Day 8 - Old Jerusalem

Introduction

It was cold and damp today (Tuesday, February 4, in case you're keeping track) and we dodged rain on and off all day long while we walked through the old city of Jerusalem.  Fair warning, this will probably be a lengthy post.  We got to the gates outside the old city and exited the bus before 9:00AM and didn't reboard until after 3:00PM.  We had about an hour in the middle of the day for a lunch break but the rest of the day was spent doing touristy things.  So get comfortable and settle down with some coffee or tea (or something stronger if you prefer) and peruse to your heart's content.


We were dropped off outside the old city wall and entered the Lion's Gate after a short walk.  I think you'll agree that even after 2000 years the wall is pretty photogenic.  I can pretty much guarantee they won't be taking 2000 year old pictures of me!

Here are a few of the gate.

In case you didn't believe we actually entered the Lion's Gate, here's real proof - this AWESOME bazaar (or maybe bizarre?) souvenir shop confirms our point of entry.  And yes, they actually sold film.

The Church of St. Anne and the Pools of Bethesda

Our first stop inside the old city wall was the Church of St. Anne and the Pools of Bethesda.  The church was built by the Crusaders in 1140 and restored in the 19th century and is a beautiful example of medieval architecture.  The church is named for the Mother of the Virgin Mary and is build over the grotto where Mary was believed to be born.  In addition, there is a beautiful and peaceful garden just outside the church.

The Pools of Bethesda were large public reservoirs in use during the 1st century BC through the 1st century AD.  This is where Jesus cured a lame man as recorded in John 5.  The ruins show where churches were built by both the Byzantines and the Crusaders over the original reservoirs to commemorate the miracle.  Although I couldn't confirm this through my notes, I seem to recall Mick indicating that any excavation done for new construction in and around Jerusalem requires archaeologists and/or historians to provide some oversight to ensure that any ancient ruins aren't desroyed or covered up during the building process.

Here are a few glimpses of what it looks like walking through the old city.

Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Translated as the "way of suffering" or "way of the cross," most readers will know that the Via Dolorosa is the path through Jerusalem that Jesus walked with his cross from the place of his trial and condemnation by Pontius Pilate to the site of his crucifixion and burial.  The distance is approximately one and a quarter miles and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  The first church was built after the site was consecrated in 326 AD by Helena, mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great.  Currently occupying the site is the fourth such structure and was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.  We walked through each of the 14 stations ending, as described above, at what is generally accepted to be the tomb of Jesus.  (We get to see another possible burial location tomorrow on day 9, the Garden Tomb.)  Of the 14 stations, 9 are based on scriptural references.  5 of them (3, 4, 6, 7, and 9) are considered symbolic.  All are marked.  Here's a map (but not a great one) that shows the route. 

After being condemned to death by Pilate, Jesus was beaten by Roman soldiers and given his cross to bear through the city.  It was pointed out several times that the Roman practice of making the condemned carry their crosses as well as the crucifixion high on a hill for all to see were done with the intention of making an example of them.  In other words - you'll be following in their footsteps if you don't start seeing things "our way."  We started at the Church of the Condemnation and wound our way through the city, stopping briefly at each of the stations, until we entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where we queued up to see the actual tomb.

The first four pictures show stations one and two, Jesus' condemnation and being given his cross.

Station three is where Jesus fell for the first time.

Jesus met his mother Mary at station four and station five is where Simon was forced to assist Jesus in carrying his cross.

The Chapel of St. Veronica was erected to commemorate the site where Veronica wiped Jesus' face.

Station seven is near the Justice Gate of the ancient city and where Jesus fell for the second time.  The Justice Gate listed the indictments of those condemned.

Jesus consoled the women following him at station eight.

The stone with the Latin cross near the bottom of the picture has an inscription that means Jesus Christ conquers.

The Coptic Church of Saint Anthony marks the location of station nine, where Jesus fell for the third time.

Jesus' clothes were taken from him at the tenth station.

Stations 11 through 14 are located within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Station 11 is where Jesus was nailed to the cross.

Station 12 is where the cross was erected and where Jesus died.

Two pictures for station 13 show where He was taken down from the cross. 

 

Station 14 is where Jesus was laid in the tomb.  Pictures weren't allowed in the tomb but it is the room on the other side of the doorway.

 

The Cardo

Part of the Jewish quarter today, 1500 years ago the Cardo was Jerusalem's main north-south street.  It was paved in the 2nd century by the Roman Emperor Hadrian when he rebuilt the city after defeating a Jewish revolt.  The original width of the street was 73 feet, about the width of a six-lane highway.  Half of that width is visible today and the Cardo is known today for shopping with stores selling jewelery, art, and souvenirs.

