When we got to the Old City, we entered through Jaffa Gate, on the west side of the city. Our first stop was the rooftop of the Petra Hostel to get an overview of the city. Facing east, we were able to see the Mount of Olives, and the three towers that sit on it. The Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa mosque (although I can't seem to locate it in the picture below!), Church of the Redeemer, and tower of David museum were all visible.
Best single picture view I have so far! With a few classmates :) The big tower in the center/left is the Church of the Redeemer, the three small towers in the horizon are on the Mount of Olives, and the Dome of the Rock is the gold dome in the back center/right!
David's Tower, just to the south of the Petra Hostel
The next stop was at Christ Church. Jews who lived in London and got support from the Anglican Church founded it in the 19th century. It is the first modern building in Israel and the first Protestant church in the Middle East.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was
the third stop. Inside, we saw the Station of
Atonement (one of the stops on the Via Dolorosa), and the commemoration of
where Christ’s cross was. It is one of
two places considered to be the place of Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection.
Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Stone of Atonement-believed to be where Jesus was laid when they took Him off the cross
The supposed location of Christ's cross
We came to the Damascus gate (north side of the city), then went to
Solomon’s Quarry, or Zedekiah’s cave.
Although named after Solomon, the quarry only dates back to Herod the
Great.
Classmates standing in main section of quarry
Going farther in!
After passing Herod’s Gate, we came to Lion’s
Gate, or Stephen’s Gate. Inside the gate, we stop at the Pools of Bethesda. This is the setting of the story of Jesus
healing the lame man that is narrated in John 5.
Pools of Bethesda
Closer view!
The next stop was the Struthian
Pool, or the Sisters of Zion Convent.
This pool would have been like other pools in the city that would hold
dirty water drained from the temple. This
location is believed to be where Pilate handed Jesus over to the Jews to be
crucified, a story written in John 19.
Inside the Struthian Pool, although it wouldn't have been covered in Jesus' day!
We exited the Struthian Pool right
on to Via Dolorosa. We walked down into
the Muslim quarter and into the Arab markets.
At the end of the market, we stopped to see a section of cardo, which
was where the ancient markets would be.
We also saw a re-creation of the Madaba map, which was a mosaic found in a church in Jordan. It’s the oldest map of the city of Jerusalem that we have.
Beautiful view down Via Dolorosa!
The cardo
We also saw a re-creation of the Madaba map, which was a mosaic found in a church in Jordan. It’s the oldest map of the city of Jerusalem that we have.
Now I couldn't read this if my life depended on it, but this map has been very helpful to those trying to understand the layout of ancient Jerusalem!
From here, we entered the Jewish quarter and headed toward the temple. We were able to get a view of the western wall and the temples on top before we headed down go right up to the wall.
Left- Dome of the Rock Right- Al-Aqsa Mosque
Down at the wall, watching women pray.
One of my classmates hopping in one of the pictures with the soldiers!
We exited the city through Dung Gate (south side of the city) and headed down toward Zion Gate. On the way there, we saw a couple of mikvahs, or ritual purifying baths.
A mikvah...in the right side, out the left!
We passed by Zion’s Gate, which has countless bullet marks from previous wars. We kept walking around the city, circling around to Jaffa Gate, where we were dropped off for the day and where our bus driver picked us up again! And that was my first adventure to Jerusalem! One more pic...
Can't wait to go back!
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