Today we visited several sites in Old Jerusalem. It rained off and on (wait a minute,....aren't we in the desert?) and was cool, but not so much rain that it stopped us from doing what we wanted to do.
- First we went through St. Stephen's gate into the old city of Jerusalem. St. Stephen was thought to be martyred near this spot.
- Walked to Church of St. Anne, mother of Mary. An ancient church (crusaders, circa 1099) built over the spot where it is thought that Mary was born and lived as a young girl.
- Nearby are Pools of Bethesda, where the Bible says that Jesus cured a paralytic. They are dry now (drained) and have been excavated as an archeological site.
- Mass in the Chapel of Flagellation, to commemorate Jesus' scourging. This was a small chapel but very special with many details like a crown of thorns light fixture, and a crown of thorns mosaic over the altar. The mass was very special too.
- The highlight of the day was going through the stations of the cross where they actually occurred. We have done the stations over the years as Catholics, within a church, but this was really different since we were walking the route that it is thought Jesus took. This route is called the Via Dolorosa. Our group took turns carrying a light cross and Kathleen and I did that together. Very special experience.
- Stations of cross ended at Church of Holy Sepulchre, over the site of Calvary and the tomb. The last 5 stations are actually located within that church. This church has 10,000-25,000 visitors a day. It is one of the most revered sites in the Christian world. You can feel it too when you enter.
We had a nice farewell to jerusalem dinner tonight at a local restaurant. Middle eastern/Mediterranean food. Kathleen tried hummus for the first time and liked it!
Tomorrow we are seeing a few more sites in Jerusalem then traveling to the Dead See, Galilee, and Jericho. Different hotel room starting tomorrow night, in Tiberias at the Sea of Galilee. Will send an update from there assuming that internet access is decent!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
March 14, 2012
Today was a busy day! Unfortunately Kathleen and I left our jackets on yesterday's bus, and we were on a different bus today. It was cold and windy. Kathleen had on a short sleeved shirt and was particulary cold. Thankfully we got our jackets back at the end of the day, so we'll be better prepared for tomorrow. :)
- Chapel of Ascension, Mount of Olives. Commemorates the approximate area where Jesus ascended into heaven while in the presence of the disciples.
- Dominus Flevit chapel. Mass there. Lovely! Commemorates the event where Jesus wept as he approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Mount of Olives.
- Walked down the Mount of Olives (steep!) to the Garden of Gethsemane.
- Spot where Jesus experienced the agony. A beautiful church now located next to the garden. Garden is lovely and very special.
- Back to the Mount of Olives to visit the grotto where it is believed that Jesus met several times with the disciples for teaching, including where he taught them the Our Father. So the chapel is named "Pater Noster" which is Latin for Our Father. There was a friendly kitty cat there who enjoyed being petted for a few minutes (and I enjoyed it too).
- Passed through the Jaffa gate into old Jerusalem. Lunch in Old Jerusalem at a "shwarma restaurant" where Kathleen had a chicken shwarma (basically a chicken gyro in a pita) and I had a falafel pita. Spent a lot of time walking around Old Jerusalem today! Especially in the Jewish quarter (the other quarters are Christian, Moslem and Armenian).
- Walked on the Cardo or old Roman road in the old city. (see photo on separate post)
- Next the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you had an intention placed for you there today (by me), because I tried to cover most everybody that I care about (relatives and friends) ! This is a holy spot for the Jews, and we were mindful to be quiet there, and back away from the Wall (not turn our back on it) to be respectful. People can place small pieces of paper there with their intentions written on them.
- Visited an excavated house / archeological site from about 70 AD, which was likely burned by the Romans when they put down an uprising in Jerusalem. Called "Burnt House", not very creatively. This probably occurred in the year that the 2nd temple (Herod's temple) was destroyed.
- Passed throug the Zion gate out of the old city and onto Mount Zion. Visited the Church of Dormition (Mary), King David's tomb, and the approximate site of the Last Supper/later, Pentecost.
Whew!
Some of the group went back to Gethsemane tonight from 8:30 to 9:30 tonight, but not Kathleen and I - we were too tired! Tomorrow will be busy also - stay tuned for following the way of the cross through Jerusalem!
- Chapel of Ascension, Mount of Olives. Commemorates the approximate area where Jesus ascended into heaven while in the presence of the disciples.
- Dominus Flevit chapel. Mass there. Lovely! Commemorates the event where Jesus wept as he approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Mount of Olives.
- Walked down the Mount of Olives (steep!) to the Garden of Gethsemane.
- Spot where Jesus experienced the agony. A beautiful church now located next to the garden. Garden is lovely and very special.
- Back to the Mount of Olives to visit the grotto where it is believed that Jesus met several times with the disciples for teaching, including where he taught them the Our Father. So the chapel is named "Pater Noster" which is Latin for Our Father. There was a friendly kitty cat there who enjoyed being petted for a few minutes (and I enjoyed it too).
- Passed through the Jaffa gate into old Jerusalem. Lunch in Old Jerusalem at a "shwarma restaurant" where Kathleen had a chicken shwarma (basically a chicken gyro in a pita) and I had a falafel pita. Spent a lot of time walking around Old Jerusalem today! Especially in the Jewish quarter (the other quarters are Christian, Moslem and Armenian).
- Walked on the Cardo or old Roman road in the old city. (see photo on separate post)
- Next the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you had an intention placed for you there today (by me), because I tried to cover most everybody that I care about (relatives and friends) ! This is a holy spot for the Jews, and we were mindful to be quiet there, and back away from the Wall (not turn our back on it) to be respectful. People can place small pieces of paper there with their intentions written on them.
- Visited an excavated house / archeological site from about 70 AD, which was likely burned by the Romans when they put down an uprising in Jerusalem. Called "Burnt House", not very creatively. This probably occurred in the year that the 2nd temple (Herod's temple) was destroyed.
- Passed throug the Zion gate out of the old city and onto Mount Zion. Visited the Church of Dormition (Mary), King David's tomb, and the approximate site of the Last Supper/later, Pentecost.
Whew!
Some of the group went back to Gethsemane tonight from 8:30 to 9:30 tonight, but not Kathleen and I - we were too tired! Tomorrow will be busy also - stay tuned for following the way of the cross through Jerusalem!
Ancient Roman road in Jerusalem
This is a section of the main Roman era road through Jerusalem 2000 years ago. It is several feet below current street level. It ran the length of ancient Jerusalem (inside the walls) and was called the Cardo.
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