At this point we had spent the morning walking through the old city and were ready for a break.  In the midst of several shops, we stopped for lunch and had shawarma!  For those not familiar, shawarma is a meat dish that comes from Turkey and is similar to the Greek gyro.  The meat can be chicken, beef, veal, or a mixture and it's grilled on a spit for up to one day then carved.  Our shawarmas were carved chicken that was heated on a flat top grill while a massive pita was filled with hummus, hot chili sauce (in my case), roasted vegetables including eggplant, onions and peppers, and lettuce and tomatoes.  Then the chicken was added and the whole thing was wrapped up in paper.  We also got fries and a drink.  It was designated number 3 on the menu and went for 49 shekels (about $15).  It was really good.  Dad had one just like mine sans chili sauce and we wound up eating with Pastor John (who, if you look closely, is eating a hamburger) and his wife, Patsy.

We had a little time to walk around after lunch before heading to our next destination.  It is absolutely fascinating to walk around Jerusalem.  Ruins are everywhere.  These were located about 100 feet or so from where we ate lunch.

Western Wall

The 2,000 year old structure was built by King Herod as part of the massive retaining retaining wall around the Temple Mount.  It is the place closest to where the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of the temple, was before the temple was destroyed, hence the reason for the throngs of people, orthodox Jews along with non-Jews, come to pray.

Cracks between the stones have been stuffed with prayers and petitions for years and are said, with a mixture of faith and a bit of cynicism, to reach their destination more quickly than the Israeli postal service.  The paper is cleared from the cracks several times a year but are never just discarded as trash.  Since they are dedicated to God and clearly come from the heart of the person who wrote and placed it, the slips are placed into a sack and buried with reverence in a Jewish cemetery.  It was raining and cold when we stopped but that didn't deter the faithful from making their appeals.

Teaching Steps

From the Western Wall, we walked to the Teaching Steps, which are located near the southern wall of the Temple Mount near what was called the Huldah Gates.  These gates are now blocked and the steps in front of them are believed to be where Jesus preached from while he was in Jerusalem.  Aside from a few obvious recent additions, these steps are original and date back over 2000 years.

After a long but amazing day walking through the old city, we boarded the buses and headed back to the hotel for a brief rest before dinner.  However, the day isn't over yet.

The Israel Museum

Dad and I chose to go on this optional tour to the museum and I thought it was a bargain at only $25.  Fodor's gives the museum high marks for its collection of art, archaeology, and historical and literary materials relating to Judaism.  And if you've been reading from the beginning of the blog, you'll know that it's most famous, and most important collection, are the Dead Sea Scrolls.  And if you haven't, well now you know.  

Also featured is a very large outdoor model of the old city of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus.  This is the first thing we saw and I thought it was amazing.  A few of us were talking during our time here and thought this would have been an excellent thing to see shortly after getting to Jerusalem to provide some reference for other sites we'd seen along the trip.  Fodor's stated that no pictures were allowed at the museum so I left my camera in our hotel room.  But it turns out that was true only for inside.  It would have been nice to have a few of my own pictures of the model but these I grabbed from the internet may actually be better since they're in the daylight.  This first is from Trip Adviser.  The others were grabbed from a Google search.

The model is massive and really interesting.  If you'd like to see a few more images, I found another blog that has some really good pictures.

After we walked around the model, the remainder of our time was spent in the Shrine of the Book, a separate building in the museum complex dedicated to the Dead Sea Scrolls.  As I probably indicated on the post covering our trip to Qumran, the earliest of the scrolls dates to the 2nd century BC and the latest couldn't have been written later than 68AD, the year their community was destroyed by the Romans (bloody Romans).  The scrolls are the oldest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament and authenticate the nearly identical texts in use today.  Again courtesy of the internet, here are a few pictures from the second stop of our museum trip.  This first picture shows the top of the shrine and it was shaped like the lids that were found on the scroll containers.

Here are a few of the interior.  The first picture is from All About Jerusalem and was taken by Ron Peled.

With that, our busy but amazing day spent in Jerusalem came to an end as we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel.  As I expected, we got back after 9:00 and there wasn't time to fight with the hotel internet connection to get the post out in a timely manner.  Ultimately, doing the bulk of this after I got back certainly makes me appreciate the speedier connection I enjoy at home.  It probably allowed for some more pictures to be added to the post as well.  Hope you liked it.  See you next time.
Tim