Tuesday, July 21. Our last day and the best was saved for last. The first stop was the Garden of Gethsemane. We first went into a garden adjacent to the Garden where Bro. Nyman spoke to us. Then we went into the Garden; very peaceful, quiet and smelled heavenly. There were Star Jasmine and Sweet William in bloom. No lecturing is allowed in the Garden. There are eight ancient olive trees with HUGE trunks. I have never seen such huge trunks on trees, especially on these trees as they are not very tall. We were told that these date to the time of Christ. Olive roots seem never to die, they just keep on sending out suckers and fruit is still being produced.. We walked around the trees, behind a fence, and everything was very quiet. I thought it a special place. I kept thinking of the words to "I Stand All Amazed" and thought that this was the place that Jesus suffered for my sins.
The Church of All Nations is adjacent to the Garden; it was not intrusive like some churches but had a reverent atmosphere. From the Garden we went to the place where supposedly it was the Upper Room where Jesus kept the Passover. Next, we walked along the city streets, the old city; we hardly were ever in the new part. We saw a man, dressed like King David playing on a harp and singing about Jerusalem in English. We took his picture.
Next was the church of Peter in Gallicantu, where the cock crowed after he denied Jesus three times. It is a beautiful, modern, small church which I enjoyed a lot. There was no one else there so we sat and talked and looked at the paintings on the wall. The twelve apostles and others were represented. The church was built over what is thought to be the ruins of the house of Caiaphas the High Priest. Under his house was a dungeon which tradition states that Jesus was imprisoned and beaten there. We saw the dungeon and its several rooms. Outside are steps leading up, and dating to the 1st century. Jesus very well could have been led up these steps.
We went through the Lion’s Gate and visited the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda and next to it was the Church of St. Anne. A group ahead of us was singing Amazing Grace. Our group sang I Stand All Amazed. The acoustics were great.
Our last stop was the Garden Tomb. General Gordon, of Khartoum fame, visited the area over a century ago and was struck by the skull formation on the side of the hill at the end of the Temple Mount. He felt that this was the place of Calvary or Golgotha and not the Church of the Sepulchre. Others had also notice the skull formation. I saw it and it really looks like a skull with the eyes and nose plain to see. No one had ever built there as it had a reputation as a place of execution.
The ground next to it was owned by a Greek who wanted to use a tomb there to be used as a cistern but an archeologist told him the tomb was ancient, dating to the 1st century. The man then wanted to plant a garden but there was no cistern to hold water. A Christian group in London raised money to buy the land which was covered with rubble and when they dug they found the third largest cistern in Jerusalem, which showed that the area had once been a garden. One can only have a garden if one has a cistern for water storage. Jerusalem has the same amount of rainfall as London but it comes in two or three months of the year so it has to be stored.
The group has made it a most beautiful and peaceful spot. There are little separate areas where groups can sit and listen to their guides. The group sends out their people for about three months to be guides and care for the area. One of their guides talked to us and said he couldn’t state definitely that this was the tomb where Jesus was buried but there were so many reasons to believe it was: 1) the skull formation, which is what Golgotha means, place of the skull, 2) it was near the junction of two major roads where Romans like to execute criminals, 3) it is very near a city gate 4) a garden next to the place of execution with a tomb, 5) the tomb is that of a wealthy man and unfinished, 6) the tomb dates to the 1st century.
We were able to go inside the tomb and see the two little rooms. As one goes inside one sees on the right another little room with two stone beds or ledges. The most important thing about the tomb is the message painted on the door of the tomb: "He Is Not Here For He Is Risen". I thought it most impressive. Pres. Harold B. Lee felt that this was the place where Jesus was buried and resurrected, not the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Jerusalem Center, Temple Mount, Hezekiah's Tunnel
Sunday, July 18. We visited the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens which is on the side of a hill. Someone donated the land to the city and the mayor, Teddy Kollek, asked if the Mormons wanted to do something with it. Elder LeGrand Richards was involved in the Orson Hyde Foundation, which raised about $2,000,000.00 to landscape it. The garden belongs to the city which maintains it. Walking to the site one could see what a blessing this garden is as the area outside is barren and practically a garbage dump. There is a nice plaque at the entrance naming it and the Foundation. The garden is large and very beautiful and peaceful.
We next drove to the BYU Jerusalem Center and what a lovely place it is. There are eight levels and visitors can go to the top three; living quarters are below. We attended Sacrament Meeting in the chapel. The wall overlooking the city is all windows so one has a superb view of the old city. After our meetings we had an organ concert just for our group. Parley Belnap was the organist, retired from BYU. Leon had known him when they both were at school. Concerts are given in the chapel every week and are open to the public.
