June 26 - Jerusalem

June 26

Gathsemane - Rob and Val

(Rob,Val, Krystal, & Audrye) We got an early start, ate a skimpy breakfast, and made our way to the bus. Busses leave for Jerusalem about every 15 minutes from Tel Aviv and cost about US$7. Arrived in Jerusalem around 9:30 and made our way, via taxi, to the Old City. Using the Lets Go book we were able to do two walking tours and saw more than "normal" people see in three days. We say normal because they would actually take some time for lunch and breaks along the way. We were able to see all of the following sights:

Mount Zion - David's Tomb, possible site of the Last Supper. This large confusing complex completely covers the hill. It took us a while to find the "Last Supper" room but alas there it was. David's tomb is more of a Jewish shrine.

Jerusalem in a day

Jewish Quarter - An interesting area for sure. The entire walled in city is a labyrinth of small allies. We tend to travel in and out of buildings as you follow the walk ways.

Western Wall (Wailing Wall) Behind that is the Dome of the Rock. This area is alive with activity. The men and women have separate areas where they can go to pray. In the men's area is the most commotion. The day we were there a number of Jewish boys were celebrating their Barmitzva with family members. The boys would read from the scriptures then carry the Torah around the compound with family members in tow. Mothers and female family members looked in on the event from the outside of the male compound and tossed in candy and made very loud "Middle-Eastern" celebration noises.

McDonalds

Muslim Quarter (a bit tense to say the least!) - This area is a vast market area, much of it under roof cover.

Mount of Olives - This mountain (hill) located just outside of the walls is separated from the Old City by a large Jewish grave yard (Including Absolum's Tomb). There are a number of churches (mostly Orthodox) on this mountain and at the base of the mountain is Gethsemane. We spent time in Gethsemane including a visit to the church there called Church of the nations which contains a rock where Jesus sweat blood and the place of Jesus' betrayal.

Via Dolorosa - the route of Jesus as he carried the cross. This path crosses through much of the Muslim Quarter. There are a number of stations you can stop at which record the places of Jesus' walk to the cross. After a while all of this starts to look way to religious and not to reality. There is a shrine (or church) at almost every stop. My question is: WWJT? (What Would Jesus Think?)

The Upper Room

The last major stop was at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre - this marks Golgotha (Calvary) and the tomb of Jesus. This large structure was built by a variety of denominations, so in walking from room to room you actually are moving amongst various traditional Christian denominations. During our visit to one of the Tombs we met a new friend who is a teacher at a secular Israeli university. He kindly pointed out some very interesting additional facts about the building.

We then walked out of the building and back to Jaffa Gate. From there we visited a bookstore, took a ton of photos, and made some quick calls home to family. A taxi ride brought us back to the bus station where we traveled to Tel Aviv. At the bus station in Tel Aviv we bought a Bagel Toast (a very large, smashed, toasted bagel stuffed with cream cheese and olives) and several fresh fruit drinks.

The West Wall

*Interesting things about Israel*

Whenever you go into any building, whether a bus station or a grocery store, you have to have your bag either searched or put through a detector and you have to through a metal detector yourself most of the time as well. Because men and women are both required to serve in the military you see a ton of young adults walking around with very BIG guns. Like on the bus to Jerusalem there were many soldiers on it with us, a few of whom had guns that appeared to be machine type guns. Despite this, it actual gives a safe feeling rather than putting you on edge, because you feel well protected if something should go wrong!

Zion Gate