We had options. After the Temple Mount which was finally open as we had tried twice before, people could choose Yad Vashem the Holocaust museum or a church service at St. George's. We did the latter.
Another morning view from our room. It looks like a beautiful day. Cool but clear.
After breakfast we gather at 7:50am to walk to the Temple Mount. We enter the Damascus Gate and follow the Damascus Gate Road. This is a shot of the gate. Note the ramp on the road with a vehicle coming.
We encounter another garbage truck. Amazing how they get around the city. People, trucks and cars in such tight quarters.
On our walk Steve points out a secondary use of a sarcophagus, part of a water fountain.
To go on the Temple Mount or to the Western Wall you must first pass through security.
We waited in line for quite a while to go up the ramp. There were police at various locations.
We entered through the Morocco Gate.
More security at the gate.
I was surprised to see trees on the Temple Mount. I was expecting a barren expanse.
This picture shows them cleaning up after damage caused by the snow storm. Most of the snow is gone today.
And cats! There are stray cats all over Jerusalem.
We talked about the Eastern Gate which has been sealed. It is the gate that the Messiah is supposed to enter when he comes again. There is also a Muslim cemetery on the opposite side. To an Orthodox Jew a cemetery would be unclean. One wonders at the ambiguity of keeping someone out that you don't believe in.
The Dome of the Rock.
After the Temple Mount some of us made our way to St. George's Anglican Church.
The service was in both Arabic and English. It was a little hard to follow and at times both languages were being spoken in the liturgy. The priest gave his Lenten sermon on fasting, first in English and then in Arabic.
It was a very pretty church with a baptismal pool.
After the service we hoped to see the Garden Tomb, but it was closed on Sundays.
After another nice lunch at our hotel, I tried the humus and Paul had onion soup and French fries with our usual Israeli beer, several of us boarded the bus and Shimshon drove us to the Israel Museum. I enjoyed the model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, 66 A.D. It covers nearly one acre on a scale of 1:50.
One other highlight of the museum was the Shrine of the Book, home to the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible. We could have spent many more hours at the museum, but it closed at 4pm.
Paul and I were hoping to get some shopping done in old Jerusalem before dinner. We wound our way through the city. One destination was closed, but we were able to get to Zak's and Ali Baba's for souvenirs for the family.
This was our last day with those on tour with us. Tomorrow they would depart for home and we would be on our way to Tel Aviv.
After dinner we gathered in the meeting room and everyone was given an opportunity to share highlights of their journey. "Notley" and "Slacker" had a memorable exchange! :)
So sad to see this group disperse and yet so thankful for the blessing of sharing our trip with them.
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