Jerusalem
October 11
Itinerary:
Garden of the Tomb
Today's events started with a short walk to the bus station outside the Damascus Gate, from where we could catch a bus to the Mount of Olives. I'm so glad that God used last night's dinner discussions with Jacky & Elisheva to re-arrange our plans a little. That's because it turns out, the entrance to the Garden of the Tomb is just one street over from the bus station. In fact, you can see the rocky Golgatha cliffs right from the bus stop. That's why we first went to see the Garden of the Tomb.
The tomb in this garden is perhaps the actual one used for Jesus or very similar to the one people would have used. We stepped into the tomb's entrance, but a metal gate prevented visitors from going further. Behind the gate, we saw two stone beds. The one on the left had its foot area fully carved out, but the right didn't. Therefore, the left bed is where Jesus' dead body would have been.
We then returned to the bus station to catch our bus to the Mount of Olives. It was so strange to see people doing mundane daily things while waiting for a bus, like reading, texting, or just staring into the distance while smoking a cigarette, unaware that this is the place where Jesus was crucified, just a stone's throw away, in plain eyesight Lamentations 1:12.
Mount of Olives
Our bus stopped on the Mount of Olives at an intersection of three streets: Mount of Olives, Al Souq, and E-Sheikh Street. I approached a soldier patrolling the area and told him I wanted to walk to the Tomb of Lazarus (Wikipedia) in Bethany, less than 1 mile east of here.
Take left turn to Bethany ?
Jesus probably walked up and down this road many times because he frequently visited the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. For example, when Jesus resurrected Lazarus after he was dead for four days in John 11:1-44. However, the soldier told us it wasn't safe to go there because Bethany was in the West Bank, and we would have to cross a military checkpoint to get there.
Convinced not to walk to Bethany, we proceeded down The Mount of Olives Street instead. The downhill road winds around thousands of graves and ends at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus walked down this street many times with his disciples. Jesus also rode a donkey down this street a few days before Passover, Luke 19:28-38. At the top, you have a nice westward view of the old city and the Temple Mount. But as you proceed down, your sight is obstructed by the high walls along the narrow street.
At the bottom, you arrive at The Garden of Gethsemane (Wikipedia). Jesus prayed with his disciples the night before he was crucified in this olive garden, Mathew 26:36-46. From the Garden of Gethsemane, we walked uphill to the Lions' Gate and back to the hotel to refill our water bottles with fresh cold water.
Kotel / Wilson's Arch
We arranged to meet our new Israeli friends, Jacky and Elisheva, at the Kotel, where we prayed. I went with Jacky to the left side of the wall, where only men were allowed to pray. Blondie and Elisheva went to pray on the right side, the one reserved for women. Jacky then showed me Wilson's Arch, a hall attached to the men's section of the prayer plaza.
The arched hall was converted to a synagogue and is used for prayer and Torah study. Scribes have access to hundreds of Torah scrolls in the library section. The following YouTube video is about The Temple Institutes' preparations to build the 3rd Temple. Within the video is a 30-second clip showing the inside of Wilson's Arch Synagogue.
Near the prayer hall's entrance, close to the Western Wall, is a glass floor tile. Several meters below this window tile, you can see the original lower-level stones of the Western Wall (1st and 2nd Temple?) and a lit tunnel at the bottom. It clearly shows how today's Jerusalem is just the latest layer built on top of more ancient ones. For archaeological details about these tunnels, see: Jerusalem Down Under - Tunneling Along Herod's Temple Mount Wall.
Temple Institute
Next, we headed to the visitor's center of the Temple Institute in the Jewish Quarters. Its an organization dedicated to reconstructing the third temple and all its furnishings, Temple Architecture and Drawings (Temple Institute). It is focused on recreating not just museum pieces but actual ready-for-use artifacts in strict accordance with the prescriptions outlined in the bible.
One of Temple Institute's recreations is a tall, half-ton golden menorah, Temple Institute - Building the Menorah. We saw the Temple Menorah displayed in an open plaza next to the Hurva Synagogue.
In the same plaza, we watched Sukkot festivities take place. Old and young were dancing, singing, and celebrating the 3rd day of Sukkot.
Hurva Synagogue
Then we went to the Hurva Synagogue (Wikipedia) and climbed up a spiral staircase to a veranda around the top of the dome.
The dome's veranda is a 360-degree walk-around, offering a spectacular view of the old city, Temple Mount, and Mount of Olives. The Jordanians blew up the Hurva Synagogue in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The structure was rebuilt in 2010. In the Synogogs basement, we saw artifacts from the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Cardo Maximus
Then we went to see some of the remaining pillars of Cardo Maximus (Wikipedia) across the street from the synagogue. These ruins are a small section of Jerusalem's old main street built by the Romans.
The First Station
It was getting late, so Jacky drove us to 'The First Station' for dinner. It's a former train station converted into an outdoor mall, bustling with activity in its numerous shops and restaurants, The First Station - Home Page.
Succat Hallel
Finally, we went to Succat Hallel, a house of music and prayer with a beautiful view of Jerusalem. We arrived late at night, and the musicians were still playing the piano and singing worship songs. Some were in Hebrew, but they also played well-known English worship songs that we could sing along with. The facility is open day and night 24/7 for worshipers to stand as watchmen over Jerusalem.