Dome of the Rock and Western Wall - conflicting images
Original pillars of the Old City
Room where Last Supper was held
Station #12 - Jesus dies on the cross
Station #13 - Jesus is taken down from the cross
Via Dolorosa - Signs posted to represent the stations of the cross
Western Wall - look from in the tunnel - see differences in constructionMonday, November 15th
I'm coming to you live from the floor of the Tel Aviv Airport in Israel at 3:30am local time on Tuesday, November 16th. Nice! I had a 12:45am flight to Bucharest, Romania. Got here about 3 hours early because my transfer just worked out that way from Jersualem. We boarded the plane 15 minutes late. Then, we sat there for 1-1/2 hours -- temperatures nearing 90 degrees. They continued to tell us that the weather was forcing delays. I'm guessing it's fog by the looks outside the window right now. Eventually, they let us off the plane. They gave us a free voucher for food at a restaurant here in the airport. I wasn't hungry - so I grabbed a soda. Now, I'm sitting on the floor because there are no seats by an electrical outlet and my computer is running on fumes.
We have a big case of the "bread and milk" syndrome going currently. Just like when it snows and people panic and run to the store to buy things so they don't DIE when the big blizzard comes -- These people were almost knocking each other on the floor to get after the food at that restaurant. If they did not eat in the next hour, for sure they would have started to die off. I used to not understand how folks could get trounced over and actually killed in huge crowd scenarios. I clearly understand now. I've seen too often what happens when people panic. It's like they lose their minds. It starts to snowball - then you have real problems.
I'm not tired anymore - so I thought I'd write a little while.
Another fantastic day in Jerusalem to wrap up my stay in Israel. I started the morning off by meeting up with a group to tour the underground tunnels of the Temple Mount. Wow! It was just an hour tour - but I really understand things much better concerning what transpired in this location since the beginning of time. Yes - beginning of time ----- some say this is where it all started and where it will all end.
We got to see the different layers of the First and Second Temples. The debris was not cleared off after the destructions, it was just built over. The current city is several meters above where the original streets of Jerusalem were found. There were a couple window tunnels drilled down so you could see the floor of the original city. The visual Western Wall is just a portion of the actual wall. It extends much further - all the way into the Muslim Quarter. We learned that the Western Wall was adapted as the new Holy Site due to its phyical location - being the closest to the center of the former Temple. Not the east, north, or south -- but the west was the closest point.
Once we completed the tunnel walk, my trip to Israel went from being great and very interesting, to being very special. Up to this point, I've primarily learned a ton about the Jewish faith and their beliefs (and that's great). However, I'm not Jewish. When we surfaced onto street level, I got to see what I really came here to see.
The primary difference in the Jewish faith and Christianity is that Christians believe in both the Old and New Testament; whereas, Judaism teaches the Old Testament only. The main difference -- Jesus -- and who he was. When we surfaced, we were standing on the Via Dolorosa. I knew this was the street where the stations of the cross were acted out. I asked the tour guide exactly where we were on the map. Her response: "Look up there, you see that Roman Numberal II - we're standing at the second station of the cross". Excellent!
The streets were jam-packed with people. I ended up following along with a tour group as they walked through all the stations. They had a priest that would read a passage at each location and then people would sing the "Tremble" song on the way to the next station. Stations 1-9 are out on the streets. Stations 10-14 are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The two take home sites for me where: (1) Station #12 - Jesus dies on the cross --- we went through this line and knelt under a table - reaching our hand in a hole to touch the actual rock of Calvary (which the church has been built over). This is the place where the cross stood. (2) Station #13 - Jesus is taken down from the cross. There was a platform where Jesus' body was supposedly laid out after being taken down from the cross. People were kneeling and praying at it. See picture. Amazing stuff.
I then walked over to St. Mark's church. This is often referred to as the spot where the Last Supper took place. I walked into the basement room. Surreal. See picture. (Some believe that the Last Supper took place on Mt. Zion. There's also a room depicting the site in this location as well).
I then ate lunch and met up with a tour group at 2:30pm to get an overview of the entire Old City. Great! By this time, I had been to most spots in the city, this tour drove home some points I was unclear about. A few memorable things: (1) The Armenians were given their own Quarter out of respect. Christianity was not very popular until 300AD. At this point, the Armenians were the first to support the Christians - and even sent a representative to Jersualem on their behalf. (2) Each morning, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (perhaps the holiest place in the Christian faith), is opened by a Muslim. (3) A Christian architect designed the Dome of the Rock (one of the most sacred places in the Muslim faith). (4) There was a ceremony going on at the Western Wall. Young soldiers were being awarded their ranks. Boys are required to serve 3 years out of high school and girls are required to serve 2 years out of high school in Israel. There can be special circumstances to get out of this - but it is mandatory for everyone else to join in the military.
Grabbed my bag from the hotel. Ate some dinner overlooking the Old City. Took a sheroot back to the Tel Aviv airport - arriving around 9:30pm. I'm still here currently.
Here's to a great, great country - filled with tons of history that I'd recommend everyone visit at one point in their life. ALL GOOD.
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