Jerusalem/Bethlehem

DAY 2

Sunday the 22nd we went on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem's Old City. There weren't as many olive trees there, compared to what there used to be. We saw a bunch of old graves, some Jewish ones as old as the 2nd century B.C. [Pic 1] The Jewish graves were on the Mount, fewer Christian ones were down into the Kidron Valley, then the Muslim ones were on the hillside just outside the Eastern Wall. No one is buried in the city, just outside. When the Messiah comes (we'd call it the Second Coming), all these people wanted to be there to be raised from the dead. The Jews have this weird second burial thing, when two years after their bodies are buried, the oldest son moves the bones into a small stone tomb that is only as long as the thigh bone. We saw some of these second burial boxes near the Dominus Flavit (God Wept) church. [Pic 2: Interior of the Dominus Flavit dome, with golden tears from Heaven.]

We went to where the Garden of Gesthemane was. Some students from the University studied the ages of the trees that remain -- they are 1,500 years old, making them the offspring of the trees that would have been there when Jesus was there. Inside the Church of All Nations (also knows as the Church of Agony), they had beautiful, dark purple windows and a rock that Jesus may have prayed on.

[Pic 4: Mom took this picture of the back side of the entry into the church at the Garden.].

On the drive to Bethlehem, we saw a small valley (Hinnom) on the south side of the old city where worshippers of Baal would sacrifice their own children. Our guide said that was what Jesus was describing as hell, because there he said the "fires would never stop burning and the worms would never stop eating." The Jews threw trash there and burned it in Jesus' time. Since, the Jews refused to build there because it was cursed.

When we went to Bethelem, we passed through the wall that blocks off the West Bank. Israel calls it the "Security wall." We passed through the town of Beit Jalla. (I remember hearing about this town on John Paul Lederach's CD with Herm Weaver!). We went to the Church of the Nativity. It's only one of two churches that survived the attack by the Persians, because in the nativity area, they saw a painting of the magi in traditional Persian dress and people say that painting made them not destroy that building.
[Me and a tour buddy named Ben from Houston, lighting candles in the Church of the Nativity.]

Back in Jesus' day, they didn't actually use stables like we know, but they used caves. We went down into the cave that they believe was the cave that Mary and Joseph used when Jesus was born. It didn't look very cave-like, but had a lot of Orthodox lamps hanging around. That whole place smelled really strong of incense. It's not totally bad, but it's not particularly good, either.

After we went to the church, we ate falafel at a restaurant called the Christmas Tree. It's starting to get pretty old 'cause we've had it a lot, but I still love it. We then went to the Shepherd's field. In the little church there, two Korean couples were singing Christmas hymns with the tunes that we know. Mom and Dad joined in and it was beautiful. Mom got teary. She said she wished there were not so few Christians in this land anymore. It's all these Christians from all over the world who come and celebrate and sing so joyfully.

Then we saw the caves where shepherds would have kept their sheep over night. We drove past Rachel's tomb (she died there in childbirth with Benjamin and was buried there). We couldn't see it, 'cause the Jews have it all blocked off near to another part of the security wall.

We got back to Jerusalem and hung out in the room for a while. Dad took N and Z to the market (the Souq or Suq, but you pronounce it "shouk") and Mom worked on the blog. I was reading a book called "Voices" by Ursula K. LeGuin. For supper we walked forever and ever outside the Old City. We walked too far past a Chinese restaurant, and saw a bunch of falafel places (and shawarma, which is a shaved, roast turkey and the other BIG favorite sandwich here), then finally walked BACK to the Chinese place and had a great supper -- at 9 p.m.! We were tired, but that's when we made our silhouette pictures on the wall. In the previous picture, I'm pretending that I need to go to the bathroom. Mom picked that one to post, I didn't. [This is the shot of me that I preferred, so there. In this one I'm pretending to have a migraine from my sisters.]