Bro. Nyman took us on a tour of the building and grounds, which are lovely. The center is really an oasis. We saw different presses for oil; one was a weight and measure press and another a screw press. We were told that olive oil is red when first squeezed, then after settling, it becomes the color we know. We also saw a wine press. We were told the students have a chance to stomp grapes but that no one wants to drink the juice the next day, even though it is boiled. We had a fireside that evening. We learned to say "Shabbat Shalom", which is the Jewish greeting. Our Sabbath was really on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Sunday, July 19. We visited the Temple Mount. Most tour members visited the El Aqsa Mosque but I didn’t. I didn’t wear socks that day and they didn’t have booties for one’s shoes as in Cairo so I passed but I couldn’t miss the Dome of the Rock so I went barefoot in there. The whole thing was covered in carpets, rather worn. Inside was the rock where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, the Muslims say it was Ishmael. The hole was to push the ground grain down into the storage chamber below. The Muslims believe Mohammed met with ancient prophets down in the chamber and that he was taken to heaven through the hole in the rock. I found out that the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque but a monument, the third most sacred place to Muslims after Mecca and Medina.
Our next stop was a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was so ornate and full of rich furnishings, even more so than the Church of the Nativity. Catholics, Greek Orthodox and other Christian denominations think this is the place where Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Protestants and LDS think it is the Garden Tomb where Jesus was entombed and resurrected as its location is outside the city walls and is a more logical place.
We next went on a walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel. This tunnel was built to bring the water from the Gihon Spring, outside city walls, to the Pool of Siloam, inside the walls. We were told that there was a fault where water ran so the excavators followed it. The tunnel is 1/3 mile in length and winds around and it took about 30 minutes to walk it. There are no lights so one has to bring a flashlight. I lost mine so I had to follow right behind Leon and his light. I could touch both sides of the tunnel with my hands and in some places had to bend down so as to not hit my head. The water was cool and came up to above my knees. The floor was rocky so we had to wear shoes to protect our feet. The entrance to the tunnel was so well hidden that residents of Jerusalem were not aware the Gihon Spring was the source of water for the pool until the 1500s. Last century, boys exploring a few feet inside the entrance found a carved stone telling about how it was made. The stone is now in the museum in Istanbul.
Monday, July 20. There are always about four or five vendors outside our hotel every morning and one has to run the gauntlet to get to the bus. We drove southeast to Bet Shemesh where we saw Byzantine ruins. It is in the area where Sampson lived. Bet or Beit means house of so Bethlehem means house of bread, Bet Shemesh is house of the sun. We visited the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath. We crossed a brook, dry, where David picked up his stones. Most on the tour picked up a stone. Bro. Nyman said the government brings in a new truckload each year to replace the stones picked up by tourists.
We drove through a vineyard to get to a place where Bro. Nyman had visited a tomb with the rolling stone intact. Alas, vandals had broken the stone but we could still see what it was like. He showed us what would have been a little corral where shepherds would enclose their sheep for the night while they slept in a cave. We saw the cave. The shepherds would have called their sheep in the morning and each sheep would have come to its master’s voice. There are 3,000 caves in the area, the rocks are made of chalk. We saw remains of a Roman road and some Roman steps on our trip back to Jerusalem.
We next drove to the BYU Jerusalem Center and what a lovely place it is. There are eight levels and visitors can go to the top three; living quarters are below. We attended Sacrament Meeting in the chapel. The wall overlooking the city is all windows so one has a superb view of the old city. After our meetings we had an organ concert just for our group. Parley Belnap was the organist, retired from BYU. Leon had known him when they both were at school. Concerts are given in the chapel every week and are open to the public.
Bro. Nyman took us on a tour of the building and grounds, which are lovely. The center is really an oasis. We saw different presses for oil; one was a weight and measure press and another a screw press. We were told that olive oil is red when first squeezed, then after settling, it becomes the color we know. We also saw a wine press. We were told the students have a chance to stomp grapes but that no one wants to drink the juice the next day, even though it is boiled. We had a fireside that evening. We learned to say "Shabbat Shalom", which is the Jewish greeting. Our Sabbath was really on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Sunday, July 19. We visited the Temple Mount. Most tour members visited the El Aqsa Mosque but I didn’t. I didn’t wear socks that day and they didn’t have booties for one’s shoes as in Cairo so I passed but I couldn’t miss the Dome of the Rock so I went barefoot in there. The whole thing was covered in carpets, rather worn. Inside was the rock where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, the Muslims say it was Ishmael. The hole was to push the ground grain down into the storage chamber below. The Muslims believe Mohammed met with ancient prophets down in the chamber and that he was taken to heaven through the hole in the rock. I found out that the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque but a monument, the third most sacred place to Muslims after Mecca and Medina.
