Israel - Day 7-8

Day 7 – Jerusalem: Temple Mount > Bethesda > Via Dolorosa > Yad Vashem (Holocaust History Museum)

As the location known as Temple Mount is a contested area by Jews and Muslims and other religions, it’s a very tense place – there’s extremely high security there. We had to get our bags checked and are not allowed to bring in anything that has religious significance – cannot have bibles or crosses in our bags, people with jewelry or any other items that are religious have to remember to leave them in their hotel room or suitcase.

There are Israeli police and Muslim authority on the grounds. Along the bridge going up to Temple Mount, we saw like 50 of those full body plastic guard shields.

As Temple Mount is now under Muslim authority, we are not allowed into the Dome of the Rock or the mosque on the ground. We’re only allowed to walk around, and also men and women are not allowed to take photos together in intimate contact – such as putting your arms around one and another, that’s a big no-no! Even if you’re married!

just a random photo of a cat in a tree, sleeping

There are eight gates into the old city, but one of those gates is closed permanently as that is the gate that is believed to be the one that Jesus will walk through again when judgment day comes. However, the Muslims have authority over this area and so they have sealed the gates and don’t allow non-Muslims to use the gate. This is the Golden Gate.

Afterwards we went to the Pools of Bethesda, where it is believed that the waters had purifying qualities that can heal.

Next to the pool is a church that remembers this as the place of birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The church is named after Mary’s mother – the church of St. Anne (the statue below is of Anne and her young daughter - Mary). The acoustics in this church are very good, and many groups will take the opportunity to sing a song inside.

Amongst all the things you’ll do on a trip to Israel, there’s one things that’s a MUST-DO, and that’s to walk along the road that Jesus walked while carrying the cross – Via Dolorosa. There are different sections of the road that remember the trials Jesus had while carrying the cross. Some people may even carry an actual cross while walking, it’s not as big as the one that Jesus had to carry, but it’s still heavy.

At the end of the road, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified (this is another place that is believed to be the place, and it’s within the last walls of Jerusalem old city, but still outside of the first walls erected) there is a church which has the stone where the cross would have stood to hold it upright, the stone on which Jesus’ body was laid after he was taken down from the cross and the tomb in which appeared to his disciples and Mary.

a church built over the area where Jesus was crucified, laid to rest and his tomb

the rock that Jesus' cross was placed in to hold it upright

the stone he was laid on when Jesus was taken down from the cross

the place of Jesus' tomb

the streets within the old city walls are all full of shops to buy things

looks almost like a little town in Europe

We then went to lunch at the Holocaust History Museum (Yad Vashem), there’s a cafeteria there and admission to the museum is FREE! It’s a museum that’s full of information and exhibits. Very solemn place, but it wasn’t too scary because there are so many people there. However, it’s definitely a place where you can take a few hours just to walk around. Definitely worth a visit.

I didn’t take any photos of the actual exhibits but I really like the Hall of Names, this is to remember all those who died during the Holocaust.

To end the day we made a quick stop at a small church that is the place where the pregnant Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant – it’s like they met up for a holiday!

Saturday is their rest day, so Jews cannot do anything... they can't even press for the elevator. So these Shabbat Elevators will stop on every single floor

Day 8 – Jerusalem: City of David > Shiloach Pool > The Israel Museum > Border crossing to Jordan for flight

One of the reasons why Jerusalem is such an important city is because David decided to build his city there. The City of David is where Jerusalem grew from. We went on a tour of the excavated sites – where David’s palace was built on a hill and walked through the tunnels that go underground to a spring outside the city walls.

In the past and now as well, Israel has a shortage of water, and most often their cities are built on hills so there are no natural water sources on the hills. The people would often have to walk out from the city gates and get water from a spring. However, during times of war, they wouldn’t be able to go out, so usually they created tunnels that would reach the water source and a reservoir might be created at the end of the tunnel without going above ground.

At the City of David, you can walk through a dry tunnel (which was built first) or a wet tunnel (which was built second, and you would be up to your thighs or hip in water). It’s definitely an experience!

Later on as the City of David (aka Jerusalem) grew, they built an outer wall that also enclosed the spring within the city limits so it made it easier for the people to get water.

 

Shiloach Pool is the pool where travelers from outside of Jerusalem would have to stop and cleanse themselves before making their way up to the Temple Mount. The pool was huge and the stairs that led up to the Temple Mount were 14 meters wide. The pool was well designed because there are steps going down into the pool – so that when there was plenty of water, the water would go up to the top step, however, if there was low water, then people can step down to the water level and sit on the steps.

boy sitting on the step going into the pool (the water behind him is not part of the pool)

these steps stretched 14 meters wide from the pool up to the temple

Next, we went to the Israel Museum and saw a model of Jerusalem old city that was built by a professor over 30 years as he updated the model each time there was a new excavation.

Model of the city of Jerusalem, updated every time a new site discovery was made (approx. 30 years)

close up of the City of David

Hebrew University campus

At the Israel Museum, there is also the Shrine of the Book, which is where the dead sea scrolls of Qumran are kept.

The Israel Museum also has a section dedicated to art works, and on display was a huge bamboo installation – Big Bambu. You can walk up this installation for a small fee.

Then we had lunch at the museum’s restaurant – Modern. Afterwards we made our way to the border to cross over into Jordan to catch our flight that night back to Hong Kong.