Israel - Day 8

I'm a few days behind on my blogging, I apologize - our schedule has been so busy that by the time we get back to our hotel it's all I can do to keep my eyes open sometimes!  Part of this blog was started on Thursday, a bit more was added Friday, and the rest is being written on Sunday.  It's actually about Thursday though.

Today is a very special day - it's my wife's birthday!!!  What a cool place to be celebrating, and with such great people.  We walked onto our bus in the morning and David, our fearless driver (that's what our guide Raffi always calls him), had decorated the bus with balloons.  Then we sang a few songs to wish my wife a happy birthday.

After that, it was on to our first stop, the Davidson Centre.  This place blew me away, and I'll explain why in just a second.  First though, I thought I'd share this video.  When we first arrived we stumbled on a bar mitzvah.  This was the first of many that we saw today.

(video coming shortly)

Okay, back to the Davidson Centre.  I thought it was just a small museum - instead, it was exactly where Jesus walked.  The centre is focused on the southwest corner of the old city of Jerusalem and the temple.  There's quite a bit in the picture below.  On the right is the wall of the massive structure that supported the temple (the temple was built on top of it).  On the left you see the shops.  This is where Jesus went in and overturned the tables of the moneychangers, saying they had turned God's house into a den of robbers (Matthew 21).  In the centre is the main street where Jesus and his disciples walked.  That in itself is amazing.  But what's even more cool is that we know that it was preserved perfectly from just after the time of Jesus.  You can see in the centre of the road that there are several massive boulders.  The boulders are actually from the top of the wall on the right.  When the Romans took over in 70AD (just after Jesus), they destroyed the temple.  They pushed these rocks down onto the street below, and they have stood in the exact same spot since.  It's sad that the temple was destroyed, but amazing that we can see the exact street Jesus walked on and the destruction that took place afterward.

From here we took a right turn (bottom right corner of the above picture) and walked to what are known as 'The Teaching Steps'.  This is one of the entrances to the temple (it's been bricked off since), and Jesus walked these steps many times.  He also taught the crowds on these steps.  The steps at the top are rebuilt, but the steps where we are sitting date back to Jesus time.

Then it was on to the infamous Wailing Wall.  This wall is the only wall remaining of the second temple.  It's also the wall that was closest to the place where the holy of holies resided, where only the high priest was allowed to go to pray and offer sacrifices.  It's where God dwelt. 

For generations, thousand of Jews have been making pilgrimages to this wall to pray for the restoration of Israel.  People of other faiths are also welcome to come pray.  Many leave notes in the cracks in the wall.

From taking in the Wailing Wall, we moved next to go below the wall and the city itself.  We went into the tunnels that were found, many of which were from Jesus time.  If you remember my description of the tel from a few days ago (a city built on a city, built on a city, etc, etc), that also happened in Jerusalem.  The first temple was built in Solomon's time and destroyed years later.  The second temple was built on top of the first temple, and it is where Jesus worshipped and taught.  It was destroyed in 70AD, and now the site is a mosque.  Anyway these tunnels were quite extensive and we saw cisterns, caves, arches, etc...

This is the bath where people would bathe to cleanse themselves before going into the temple.  It's thought Jesus and his disciples may have used this actual bath.  The bath still works today, and experts don't know where the water is coming from.

Finally it was on to the Via Dolorosa.  This is the path Jesus took as He carried the cross to his crucifixion.  The actual path itself is 10 metres below this one (as explained above).  There are 14 stations, including where Jesus is given the cross, where He falls three different times, and where He speaks to the women of Jerusalem.  This station is where He falls and Simon is given is cross to carry.

There are two sites where it's believed Jesus was crucified.  The Via Dolorosa ends where the Catholics believe it happened (we'll be visiting the protestant site tomorrow).  There is a church built on the site, ornately decorated.  Here is the rock it's believed Jesus was crucified on, and the stone where it's believed His body was laid afterward.

You'll remember that we started off the day by celebrating a birthday, and we ended it off the same way.  Instead of heading back to the hotel as was the original plan, our fearless driver David picked up a couple of cakes and headed to a mountaintop.  Here we enjoyed some deliciousness as we overlooked the desert on one side and Jerusalem on the other.

To round out the day, our guide Raffi told us about spectacular show that happens at the Tower of David Museum.  It's a light show that takes place on the walls of King Herod's palace.  It tells the story of Israel's history.  Many in our group took in the show, and my wife and I were able to enjoy thanks to the generosity of one person in our group who paid for our tickets - we still don't know who it was, but thank you!  Here's wall before the light show.