Israel Day 2: Jerusalem

I'm bound and determined to finish this up. I never did finish Germany last year after I got back. I'm making progress.

So Tuesday (Oct 26) was Jerusalem day. We started out at the base of the Mount of Olives at the Church of Gethsemane. There are 8 olive trees in the garden area there that are possibly the 8 remaining olive trees from the Garden of Gethsemane where the disciples and Jesus prayed and where the atonement occurred. There were, of course, hordes of tourists there but we managed to get some pics in between groups that almost make it look like we were by ourselves!

After that we headed back into the Old City. On the way we saw this guy and I had to sneak a pic. The entire street is lined with tour buses and the drivers just have to wait for their groups to come back. This is inside the bus in the cargo hold area. Looks pretty comfy!



In the old city we walked around for awhile. We went to one of the synagogues and talked to a guy there for awhile. Then we went to the Tower of David Museum. That was pretty interesting - they had a history of Jerusalem video and displays of different time periods in Jerusalem and such. Its close to the Jaffa Gate of the old city so it had some good views of the city from there. And we even got a rare picture of the 4 of us too!





The Jaffa Gate is neat. The pic came out a bit blurry, but you can still see the gate pretty well.



We did some shop hopping in the bazaars and such. Very similar to the bazaars and narrow tunnel type streets we saw in other places too, but still cool to see.



We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is where Catholics believe Jesus was laid after the crucifixion. Hence it is a madhouse, tons of people there! In the entry way there is the Stone of Anointing, which is where they believe Jesus was laid to be prepared for burial. People were laying all sorts of handkerchiefs and stuff there and rubbing it and kissing it etc. I got an ok pic from up above of it.

Also there in the church is some remaining stone from what is supposed to be the original Calvarly or Golgotha. They've got it very lavishly decorated:



It was quite a difference to go from that to the Garden Tomb, which is outside the city walls. We headed over there after being in the Old City. There were still tour groups there and such, but not nearly as many people as in the Church of the Sepulchre. Actually we even saw a BYU group as we were going in. It has never been confirmed that that was the spot where Christ was entombed, but it could be. Neat to read the sign on the door and really contemplate the resurrection and the miracle of it.

This is inside tomb and then the view from outside of it as well . . . pics will probably look familiar from the back of the newer edition of the Bible!

Pretty neat. Anyway, we headed back thru the Old City to pick up some souvenirs and such. One thing I love is to see the different things for sale. I love the blends of colors and sights and smells as you walk thru some of these places. You've got fresh produce, all kinds of candy, and traditional treats. Actually the guy at the shop with all the treats let us taste some of them without buying them. He cut off little pieces to give us just a taste. A lot of them were REALLY sweet - honey seemed to be the main ingredient. The reddish pretzel looking things were made maybe entirely of honey. Good for one little bite but pretty sweet.



Anyway, after we had wandered around in the Old City enough, we headed back to the car and drove to Tel Aviv. We had a beast of a time finding a place to park but we managed and our accommodations in Tel Aviv were pretty great. I'm getting so close to being done blogging about this trip. Two more days worth. I'm so proud of myself.