Day 7

Jerusalem in such an amazing city rich with history. I can't even begin to describe all the things that Ben and I learned while we were here. We left with a much greater understanding of not only Christianity, but also Judaism and Islam and how those three religions have shaped so much of history and are still shaping conflicts in the Middle East today.


We first saw a great view of the city from the Mount of Olives. You could see the famous Dome of the Rock that sits atop the temple mount. I didn't understand the significance of the temple mount and the problems in Israel between the Jews and the Muslims until I learned about the history of the temple mount. (More on this during Day 8) We also walked through the Garden of Gethsemane which is the only place on the Mount of Olives that is still covered in olive trees to this very day.

We also visited David's Tomb..yes the same David from the Old Testament. It had a woman's prayer section separate from the men's prayer section. The men had to have their heads covered and if you didn't have a hat, they had paper yalmekah for you to wear!



Then we visited the Upper Room, the supposed site of the last supper.



In the afternoon, we drove to the West Bank and prepared to enter Palestinian territory. Our Israeli guide had to leave the bus and we had a new Palestinian guide. Ben and I entered the West Bank with open minds but I have to say that I left having some very strong opinions about why Palestine should not be given control over their own land. I feel the same way about that as I do about giving a nice set of cutting knives to a toddler...it's just not going to turn out well for anyone! But I digress... entering the West Bank was a bit foreboding. Our main goal was to visit St. Helen's Church which is the site of Christ's birth and also the nearby Shepherd's fields where it is believed the Three Wise Men would have stayed. St. Helen's Church was a strange place. You walk down several steps to get to the 'cave' that is underground where Jesus was born and laid in a manger. (picture below) The actually spots have been fancied up and make it all a bit too weird to take in - or perhaps it was the significance of what happened there. When we were leaving the church, we were all a bit apprehensive about being haggled and bothered in the busy streets again by the dozens of people trying to sell you the latest postcards and what not. To make it worse, we had no sooner walked outside when we heard several shots that could have only been gunfire or fireworks. We tried to keep open minds and think of it as fireworks, but the people running away and the streets becoming empty, followed by an ambulance siren, makes it hard to say that it was anything but gunfire. A rather common experience in the West Bank. While in the West Bank with the Palestinian guide, it was the only time during the whole tour that we felt like herded cattle - it was a necessary afternoon in order to fully grasp the culture in Israel, but not one the we would necessarily return to.

Here is a picture of one of the frescoes in the Shepherd's field Chapel: