Holy Land Tour: The Western "Wailing" Wall

We moved on to the Western Wall, where signs reminded us that this is a sacred place.

We had a tour of the archaelogical excavations of the underground area. Squeezing through some very tight spaces we made our way through the tunnel that had been constructed, coming upon a group of women crying and praying in a small area. Our guide told us they came there to pray because it was the area believed to be closest to where the Holy of Holies had once rested. I didn't take any photos here because it seemed too intrusive. Here is one photo I took that did come out that shows the entrance to the underground tunnel.

Finishing the underground tour, we took a few minutes to approach the Western Wall area known as the "Wailing Wall." It is divided into two different spaces: one for men and one for women, following Orthodox Jewish custom. Slips of paper are available for those wishing to leave the names of deceased loved ones as a prayer in the niches between the stones.

El Jefe left the names of his late partner, John Heard,  who was a great friend of Israel and of Helen Rosenbaum, a Holocaust survivor and the late mother of another partner and friend. I left the names of my niece, M.E., our nephew Patrick Nicosia, and our beloved friend Diana Adams. May light eternal shine them.

As we were leaving in a somber mood, we passed a group of young schoolboys with their teachers, wearing paper crowns, skipping and running exuberantly.

Holy Land Tour: Southern Steps

Bright and early the next morning we returned to the old City of Jerusalem and went to the Southern Steps of the Second Temple which is now a national park.

Our group gathered on the Southern Steps while Dave led us in a devotion based on one of the Great Ends of the Church (all the devotions were based on one of the Great Ends): The Preservation of the Truth. He closed with a quote from Robert Frost, " You don't abandon truth because it is no longer in fashion. Wait a while and it wil come back."

 

These are the ruins of the steps that Jesus walked on to go up into the temple. From these steps you can see the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane and the place of Jesus' ascension to heaven are located. I was impressed by the close proximity of these important places in Jerusalem.

 

On the western side of the Southern Steps you can walk down to see the excavation of the wall which reveals the stones thrown down by the Roman soldiers when the Temple was destroyed.

Holy Land Tour: The Dead Sea

The Judean desert and the Dead Sea are the most desolate places I have ever seen. The Old Testament says that that God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah changed the area around the Dead Sea from being lush and fertile to desolation.

The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulpher, nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zebolim which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger. Deut. 29:23

It was amazing to us to see the Bedouin camps along the way. We wondered how anyone could live in this wilderness without running water, electricity or ready access to food and medicine. Our Israeli guide told us that the Israeli government had built free homes for the Bedouin and tried to get them to move in, but some of them clung to their traditional way of life. He said that most Bedouin were not nomads anymore but stayed in permanent or semi-permanent encampments like this one.

We stopped at a "spa" near the Dead Sea and of course we had to change into our bathing suits so we could say we swam

in that famous place. The water is really buoyant and slimy--sort of oily. However if you have any small cuts on your skin it stings like the devil! I'm glad we did it, but not sure it is something I need to do again. Here is our group displaying their finesse with a Dead Sea water ballet:

 

There are a couple of Old Testament prophecies about the Dead Sea again becoming fresh and life-giving (Ezekiel 47: 8-11 and Zechariah 4:8). Because water from the Jordan river is being diverted by both Jordan and Israel for irrigation, there is less water going into the Dead Sea and it is shrinking at an alarming rate according to our guide. I'm fortunate to have seen it.

As we got back on the bus to return to Jerusalem after a long day in the desert, El Jefe was gratified to see he had Blackberry service in the Judean desert.

And so it goes....

Holy Land Tour: Masada

On the seventh day of our tour we did not rest. Instead, we hopped on our trusty bus and headed out into the desert to see Masada and the Dead Sea.

You don't have to go far out of Jerusalem to find the Desert and sea level. We drove through very desolate country on our way to Masada, but occasionally there were groves of date palms which are cultivated with an efficient irrigation system devised by the Israelis.

 

The old fortress of Masada is impressive: steep and forbidding, surrounded by wasteland. Although there are walking trails you can use to get to the summit, we were happy to take the cable car.

 

From the ruins of Masada, you have a spectacular view of the Dead Sea, which sparkled in the intense sunshine.

 

King Herod the Great (he pops up everywhere!) built his Winter Palace at the top of Masada which is a flat plateau about 1300 feet above the desert. Because it is strategic military site he thought it would be a fortification that would protect him against possible revolts. Here you can see the ruins of the wall he built around the top of the plateau to protect the fortress.

 

Herod's palace and fortress had many amenities, including a luxurious bathhouse. The photo below shows remains of the elaborate tilework in the bathhouse.

