an amazing engineering feet that each course is set back from the one underneath by the exact same distance the whole length of the wall.

Captain Warren the father of excavation also called the rat was responsible for the majority of the discoveries and sites that we have visited.

Our trip to Yad Vashem is as much a shock as my previous visits to similar memorials and museums. The shock, horror and reverence of 6 Million dead, 1.8 Million of which were children are mind numbing. Yad Vashem is collecting and identifying every possible name that they have discovered and so far they are up to 4 Million people. Aaron our guide also mentions that there is a consensus among most Jewish people that they have vowed never again. Out of respect I choose only to take photos outside of the memorial.

Once again we hop on the bus and drive to our next destination that is the Shrine of the book. Outside there is a full-scale model of the 2^nd Temple period, which is massive, and you can actually walk around and see every angle.

We enter into the building and discover that the scrolls have been preserved and placed behind glass for the publics viewing. If you remember earlier I mentioned that Hebrew is the same today as it was long ago, which means that everyone who can read Hebrew now can read these ancient texts. To be so close to history is exciting and unbelievable. 

This has been a trip of a lifetime and it will be sad to say goodbye to Aaron who is a wealth of information. We are schedule to go back to the hotel after this and have a farewell dinner. The church group is scheduled to leave in the early morning and we will be remaining to continue our trip visiting Palestine and Greece after they depart.

I hope that you have enjoyed what I have shared and invite comments and questions. I will be adding to this journal with extra photos, videos and notes as I compile them so keep posted by signing up to this blog. I may also include our experience on our additional four days in the Middle East and perhaps Greece too, and if you don’t sign up you never know what you will be missing.

Day Eight

Today we are going to the City of David, which is in the valley as well as exploring the water system and the spring that feeds the city and is the reason it was originally built in this location. Our descent will take us to the Pool of Ceylon, afterwards we will return through the dung gate and be visiting the wailing wall for the second time continuing to the Jewish quarter and Christian quarter followed by a visit to the Bazaar.

Before we explore the City of David we were invited to a theater to watch a 3D movie of the history of the city and the surrounding area. I discovered that the trail we are taking is called Ophel and lies between the Temple Mount and the City of David. The city of David was built after the conquering of the Jebusite city. We also learned that King David dies around 1000BC at which time his son, Solomon began to expand the city and built the first temple upon the Rock Mount Moriah. King Hezekiah later built a channel to bring water from the Gihon spring to the pool inside the city walls, which was of course names, the Pool of Ceylon.

Other notes to point out is the in 586BC Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and temple until Nehemiah rebuilt it. Afterwards King Herod ruled and after him the Romans came and eventually destroyed the city again.

As we walked down to the pool we could see a stepped wall, which is thought to have supported King David’s original palace. I would like to point out that in many rebuilt cities, there are many levels of civilizations which can be found mixed together due to the use of the former remains of the city before it. The lower portion of this wall we are told is part of the one Nehemiah rebuilt. In 1978, 50 pieces of pottery were found in a lower room along with seals that indicated letters of importance were being preserved and store at this location. The remains of the seals indicated that they were of owned by one of the temple priests and is assumed that they held religious writings.

Our guide Aaron explained that when the excavation of the spring began it was found to be fortified by walls and an access tunnel was found in 1880, which traverses 533 meters. On further inspection of that tunnel writing was found by the original workers who dug the tunnel, which explained that two teams actually dug from either end, and met in the middle. It is amazing to see that the offset between the two teams digging in opposite directions was only 1 foot. The whole project is estimated to have taken 1 full year build and it still functions today with the use of natural gravity to collect water. Aaron also mentioned that the pool is also called Shiloah in Hebrew and this is the site where Jesus healed the blind man; today the water, which is collected, is used for irrigation of crops.

From this site we continued on to the Southwest temple mount corner walking on Herodian street stones. I have to stop here and mention that I now know why the Romans left the walls of the temple mount standing, they are massive and measure about 5 feet deep, 4 feet high and 20 feet long. From here we can also see one of the fallen arches leading into the temple mount and the writing on it in Hebrew “Trumpeting of Announcement”. We finally settled down on the steps of the temple mount in order to do our daily devotion. Before we got started, Aaron set the tone by advising us that the stone we sat upon are the same ones that Jesus saw and walked on when he first came to the temple as a boy and also the site of King David’s repentance and the threshing floor where the temple was later built.

After devotion we had lunch in the Jerusalem Square of local cuisine followed by a visit to the Broad wall built by King Hezekiah in the first temple period around 100-586BC, before proceeding to the Jewish and Christian quarters where we had some free time for shopping and exploring before retiring back to the hotel.

Day Seven

As you can see by the pictures below I left the hotel early to catch the sunrise over the Holy City and in the quite I discover many beauties and I praise the Lord and thank him for the silence and blessing of being here.

