Day 10: Jerusalem

Sadly, today was our last day in Jerusalem and in Israel as well. There were still a few important sites to see, though! Our wake up calls this morning came at 5 AM, so we could leave for the Western Wall Tunnel at 6:30 AM. Accessed through the Western Wall Plaza, archaeologists have excavated this tunnel along the outside of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount to explore it’s foundations. The tunnel runs beneath what is now the Muslim Quarter. In the tunnel, you can see the arches of the bridge built by Herod the Great to access the city directly from his palace. You can also walk for a long stretch right along the Western Wall. Mostly women come to pray in this area, especially in front of the part of the wall closest to where the Holy of Holies was in the Temple. It is fascinating to see such an ancient part of the city, and excavations progress each day, so hopefully they will continue to find more and more.

After exploring the tunnel, we went out to visit the Western Wall Plaza, Judaism’s most holy site. This section of the wall, which was built by Herod the Great as part of the retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount, is significant to Judaism because it is the closest Jews can get to the site of the Temple to pray. Both Jews and Non-Jews are welcome to pray at the wall, in separate sections for men and women, and many that come believe that prayers written and shoved into the cracks in the wall are especially effective, so you can see many all over the wall. You can see a wide range of Jews worshiping at the wall, as well, from those that come just wearing their kipkahs, to the orthodox who come dressed in their prayer shawls, and other elements for prayer.  It’s a fascinating place to visit, if only to watch the diverse groups of people that come through.

From the Western Wall, we walked up the ramp through security to the actual Temple Mount to view the grounds and the Dome of the Rock, the mosque built on top of where the Temple lay in Jesus’ time. This site, also called Mount Moriah, is also the mountain on which Abraham was willing to sacrifice his soon Isaac to God, so it is a significant site not only to Jews and Christians, but also to Muslims, who currently control the grounds. Because of this, non-Muslim access to both the Dome of the Rock and the El-Aqsa Mosque is restricted, and we weren’t allowed inside to view them closer. Instead, we walked through the grounds, viewed the Dome and the Mosque from the outside, and then exited the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate.

After leaving the Temple Mount, we headed over to the Israel Museum. Though much of the museum is closed at the moment for renovation, there were a few main attractions open. The first thing we viewed was a giant model of Jerusalem from about 70 AD, built to scale (1:50) and with the same materials as used during the original construction - mostly limestone. It was fascinating to see the city in this way, and it really gives you a sense of how massive the Temple complex was in comparison to the rest of Jerusalem. Then, we headed over the the Shrine of the Book, which was built specifically to house the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran, which we visited earlier in the week. This uniquely shaped building was designed to echo the shape of the top of a clay jar, like the ones in which the scrolls were found. It was really exciting to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other artifacts in person after viewing the site in which they were found and following their whole journey from discovery to national treasure.

Our last stop of the day was at Yad Vashem, the museum and monument built to memorialize those who died during the Holocaust. The museum, which consists of one long, winding corridor carved into the mountain, is engaging and informative, filled with artifacts, first-person stories, and the history and context off the whole, horrible affair. Also on the grounds is the Hall of Remembrance, which acts as a cemetary as it contains the names of the main concentration camps, a casket of ashes from the cremation ovens, and an eternal flame. As well put together as it is, this is a tough place to visit because of the unbelievable and overwhelming atrocities.

We finished with our touring by mid-afternoon, and headed back to the hotel to swim, rest, or pack, before having one final dinner together in the hotel’s dining room. We all received special Pilgrim Certificates to commemorate our visit to Jerusalem. It is hard to believe our journey through Israel is at an end, but are excited to head on to Turkey and visit the 7 Churches of Revelation. The only sad part of this journey is that not all of us are continuing on to Turkey - we will miss Lorie, Lanny, Ruth and Debbie a lot, and we pray they will arrive home safely. Our bus leaves for the airport tonight at 1 AM (or tomorrow morning, actually), so I will let you go for now! Check back tomorrow for news on our arrival in Turkey, which will hopefully have more consistent internet than Israel has had. God bless!

Categories: Holy Land.