DAY 4 - Old City

Forgot to say before - Mabel, our GPS that made all the difference in the world in our being able to get around Israel with real confidence, is FOR SALE - let me know if you are interested.

OK, we awoke on Day 4 ready for our adventures in the Old City. We picked up J and she walked us over to the Jaffa Gate. We started our day with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Back in about the third century CE, Queen Helena (Constantine's mother) went to Jerusalem to find the site of Jesus' crucifixion and tomb. There are only hints about the actual spot in the Gospels, but since it was only 300 years after Jesus' death, there were people in Jerusalem who were pretty sure the spot is where she built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Protestants apparently believe that the correct spot (referred to as "Golgotha" or Place of the Skull in the Gospels) was identified in the 19th century, and is in the current Muslim Quarter of the Old City at a beautiful place called the "Garden Tomb" because there is a rock at that spot that has the appearance of a skull (I didn't visit this spot, but the Vays did). However, Queen Helena's (later St. Helena) research looks pretty good, as the people she talked to were descendants of those who had been around at the time of the crucifixion, and they were sure enough to persuade her to demolish the Venus temple that was on the site at the time. Anyway, there were definitely tombs under the Venus temple, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected on that site and is venerated by Catholics, and I assume many other Christians. It was quite the church, and the politics of its history are fascinating, with competing claims of various churches, such as the Greek Orthodox, the Coptic, the Ethopians, the Syrian Orthodox, to name a few. Take a look at this site to find out some of it: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre Regardless of its chaotic history, this is a magnificent place, and very holy.

From the Church, we wandered through the Old City and ended up, of course, at the Kotel. This is the remaining portion of the western wall of the Temple, which was re-built (you guessed it) by Herod in about 37 BCE. The Temple was truly magnificent, and it was surrounded by huge plazas where pilgrims congregated, bought animals for sacrifice, and sought out justice from the Sanhedrin. The priests were the only ones who could enter the Temple, and only the high priest, one day of the year, entered the Holy of Holies, which contained the presence of God. The western wall was the wall closest to the Holy of Holies. Here are some interesting facts about the site of the Temple (the Temple Mount):

"Mount Moriah, according to Jewish tradition, is the place where many pivotal events in Jewish history took place. Traditionally, creation of the world began from the Foundation Stone at the peak of mountain. This is also where Adam, the first human, was created.

When Abraham was commanded to prepare his son Isaac for sacrifice, the father and son went up to “the place that God chooses” – Mount Moriah, and to its peak – the Foundation Stone – where the binding of Isaac took place.

Also Jacob’s dream with angels going up and down a ladder is linked to this mountain.

Later on, the Holy of Holies – the core and heart of the First and Second Temple - was built around the Foundation Stone."

Mary Beth, Brianna and I made our way to the women's section of the wall, said a prayer, left a note for God, and backed away, as is traditional. Then we had to say good bye to Jordana, who needed to catch a bus to Shalva for her last day of volunteering, and the Vays and I went to the Davidson Archeological Museum at the southern wall. It was very interesting. There was a movie that showed what it might have been like for a Jewish pilgrim who came to the Temple to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and there were many artifacts. And, of course, we loved walking around the excavated ruins and just being amongst things that were over 2000 years old.

After the archeological museum, we kind of wandered in the Old City, looking for the Via Dolorosa, which is the path Christ took to the site of the crucifixion, and on which are many of the stations of the cross. We were getting kind of tired and lost, when we ended up again at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and just sat down in the courtyard. That's when MB said "gee, maybe we should have gotten a tour" and voila, a tour group appeared, and we decided to listen in a little. We followed the group into the church, and found out it was a free tour - we were welcome to go along and just tip the tour guide at the end - he was great- very informative, and it was just so nice to have someone LEAD us through the maze. We ended up back at the Kotel, and so I got to say another prayer. We also got to see the Armenian quarter. At the end of the day, we were beat, but I really enjoyed the Old City. That night, we met Jordana again for dinner, and this time she brought Adina and Josh, and we went to the Rimon Cafe (Rimon means both "pomegranate" AND "grenade") in the upscale Mamilla Mall. It was lovely, and the food was wonderful. I had a grilled tuna salad. MB has better notes on what we all ate. Afterwards, I think we hit Ben Yehuda Street for some gelato, and called it a night.

Day 5 coming soon...