 

After the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, a group of Jewish rebels and their families fled Jerusalem and used the fortress at Masada as a base for attacking the Romans. In response, the Romans surrounded the area, built an embankment and a ramp in preparation for laying seige to the area. When they finally got into Masada, they found evidence of mass suicide and the storehouses had been burned.  In the 1980's a TV mini-series the seige of Masada was made starring Peter O'Toole as the Roman commander, which you may remember.

Today Masada is a national park. We saw a large stage set up for a production of the opera Aida, complete with a giant Pharoah's head, on the desert floor near the park. That would really be a spectacular setting for that opera. Maybe The Diva will sing the part of Amneris in that opera there one day and we will get to return to hear her!

Holy Land Tour: Back to the Old City

After the stop at the King David Hotel and the Tomb of Herod's Wife, we went back to the old city of Jerusalem and entered by the Western Wall.

From here you can see how close the Mount of Olives is to the Dome of the Rock which was once where the Second Temple and the Holy of Holies stood. The proximity of these important sites made a deep impression on me.

 

The remains of King Hezekiah's wall were very impressive. Hezekiah was one of the few "good kings." You can read about him in 2 Kings 18-20. He introduced religious reforms, concentrated worship in the temple in Jerusalem, restored the Passover observance and destroyed pagan idols in the country. He was an astute ruler and built this wall around the temple to defend against an anticipated attack by the Assyrians  (c. 740 BC). 

remains of King Hezekiah's wall

Vault under the Western Wall where remains of Hezekiah's wall is located.

Holy Land Tour: King David and King Herod

Our first stop the next morning was another place where the ancient and the modern history of Israel are inextricably intertwined: The King David Hotel and the tomb of King Herod's wife.

The headquarters of the British authorities in charge of the Palestinian Mandate was at the King David Hotel. It was the center of British rule and a target for the Zionists seeking an independent Jewish state.

We didn't get a chance to go inside the hotel but saw this sign on its grounds which explains the significance of the Hotel and the bombing that killed 92 people in 1946. A group of radical Zionists was responsible for the attack which killed more people than the subsequent Arab-Israeli war.

On the grounds behind the hotel is a park-like area. You can see some hills in the distance where King Herod (the Great)'s Jerusalem palace stood. The tomb of Herod's wife is here. 

Here's the story: Herod was crazy about his wife Mariamne, but he was also very jealous. And more than a bit paranoid as subsequent events in his life would prove. Conniving courtiers persuaded him that she was unfaithful and he ordered her killed. Shortly thereafter he realized that he had been fooled and sank into depression.

Here is her tomb. Our guide Lee Glassman is standing on top of the curved stone that marks Mariamne's gravesite.

Herod the Great later had several more members of his family killed, including his sons. And of course, you will recall that he was the one who ordered the slaying of the infants in an attempt to eliminate Jesus who he feared as a potential political rival. (See Matthew 2: 16-18) Certainly he was a king to be feared.

Holy Land Tour: The Garden Tomb

At Dave Peterson's insistence we made one last stop that day at the Garden Tomb. This site is outside the city walls of Jerusalem near the Damascas Gate and believed by some to be the location of Jesus' tomb and His resurrection. British Major General Charles Gordon found it in 1887, noting the resemblance of some of the rocks in the area to a skull--like Golgotha ("the place of the skull"). It has its own website if you are interested: http://www.gardentomb.org/

Dave wanted us to visit the Garden Tomb so we could get a better idea of what Jesus' burial place really looked like --whether or not this was the actual location of His tomb. When I checked Wikipedia to confirm some of my notes, I read that the Garden Tomb is very popular with Protestants. I can see why, based on my own reaction to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

The Garden Tomb is run by a British non-profit association and we were led through it by a delightful guide who said he came down every year for a couple of months for the purpose of serving as a volunteer docent. The photo below shows a cave in the area. In the time of Jesus the dead were placed in caves until the body decomposed and then the bones were placed in ossuaries.

 

Our Garden Tomb guide said that this was the tomb in which Jesus' body was laid. 

And this is a photo of the area around that tomb, showing our guide Lee Glassman.

A group of African Christians came in behind our group and treated us to some glorious singing during our stop!

Concuding our visit to the Garden Tomb, Dave led us in a time of silent meditation and prayer before we boarded the bus to go back to the hotel. It was the perfect way to wrap up this memorable day.

Holy Land Tour: Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Ascension Day services were being held inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when we went inside. The church is divided into several areas with different Christian traditions being in charge of different areas. We entered the Greek Orthodox area where an elaborate mass was being celebrated compete with elaborate vestments, liturgy and lots of incense.

The light streaming through the dome and the beautiful music coming from the pipe organ created an awe-inspiring scene.