Our next stop was a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was so ornate and full of rich furnishings, even more so than the Church of the Nativity. Catholics, Greek Orthodox and other Christian denominations think this is the place where Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Protestants and LDS think it is the Garden Tomb where Jesus was entombed and resurrected as its location is outside the city walls and is a more logical place.
We next went on a walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel. This tunnel was built to bring the water from the Gihon Spring, outside city walls, to the Pool of Siloam, inside the walls. We were told that there was a fault where water ran so the excavators followed it. The tunnel is 1/3 mile in length and winds around and it took about 30 minutes to walk it. There are no lights so one has to bring a flashlight. I lost mine so I had to follow right behind Leon and his light. I could touch both sides of the tunnel with my hands and in some places had to bend down so as to not hit my head. The water was cool and came up to above my knees. The floor was rocky so we had to wear shoes to protect our feet. The entrance to the tunnel was so well hidden that residents of Jerusalem were not aware the Gihon Spring was the source of water for the pool until the 1500s. Last century, boys exploring a few feet inside the entrance found a carved stone telling about how it was made. The stone is now in the museum in Istanbul.
Monday, July 20. There are always about four or five vendors outside our hotel every morning and one has to run the gauntlet to get to the bus. We drove southeast to Bet Shemesh where we saw Byzantine ruins. It is in the area where Sampson lived. Bet or Beit means house of so Bethlehem means house of bread, Bet Shemesh is house of the sun. We visited the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath. We crossed a brook, dry, where David picked up his stones. Most on the tour picked up a stone. Bro. Nyman said the government brings in a new truckload each year to replace the stones picked up by tourists.
We drove through a vineyard to get to a place where Bro. Nyman had visited a tomb with the rolling stone intact. Alas, vandals had broken the stone but we could still see what it was like. He showed us what would have been a little corral where shepherds would enclose their sheep for the night while they slept in a cave. We saw the cave. The shepherds would have called their sheep in the morning and each sheep would have come to its master’s voice. There are 3,000 caves in the area, the rocks are made of chalk. We saw remains of a Roman road and some Roman steps on our trip back to Jerusalem.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Dear Sea, Masada, Western Wall
Friday July 17 Leon felt he needed to rest his ankles, which were swelling badly, so he stayed behind at the hotel while we went to Qumran. We saw the ruins of the living quarters of the people who had lived there and some dams on the mountainside to catch the rainwater which was stored in their large cisterns. We saw cave #4, where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It is the only cave visible from the visitor’s center. It is very desolate country and honeycombed with caves.
We kept driving south and saw the Dead Sea. It was a beautiful acqua color and I could just imagine the disappointment of travelers, after crossing the desolate land and having this beautiful water be salty instead of fresh. This is the only place where I felt the heat, the hottest I was on the whole trip. We sat under huge awnings so we weren’t in the sun but it was terribly hot! It was probably humid because of being by the water. Some of my fellow travelers tried to swim in the water but you can only float. Some got covered with the black mud , said to be a beauty agent. They looked awful.
Our next stop was Masada, another place I particularly wanted to visit. This is where the Zealots stood off the Romans and finally committed suicide when the Romans breached the wall. We rode a cable car up and still had about 80 steps to climb. Herod built this as a stronghold and resort for himself and his family. He had food for 100 years stored, also water in the huge cisterns for 40 years. The Zealots who hid out there used these supplies. We saw Roman baths and visited Herold’s Western Palace. I couldn’t understand why anyone would use that place as a resort until I visited the palace. Inside, with shade and the sides open to cool breezes, it was a very pleasant place to be. From the top of the mountain one can look down and see the remains of several Roman forts which besieged the Zealots. Also, the ramp which was built up to the top can be seen. The Romans built a wall all around the mountain to contain the rebels. I was surprised that there were other mountains close to this one. I had imagined it sticking up all alone.
