The clouds are rolling in.
After another breakfast buffet, we met in the Chapel for Morning Prayer. We sat at the front this time so that I could hear. After the service, I sat quietly and the floodgates were opened as I brought my disappointment to God. Chantal read a scripture and I felt it was for me.
A very pretty chapel at Notre Dame.
After chapel we decided to go into Old Jerusalem with Prof. Glen Taylor and Veronica. Others were going to the shopping mall close by. We again entered the Jaffa Gate. Our first stop was at the Tower of David, but there was an entrance fee and our time was short so we decided not to visit the museum there.
Veronica had not been to the Western Wall, so that was our goal. We went via the Armenian Quarter.
Entering the Armenian Quarter.
We went through Zion Gate. Note the bricks on the roadway. They are slanted so that cart wheels do not get stuck in the grooves. We actually watched a car go through this gate. One must make a 90 degree turn to exit.
Parking in Jerusalem is interesting! The worst was in Nazareth where they were parked on cross walks and our bus had to get around them.
This view shows the dome of the El-Aqsa Mosque on the upper left the Triple and Double Gates below and the Mount of Olives with the Jewish cemetery in the distance.
Back at the Western Wall for the third time. The snow is almost gone.
We made our way back to our hotel and had a lovely lunch with Sarah, Kristin, Joey and Kayi. They make great pizza. Thankfully the bus was late because of all the people coming into Jerusalem to see the snow. That gave us time to eat! On the bus by 1:15 and on our way. Partly cloudy out.
It was a lovely drive out into the countryside. I still cannot get over all the rocks! After I got home I read an article that said that when God was creating the earth He had all the rocks in a bag and the bag sprang a lead over Israel. :)
And then the country side becomes more desolate.
In summer these hills would be totally brown. We passed several flocks of sheep, but I was too slow with my camera.
Finally we are back to Qumran, which we would have seen on the Tuesday if our bus had not broken down. Our guide Dr. Stephen Notley explains the community life of the Essenes which inhabited this site from 150 B.C. to 68 A.D. They did not use community dishes, each person had their own, hence many bowls etc. were found.
The Essene's were very concerned with ritual purity and bathed often daily in these ritual baths; before eating, before copying scrolls and after working.
This next picture is cave number 4. There are eleven caves that have been discovered which contained many manuscripts. A shepherd boy found the scrolls which were stored in clay containers or jars when he threw a stone into a cave and heard the jar break. That was in 1947. More caves and scrolls were discovered up until 1956. Among the scrolls are 19 copies of the Book of Isaiah, 25 copies of Deuteronomy and 30 copies of the Psalms.
Now on to the Dead Sea! It is 3:30pm. I am not too sure about this, but have decided that it is something that I must do at least once in my life.
It was quite the experience. Very mucky and slippery, but the water was surprisingly warm. The flip flops were useless, better to have bare feet.
I float all too well so I was not overly impressed and all the cautions about not getting water in your mouth or eyes took some of the fun away. Give me Lake Simcoe any time!
Paul entering the water.
Paul floating left of centre with his shoes on.
The others seemed to have a great time. Cold showers to rinse the muck off and then back to the change rooms to shower.
From here we went on a very winding trip to view St. George's Monastery in the Judean desert. From this location we also saw our third rainbow of the trip! Look on the right hand side of the picture to see the left hand part.
This may be the cleft where Elijah hid and was fed by ravens. There is a cave inside the monastery. This is on the old road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
We were approached by Bedouin children with their father selling bracelets. "One dollar, one dollar!"
Back to our hotel in Jerusalem. Another great dinner.
Prof. Marion Taylor gave a presentation about women pilgrims.
The book is in Google books and I hope to read it. I think it is called A Journey to Jerusalem.
Back to the fourth floor for wine and drinks for Paul. I think this was the evening that I decided I needed to blog and sleep! Not sure that was the better choice!
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