The Holy City
We departed the desert to head up to Jerusalem. But before we did, we made one last stop along the Jordan River. It is a place called Aenon or Bet Aenon and it is the place traditionally thought to be where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. The river is very small and muddy here, and we could have easily tossed a stone into Jordan. Several churches stand on either side of the river.
As we crossed the line of sea level we started to see the Bedouin family camps, goats and camels. They don’t move around now but are subsidized by the state and provided permanent water. We crossed a check point as we got close to the city and the bus driver started playing “The Holy City.” We exited a tunnel through one of the hills and to our left was our first glimpse of the Temple Mount with the the gold dome of the mosque of Oman standing where the Temple once stood. (And will stand again!) We had arrived to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Some had tears.
First stop was to the top of the Mount of Olives. Nir gave us an overview of the city from the wonderful vantage point. Most of the significant sites we will visit over the next days were visible from here.
We then walked down the Palm Sunday trail toward the Garden of Gethsemane at the bottom of the steep hill. Before getting to the garden, Nir took us up to a private garden above it where we talked about what happened here and spent some time in meditation. It was a meaningful time. We then visited the Garden of Gethsemane with the Church of All Nations built over a rock where some traditions hold Jesus prayed and sweat drops of blood. Some of the olive trees in this garden may have grown up from the roots of those present when Jesus was arrested.
After waiting in the tremendous crowds for our bus to come, we next went up to Mt. Zion to visit the Upper Room where Jesus had the Last Supper. The crowds limited us in our visit but we got a sense about the movements of Jesus and the disciples that night He was betrayed.
Lunch was at Ramat Rachel, a kibbutz near Bethlehem, where the jeweler from Idan also met us and some of our folks ordered some gifts for themselves and others. He hand-crafts them and will deliver them to us at our hotel on Monday. We then traveled to the Israel Museum to view the scale Model of First Century Jerusalem, the Shrine of the Book (where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed along with other ancient texts) and also made a quick visit to some of the treasures of the Museum itself. Nir showed us some of his favorite things. Many commented you could spend a day or two there.
On the way to our hotel we did a swing by the US embassy to see where it is located in Jerusalem.
It was a full day and the next ones promise to be the same. Here are some glimpses from our day.
As we crossed the line of sea level we started to see the Bedouin family camps, goats and camels. They don’t move around now but are subsidized by the state and provided permanent water. We crossed a check point as we got close to the city and the bus driver started playing “The Holy City.” We exited a tunnel through one of the hills and to our left was our first glimpse of the Temple Mount with the the gold dome of the mosque of Oman standing where the Temple once stood. (And will stand again!) We had arrived to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Some had tears.
First stop was to the top of the Mount of Olives. Nir gave us an overview of the city from the wonderful vantage point. Most of the significant sites we will visit over the next days were visible from here.
We then walked down the Palm Sunday trail toward the Garden of Gethsemane at the bottom of the steep hill. Before getting to the garden, Nir took us up to a private garden above it where we talked about what happened here and spent some time in meditation. It was a meaningful time. We then visited the Garden of Gethsemane with the Church of All Nations built over a rock where some traditions hold Jesus prayed and sweat drops of blood. Some of the olive trees in this garden may have grown up from the roots of those present when Jesus was arrested.
After waiting in the tremendous crowds for our bus to come, we next went up to Mt. Zion to visit the Upper Room where Jesus had the Last Supper. The crowds limited us in our visit but we got a sense about the movements of Jesus and the disciples that night He was betrayed.
Lunch was at Ramat Rachel, a kibbutz near Bethlehem, where the jeweler from Idan also met us and some of our folks ordered some gifts for themselves and others. He hand-crafts them and will deliver them to us at our hotel on Monday. We then traveled to the Israel Museum to view the scale Model of First Century Jerusalem, the Shrine of the Book (where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed along with other ancient texts) and also made a quick visit to some of the treasures of the Museum itself. Nir showed us some of his favorite things. Many commented you could spend a day or two there.
On the way to our hotel we did a swing by the US embassy to see where it is located in Jerusalem.
It was a full day and the next ones promise to be the same. Here are some glimpses from our day.
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