Israel, July 18, 2013

Today was an extraordinary sightseeing day, with much accomplished. We began the day with a walking tour. Our first stop: the Temple Mount, with a visit to the Western Wall. There are plenty of walls in the Holy Land, but the Western Wall stands above all others in importance. The Jews consider it their most sacred site and the heart of their religion. To them, the Western Wall represents their beloved temple that once stood on this site. To go back to its beginnings, let me mention Herod the Great, who rebuilt and renovated the Jewish Temple into a magnificent structure in order to curry the favor of the Jewish people. But eventually the Roman army destroyed this temple. However, some of its massive foundation stones remain intact and are still visible today. The Jews especially venerate the Western Wall of this Herodian structure because they believe it was closest to the Holy of Holies, the most sacred inner sanctuary of the Temple. The Wall is a place of prayer for all people, not just Jews. Thousands of pilgrims gather here to offer their silent prayers or to slip their prayer requests written on paper into the crevices of the wall. The broad courtyard in front of the wall serves to induct soldiers into the Israeli military forces, and for girls and boys to celebrate their Bat and Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. The part where people gather to pray is 187 feet long. The entire wall, however, is 1600 feet long. Of the remaining 1400 feet that extend beyond the Prayer Plaza, 262 feet have been excavated in a project known as the Western Wall Tunnels, which we visited mid-afternoon. More than 1000 feet of the wall remain undisturbed. The section of the Western Wall visible today at the Prayer Plaza is about 62 ft. high. But archaeologists believe that parts of the Wall of Herod's time may have been as high as 200 ft. Massive building stones were quarried from solid rock and carved for exact fit, then tacked on top of each other to create the wall. One stone uncovered during the excavation of the Western Wall Tunnels is 45 ft. long by 10 ft. wide, and its estimated weight is 570 tons--the largest building stone ever uncovered in the Holy Land. It was a very moving experience to be able to touch the Wall, bend towards it, forehead touching the cool surface, and silently offer prayers at that place. Also, we saw a group joyously celebrating a Bar Mitzvah, dancing, singing, and blowing a shofar. Our next stop was the Dome of the Rock, Muslim and symbolic of the convoluted history of Jerusalem. The Muslims took over this site in the 600s A.D., when they became a strong force in the Holy Land. In 691 they built the Dome of the Rock over a huge outcropping of rock reputed to be the site of Mount Moriah where Abraham, at God's urging, prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. According the the Muslim telling of this event, it was Abraham's son Ishmael, not Isaac, that Abraham almost sacrificed at Moriah. And the Jewish people believe it was on this very site that Solomon later built the first temple. The Muslims also believe the rock inside the Dome of the Rock is a direct tie to their major prophet Muhammad. From a rock inside the mosque, it is believed that Muhammad ascended to heaven for an encounter with Allah, their god. Allah revealed to Muhammad the doctrine and principles of Islam that are contained in the Koran. As Christians, we were not allowed in the inside of the mosque, but the entire platform on which the Dome and the Al Aqsa mosque rests is extremely conducive to strolling and gaining a good sense of the monumentality of the place. I appreciated the beautiful and intricate mosaics of the Dome, but was sorry to see not a single evidence of the two Jewish temples that had once existed there. Our next stop was the Church of St. Anne, special because it has survived virtually intact in its basic structure since it was built in about 1138. It actually owes its existence to the Muslims, who captured the church from the Crusaders in 1192. Rather than tearing it down, they decided to put it to use. Saladin converted it into a school. Eventually the Muslims abandoned the school and the building was neglected. It was finally restored and turned into a church again in the late 1800s. It is reputed to be built over the home of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin Mary. Here we saw the cave where Mary was born. Inside the cave is a mural depicting Joachim and Anna with their daughter. Next to the church was our next stop, the Pool of Bethesda. Ancient Jerusalem had several cisterns or reservoirs for the storage of water, but this one is the only one mentioned in the Bible. Extensive excavations and restorations at the site have revealed that two pools existed here during the time of Christ's ministry. They were apparently built at two different times in Jerusalem's history. The first was constructed sometime during King Solomon's reign and after he had built the Temple. Its purpose was to provide water for the sacrificial rites .of the Temple. Later, perhaps during the 200s B.C., a second pool was added to increase the Temple's water supply. The area these pools covered was larger than a football field, and they were hollowed out to a depth of 45 ft. They were fed by a system of aqueducts that channeled runoff water from the Kidron Valley nearby. It was here that Christ healed a lame man, and it is here that we sang together "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," a moving tribute to the quiet magnificence of that gesture. From there we walked through the Muslim Quarter to lunch at the most interesting Majoud Museum and Cultural Center of the history, culture, art and beauty symbols of Palestinian Heritage. In early 2009, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate donated a 650-year old building outside the Jaffa Gate to the Arab Orthodox Society of the Myrrh Bearers. A group of engineers and architects were commissioned to rehabilitate the building. After the building had been rehabilitated, the Society decided to transform it into a Palestinian museum and cultural center. We were met by a lovely lady who is head of the society and was directly responsible for this Herculean task. She welcomed us and we had lunch surrounded by photographs of Jerusalem and beautiful textiles and other artifacts and items of interest regarding the Palestinian enclave in Jerusalem. After lunch, we walked the Via Dolorosa, the Seven Stations of the Cross. Anyone following the last few hours of Christ's life in Jerusalem will cover the same ground, which includes the following sites: 1. Jesus is condemned (a minaret traditionally named the Antonia Tower marks the spot where Christ was condemned; 2.Jesus takes up the Cross (Chapels of the Condemnation and Flagellation, the Lithostrotos and the Ecce Homo Arch); 3. Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time ((Polish Chapel); 4. Jesus meets His mother (Armenian Catholic Chapel); 5. Simon the Cyrenian is forced to carry the Cross (Franciscan Oratory); 6. Veronica wipes the sweat from Jesus' brow (Chapel of the convent of the Little Sisters of Jesus); 7. Jesus falls for the second time (a Roman column housed in a Franciscan chapel); 8. Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem (Latin cross on the wall of a Greek monastery); 9. Jesus falls for the third time (a Roman column close to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; 10-14, all in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Jesus is stripped of His garments; Jesus is nailed to the Cross; Jesus dies on the Cross; Jesus is taken down from the Cross, and Jesus is laid in the tomb. A very solemn, moving processional which in spite of the swirl of humanity surrounding us, was a walk which each one of us should take in honor and memory of Christ. After the Stations, we completed the Tunnels tour mentioned earlier Aof Herod's walls below the platform of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque-what would have been the Temple platform. Finally, afterwards, we celebrated our last dinner together in Bethlehem, then took everyone in the group to the Tel Aviv airport. Hani and Samir, our guide and driver, dropped us off at the Embassy Hotel, where we had a short night, awakening at 3:30 for a 4:30 departure for Manchester via London Heathrow. What a final day!