We learned a new word today Shabbat Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) the standard greeting for the Sabbath. Today we will be focusing our tour on Jerusalem and so Aaron our guide briefs us on the recent history involving the 1948 war of Independence. He explained that, West Jerusalem was held by Israel and the East by the Jordanians. This negotiated boarder stood for 19 years and the city stood divided until 1967 and the 6 day war when Israel took the other side. We are ascending today to the Mount of Olives and from there walking to the base and the garden of Gethsemane. After the garden we will be continuing to the upper room in Mount Zion followed by a visit to the possible prison where Jesus spent the night before his crucifixion. We will be entering into the city through the Lions gate after lunch and visiting a nunnery and finish of the day at the Garden Tomb.

As we ascend Aaron continues to point out geographical information telling us that the Kidron valley stands between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives on the East and the Hinnom Valley on the South. He also pointed out that the Gihon spring also resides in the Kidron valley and is the only source of water in the city. Mount Moriah once stood where the current dome of the rock stands and Hebrew people believe that this is the site of the origins of man. He also mentioned that this is also where Abraham brought his son Isaac as a sacrifice. The city of David was also discovered in the Kidron valley near to the spring.

Solomon, David’s son was the first on to build on Mount Moriah, which was the location of the first temple. This temple stood until 586BC when the Assyrians attacked it and then Nebuchadnezzar came and Jerusalem was destroyed. After the destruction it stood as rubble until Nehemiah came and rebuilt the city and temple which was later expanded by Herod in order to accommodate all of the pilgrims, it was then that Mount Moriah was then renamed the temple mount.

The Mount of Olives is the site where Jesus wept over the city before entering in through the double golden gates also known as the gate of the mercies. It was also pointed out that the Mount of Olives is also know as the mount of ascension, because this is the site where Jesus left the disciples to enter into Heaven. 32 years after his ascension the Romans demolished the city leaving only the four walls of the temple mount because they were too big and strong to be torn down.

The group read from Matt 23:37 about how Jesus wept over the city and had our morning devotional in the garden of Gethsemane. This is also the location of where Christ prayed that the cup might pass which was a representation of our sin. But he took it so that we might become his righteousness. The dirt that represents our sin he was praying about in the garden is what his death washed away. In my journal I made a keepsake or memorial with the dirt of the garden and formed a dove of peace as seen below.

As we continue on our journey to Mount Zion and the upper room, our guide pointed out Absalomon's monument, which can be found in the cemetery outside of the golden gate. The pit that we visited at this site was thought to be where Jesus may have been kept before his trial. Zion’s gate faces Mount Zion and also where we entered to get to the upper room. This is the site of the last supper and where the Holy Spirit infused the disciples and the beginning of Pentecost and the first church. As we ascend on foot we are reminded that these stones we are walking on are the same stairs that Jesus would have walked as he traversed from Mount Zion to the Kidron Valley. Pastor Keith Smith read Psalms 88 as we visited the pit.

As with a lot of the heritage sites, they have been purchased by many churches. The Greek Orthodox Monastery for example currently resides on top of Potters field bought with the thirty silver pieces from Judas. After lunch we re-entered the city through the Lions gate and started our tour at the pools of Bethsaida. I also wanted to mention that the Lions gate is on the same side of the city as the Golden gate. It has also been called and known as St. Stephens gate, in memory of the Martyr who was stoned at Saul’s feet.  Before visiting the pool we had a chance to visit St. Anne’s church in which we had the privilege to sing Amazing Grace and listen to the beautiful acoustics.

Aaron our guide mentioned that the pools were very large reservoirs and measured 50 x 60 meters. You are probable more familiar with this location because this is also where the angel would stir the water from time to time and heal the sick that entered in at the right moment. This is also where Jesus healed the lame man who could not walk. From here we continued on to the church of Zion via Dolorosa road (Latin,"Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering"). During the time of Jesus it has been calculated that 100,000 people lived in this ancient city. The church is in the same place as the fortress where Herod would often reside and he called it Antonia fortress. This was also the location of the prefix Pontius Pilate. Here we were able to see the street that most likely the Romans walked on and played games. It is also thought to be a part of the journey Jesus made on his way to the cross.

Picture of a game carved into the stone road.

After leaving the ancient road we went to visit the Garden tomb, and on our way Aaron showed us the site of a cliff at whose base were found human remains people most likely stone to death. This is what they consider to be the most likely location of Golgotha.

The garden tomb we visited thought to be the last resting place of Christ before his ascension was marked by what was thought to be the very first Christian symbol representing the cross.

Because of Merna’s vision impairment they afforded us extra time and access to what is usually gated to the public. She was allowed to touch what is believed to be the ledge where Jesus’ body once laid long ago. Needless to say it was an emotionally event for all of us. We concluded the day by taking communion together and singing praises to our Lord and saviour.