Day 4: Israel Trip 08

After a fabulous breakfast at the Dan Panorama Hotel, we started our day on Mt. Scopus with grand views of the city and a quick camel ride.

From there we walked down a small street between a Christian graveyard and the largest Jewish graveyard in the world. I noticed a variety of rocks placed on the Jewish graves and wondered about the significance. Our guide, Schlomo, said flowers wilt and fade but rocks remain so the Jews put rocks on the graves.

We passed the tombs of Haggai and Malachi and entered the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mt. of Olives. We saw some of the ancient olive trees among which Jesus may have prayed.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray ... Matt 26:36

We visited the Church of the Teardrop, where Jesus may have wept over Jerusalem.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” Luke 13:34-35

     I got a picture of the Eastern Gate from between the olive trees.



 Then we visited the Church of the Nations where Jesus may have agonized on the rock of Gethsemane. It is across the Kidron Valley from the Eastern Gate also known as the King's Gate.
 
                                Inside the Church of the Nations.

 From there we went to the Temple Museum. This is the Golden Candlestick for the future Temple.

Then we viewed the Wailing Wall but took no pictures because they are not allowed on the Sabbath.

Next we visited the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu. Gallicantu means cock crow because this is supposed to be where Peter denied Jesus three times. It is thought to be built on the site of the home of Caiaphas where they interrogated Jesus and held him through the night in the dungeon. The church is topped with a Golden Rooster.

                                       Statue of Jesus bound.

                                                        
                                  Gallicantu Prison Dungeons

Ancient steps Jesus may have used leading from the house of Caiaphas to the Kidron Valley.


From there we visited David’s Tomb and the Upper Room.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%27s_Tomb

This is not considered to be the authentic site of David's Tomb but it was near the Upper Room so we stopped by.

This is not the original Upper Room but it has been visited and prayed in so much that I felt the presence of the Lord there more than any other place we visited, other than the Wailing Wall. We had a very special prayer time in the Upper Room.

2009 view of the Upper Room

My schedule gets a little fuzzy here. I believe we had lunch and then visited the miniature model of Old Jerusalem: The City of King David.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_the_Book

We toured the Shrine of the Book which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset

We viewed the Knesset (Israeli parliament) from a distance and Schlomo talked to us about how it works.

There is a lot of walking and the guide does a lot of talking so the days are full and very interesting-- and they fly by! The food is great and the hotels were really nice!

Thanks again to Dianne Swafford for the use of her pictures.