Day 7: Jerusalem Temple Mount & Old City

Today we spent the entire day in Jerusalem at the Temple Mount & old city. We weren't on the bus so didn't get any narrative written.


Southern part of the Temple Mount:

Walk the Jewish quarter of the Old City:

Western Wall: The men and women are separated here. There is an actual wall which prevents either sex from going to the other side. They stand or sit at the wall and pray. There were papers stuck into the wall everywhere. These were prayers put there by people. Twice a year the "prayers" are removed and buried. The papers are never burned. They are always buried.

Ascend the Temple Mount: We had to go through security to enter this part of the city. The Muslim Dome of the Rock is at the top of the temple mount and even though it is controlled by Israel, there were literally gun-toting armed guards everywhere. They checked our bags and made us walk through metal detectors like an airport. We were not allowed to wear or carry any religious items of any kind, whether Christian or Jewish. They close the temple mount from 10:30-12:30 every day for lunch. Everyone has lunch at that time and the mount is open only to Muslims. So within minutes of getting up there (10:00), they were yelling at us to hurry up and get out. We passed a school that is up there that we think was Muslim. The children go to school here from 8:00-12:00, but six days a week. They don't go to school on sabbath, which is Saturday for them. Interestingly, at the top of the mount there is a mosque that has the Star of David in it's lattice work. That seems so strange to me since they hate the Jewish people. This area is wanted by both groups of people and the Bible says that God will see to it that the Jews have it one day, but for now the Muslims get the top and have built there mosque on top, and the Jew have only the western wailing wall since their temple was torn down in 70AD by the Romans. It was an uneasy feeling to be there and feel unwelcome and watched by armed guards. Side note. All children have to serve in the army here. After they finish high school they must serve two years in the service, both boys and girls.

Walk the Via Dolorosa: This was a crazy walk. There were a million people crowding the streets. Okay, maybe not a million, but LOTS! It was very important for us to try and stay together, but people kept butting into our line and some of us walk very slowly. We managed to get around, but would stop frequently to find each other. There are shops on both sides of the street and it was nothing like I expected. Vendors yelled at us to buy from them and got mad when we didn't. It was a long narrow street, but cars and trucks tried to pass us. The worst was a boy pushing a cart who kept running into the backs of our legs as he traveled up and down the street. He bumped into Jason Nightengale once and it was a funny sight to see that kid's face when he looked up into this giant of a man's face, who was none too happy! He made a quick getaway and we didn't see him after that. The stations of the cross are located along this road and it was sad to see so many people who are kissing rocks and objects and waiting hours in line to see the "tomb" of Christ. All of it is treated like a shrine which I do not think would please Him. We spent an hour walking this part of the city. Then we stopped at a shop and ate Swarme for lunch. It was about a $10 meal, which consisted of a heated pita filled with cabbage and other vegetables and grilled, spicy chicken. It was very good. We were also offered a drink and served a piece of baklava for desert. We had to climb very narrow steps to eat in an upstairs room, which was very much like the upper room in my mind. We sat on couches, which lined the room, and ate from long narrow tables. It was great to sit down for a few minutes. Then we were on our way again.

Pool of Bethesda:

Temple Mount Institute: We sat in a room for this part of our tour and heard about all the utensils in the temple. There are many and all of them are made of either pure gold or silver, with the exception of one item, a washing basin made of bronze. We learned about the garments the priests and high priest wear and all the items, where they belong in the temple and why they are there. Much detail.

Rabbinic Tunnel: This was the best part of our day. These tunnels were built so the priests could get from their homes to the temple without touching "unclean" people. They are about 1 mile long and next to the western wall underground. It was fascinating to see King Herod's architecture. All of it is made from stone that was cut and moved to form the walls. Great!