 

This is a photo of the Stone of Unction which is supposed to be the stone on which Jesus' body lay after his death while the women anointed it and wrapped it for burial. Our guide said that the original stone had been destroyed in a fire and this was a fairly recent replacement. That did not dampen the ardor of the pilgrims gathered around it, some of whom were on their knees, weeping and kissing the stone.

Moving up the stairs, which I assume covered the hill of Golgotha, we came to the site of the crucifixion itself. This sacred area was so adorned with religious bling that I couldn't relate to it at all. 

I had the same reaction in the area designated as the place of Jesus' tomb and His resurrection. Although I appreciate the piety and devotion that motivated those who covered it up with gold and jewels, I'm just too much of a Calvinist to relate to it.

"How Beautiful Are the Feet" was the song I kept hearing that day as we walked the Via Dolorosa. Maybe that was because the path was so uneven that my eyes were fixed on the ground where I saw the feet of our group, other groups from all over the world, and the merchants and residents of Jerusalem mingling together and following the road Jesus went up to Calvary.

Holy Land Tour: The Via Dolorosa

We reached the gates to old Jerusalem late that morning. What a thrill it was to enter the "gates with thanksgiving" and "His courts with praise"!

We would spend the next couple of hours following the Via Dolorosa, the path Christ took on the way to his crucifixion. The Stations of the Cross are marked along the street and represent the fourteen events between Christ's condemnation and death which are traditionally venerated by the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

As a life-long Protestant, I was not familiar with some of the stations and neither were many in our group. But we walked, mostly in silence, noting the markers on the doors and walls along the Via Dolorosa. 

Here are a few of the photos I took along the way.

Pilate's Arch--where Jesus was condemned

Jesus Falls the First Time

Simon of Cyrene given Jesus' Cross to carry

Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face

The Via Dolorosa winds its way through the center of the old city. On either side there are merchants with booths trying to sell touristy gim-cracks while residents of the area are going about their daily business. The streets were probably just as crowded the day of the crucifixion, and there were probably merchants selling stuff to Jewish pilgrims that day as well.

Via Dolorosa--street view

Among the crowds in the streets we saw several parades with drummers shouting and celebrating the bar mitzvah ceremonies of Jewish boys, which added a festive air to our journey as we walked through the Jewish quarter of the old city.

Finally we arrived at our destination: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is built over Golgotha as well as one of the places revered as Jesus' tomb.

Our visit to this church deserves its own post, so check back on Monday!

Holy Land Tour: Garden of Gethsemane

Further down the Mount of Olives we arrived at the Church of All Nations, which is set next to the Garden of Gethsemane. We went inside where an English-speaking group was led in worship on Ascension Day by a Catholic priest.

The Garden of Gethsemane is a little oasis in the midst of this modern city, looking much like an olive grove.

 

This was one of my favorite spots in Israel. It seemed to me like one of the "thin places" in the world.

Holy Land Tour: Ascension Day in Jerusalem

Looking through my notes and photos, I can see that posting about our fifth day in Israel may take a week! Our first full day in Jerusalem was the highlight of the trip. We arrived early in the morning at the top of the Mount of Olives and then made our way down the very steep hill, across a busy city street into the old city of Jerusalem, followed the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and then traveled to the Garden Tomb before calling it a day.

The group gathered for early morning prayer on the top of the hill overlooking the ancient city of Jerusalem. If you look carefully, you will see the bright gold of the Dome of the Rock glistening in the sunlight.

It turned out that this day was Ascension Day, the fortieth day after the resurrection of Christ which traditionally marks his ascension into heaven. There were special worship services going on in all the churches we visited on our path during the day. People from all over the world came to worship. Here is the scene in the courtyard of the Church of the Ascension which is at the tippy-top of the Mount of Olives.

The western and eastern branches of Christianity use different calendars to set Easter, so most years they do not celebrate on the same day. However this year, in a rare confluence of the calendars, Easter was the same day throughout the Christian churches of the world and so, therefore, was Ascension Day. We found Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Russian and Armenian Orthodox clerics taking turns conducting worship services in churches on the Mount of Olives and in old Jerusalem. This unusual display of unity of the church made an indelible impression on our group of Protestants.

Our next stop, a bit down the hillside, was the Paternoster Church which was built to honor the Lord's Prayer.

Inside the walls of this church the Lord's Prayer is displayed in every language I ever heard of--and some I could not identify-- on beautiful tiled displays. This is the English version. Sorry about the flash showing here!

The path from the Paternoster Church down to the Garden of Gethsemane is steep and tricky because the stones are worn and slick. The Church of All Nations sits next to the Garden. That will be tomorrow's post.