Visit from Family

It is always wonderful when family or friends come to visit!  Last week two of our married daughters and their husbands came to see us. We were on pins and needles waiting for them to walk through the door at the Tel Aviv airport and what a joyous occasion it was to welcome them!  The few days they were visiting, we were on the run from early morning until night and we have some wonderful memories. Here are just a few highlights from their visit. 

A trip to the Old City of Jerusalem is always a great place to start when people come to visit.  We entered at Damascus Gate.

Just inside Damascus Gate, we always see the same Muslim ladies selling fresh herbs.  The sites and people in the Old City are so fascinating we never get enough.

This is a great place to buy fresh vegetables and fruit. A huge head of cauliflower costs 10 shekels or about $2.50, a real bargain!

The Wailing Wall is always a "must see" because it is the surviving remnant of the Temple Mount and is a wall sacred to all Jews. However, the walk from Damascus Gate to the Wailing Wall was an experience! We entered just after Muslims had been praying at the Temple Mount and the streets were so crowded we could hardly make our way through it. Once we passed through the entrance to the plaza where the wall stands, it always continues to be an unforgettable experience!  

People of all religions are allowed to approach the Wailing Wall and one can witness first-hand why it is called the "Wailing Wall." Fervent prayers are offered as worshipers rock back and forth as they read or recite from the Torah (Jewish scripture). This tradition of reading the Torah verbally out loud dates back to the time of Moses. When you experience the sobbing and weeping as worshipers cling to  the wall, it makes a lasting impression. I greatly appreciate the devotion of people of all faiths and it makes me want to be more devout.

This was the cutest little man!  From around the age of 3, Orthodox Jewish men never cut their side curls.

After prayer at the wall, it is custom to walk away from it backwards because it is disrespectful to just walk away. 

The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the old city of Jerusalem is considered the place where Jesus's tomb is located and commemorates the hill of crucifixion. Catholics embrace this as the place where the body of Jesus of Nazareth was laid but a 2nd and more intimate setting is found at the Garden Tomb.  The photos below were taken at Holy Sepulchre. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the chamber housing the tomb of Christ’s burial has been covered with iron scaffolding for the past 70 years.  However, just a couple of weeks ago, the  scaffolding that was erected in 1947 by the British was taken down.  The scaffolding was erected to prevent the collapse of the chamber.  

The Edicule, which is the tomb of Jesus, is comprised of two chambers. The first chamber holds he Angel’s Stone, which is a fragment of the stone believed to have sealed the tomb after Jesus’ burial and the second chamber is Christ’s tomb.

When we arrived, there was a Catholic mass in session.

Looking up at the beautiful rotunda above the Edicule.

On the rooftop of the Holy Sepulchre is a monastery where a few monks from the Church of Ethiopia live. The Ethiopians have no property in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher but do have access rights to continue living on the roof as long as someone is always there 24/7.  If they leave the property for 24 hours, it can be taken over and they will lose their space.  Karisa purchased a souvenir from the shop keeper.

The Garden Tomb  is a much more intimate setting which many Christians believe was the location of the Tomb of Jesus.  

This is a wonderful time to visit Israel. The weather is beautiful and flowers are blooming and the hills are green.

The Garden Tomb, the other popular site located outside the walls of the Old City, is believed by many to be the garden and sepulchre of Jesus. It is a lovely place where visitors can see a rock-cut tomb which was unearthed in 1867. It is next to a place that looks like a skull and conforms to what one imagines when reading the scriptural accounts. 

Some archaeologists question the authenticity of this tomb because it was not a "new tomb" as specifically described in the Old Testament. Never-theless, it feels like a sacred place and there are many areas where groups can hold services and recount the happenings when Jesus was crucified.  

The Garden includes a tomb,  a wine press and a water cistern. Scripture tells us that after Jesus was crucified, a rich religious leader of the Jews named Joseph of Arimathea was granted the body of Jesus.

John 19:41 states, "At the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid." 

The archaeological evidence found here indicates that this vineyard's owner was a wealthy man. His tomb was cut out of solid rock, with a large weeping chamber, and a channel for a rolling stone. It is remarkable that all the features mentioned in the Biblical account of Joseph's tomb can be seen at the Garden Tomb.

Inside the Tomb where many Christians believe 

Jesus of Nazareth was laid to rest.



Matthew 27:59-60 states: "Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away." 

We are fortunate to have 4 wonderful sons-in-law.

Looking out from inside the tomb.

We will leave the beautiful setting of the Garden Tomb and go to the Temple Mount.

The Mount of Olives overlooks the Temple Mount from the east and gives a visual of Jesus’ weeping over the city from the Mount of Olives as mentioned in Luke 19:41.  Each day we look out our window and see the Dome of the Rock.  It is one place every visitor needs to visit!  

Our first attempt to enter the Temple Mount was unsuccessful so we went Monday morning at 7 AM. People line up at times posted and because it is open certain hours, not everyone is lucky enough to get in. Visitors should make every attempt to visit the Temple Mount because it is considered an icon of Jerusalem. 

The Al Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is located  on the Temple Mount. 

We left the Temple Mount and went to see the Church of Peter Gallicantu. The Church takes it name from a Latin word meaning "cock's crow".  This is in commemoration of Peter's triple rejection of Jesus in Mark 14:30 before the cock crowed twice. 

The Church of St Peter in Gallicantu stands on the hillside of the eastern slope of Mount Zion. According to Christian tradition, the church is built on the site of the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, and it is believed that Jesus was held in a cave-like dungeon (often referred to as the Sacred Pit) underneath the house the night before his crucifixion.

Jesus was bound and lowered down through a hole to a dungeon where prisoners were kept.  It was hard to imagine that anyone could be put in a hole and tethered to a wall and is one of those places that truly is heart-wrenching to visit. The Romans were heartless and cruel and only the lowliest of humans were crucified.

Jesus was bound, led away and taken to Pilate, the Roman governor. Excavations discovered coins along these steps that date back to the time of Jesus.  

I was reminded of the song, "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked" and the needed a few moments to pause and reflect upon the last days of Christ's life.  It is very possible Jesus walked up these steps when he was put to trial and then imprisoned before His crucifixion. 

The chapel inside the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu.

View of Jerusalem Center from the  Church of St Peter in Gallicantu. 

We have always wanted to walk to take the Ramparts Walk and luckily had just enough time to do that before it closed. Visitors are able to walk along the top of the old city wall and have a different view starting at Jaffa Gate.  

We could see the Jerusalem Center, the arched building on the side of Mount Scopus.  One of the exits of the Ramparts Walk was directly across from the Notre Dame Hotel where we enjoyed dinner before returning back to the JC.

After a full day of sites, we returned to the Jerusalem Center just before sunset.

To be continued . . .