That evening we visited the Western Wall. The Sabbath would begin at 7:10 p.m. according to our guide Amos, who consulted his calendar. We would be allowed to take pictures until about 7 p.m. There is a fence back a ways from the wall and people can go beyond it but men have to wear skull caps to approach the wall. There is another fence separating the men’s section from the women’s. Worshippers wore their Sunday best. There was not a variety in the dress of the women but quite a variety in the men’s. Some wore big black fuzzy hats, other broad-brimmed hats, most skull caps. Some had their long prayer locks, others regular haircuts. Many sway while praying which is supposed to help one concentrate. I could have gone down into the women’s section but would have felt out-of-place in my pants. I also thought it would have been irreverent. I even felt uncomfortable taking pictures at the allowed time as it was a very sacred time and place for the Jews.
We kept driving south and saw the Dead Sea. It was a beautiful acqua color and I could just imagine the disappointment of travelers, after crossing the desolate land and having this beautiful water be salty instead of fresh. This is the only place where I felt the heat, the hottest I was on the whole trip. We sat under huge awnings so we weren’t in the sun but it was terribly hot! It was probably humid because of being by the water. Some of my fellow travelers tried to swim in the water but you can only float. Some got covered with the black mud , said to be a beauty agent. They looked awful.
Our next stop was Masada, another place I particularly wanted to visit. This is where the Zealots stood off the Romans and finally committed suicide when the Romans breached the wall. We rode a cable car up and still had about 80 steps to climb. Herod built this as a stronghold and resort for himself and his family. He had food for 100 years stored, also water in the huge cisterns for 40 years. The Zealots who hid out there used these supplies. We saw Roman baths and visited Herold’s Western Palace. I couldn’t understand why anyone would use that place as a resort until I visited the palace. Inside, with shade and the sides open to cool breezes, it was a very pleasant place to be. From the top of the mountain one can look down and see the remains of several Roman forts which besieged the Zealots. Also, the ramp which was built up to the top can be seen. The Romans built a wall all around the mountain to contain the rebels. I was surprised that there were other mountains close to this one. I had imagined it sticking up all alone.
That evening we visited the Western Wall. The Sabbath would begin at 7:10 p.m. according to our guide Amos, who consulted his calendar. We would be allowed to take pictures until about 7 p.m. There is a fence back a ways from the wall and people can go beyond it but men have to wear skull caps to approach the wall. There is another fence separating the men’s section from the women’s. Worshippers wore their Sunday best. There was not a variety in the dress of the women but quite a variety in the men’s. Some wore big black fuzzy hats, other broad-brimmed hats, most skull caps. Some had their long prayer locks, others regular haircuts. Many sway while praying which is supposed to help one concentrate. I could have gone down into the women’s section but would have felt out-of-place in my pants. I also thought it would have been irreverent. I even felt uncomfortable taking pictures at the allowed time as it was a very sacred time and place for the Jews.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Holy City Model, Museum, Bethlehem
Thursday, July 16. The first thing we visited was the Holyland Hotel that has an outdoor model of the Holy City at the time of Christ. This was one of the things I most wanted to see. It was most impressive and larger than what I had imagined. The whole city is laid out. There is a man employed full-time who goes around checking for loose stones and repairing whatever is needed. The model of the temple is right by the fence so it was easy to see and enjoy. We then drove through modern Jerusalem. All the buildings, new and old, must be built or faced with the same limestone so that there is an overall creamy look to the city. Very nice.
Our next stop was the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. We visited the children’s section. There were one and one-half million children who died during the holocaust. Out of doors in one area, there is a cluster of columns with the tops broken off showing that their lives were broken off. At the entrance to another memorial to children the top is covered with cement with rebar sticking out showing that their lives were still under construction. Inside it is dark with little pinpoints of light, supposedly 1,500,000. A record plays continuously naming each child, their age, and the town from which they came. It was most impressive. We also visited a building that had pictures of the holocaust, very depressing. There are long avenues of trees planted outside in memory of gentiles who helped the Jews during the war with their names on plaques.
We next went to the Israel Museum. Leon’s ankles were bothering him so he borrowed a pillow from our driver, Eddie, and took a nap in the back of the bus, while I visited the museum. It is very modern, clean and light. Next to it was the Shrine of the Book museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is built in the shape of the stopper of the clay jars in which the scrolls were found. It is white, and for some reason, water sprays on the outside. Inside, underground, is like the caves in which they were found. In the middle is a large replica of the handle of the rod that holds a scroll. It had a replica of the Elijah scroll on it. Around the walls of the room were sections of the actual scrolls. In areas we could not see they study the scrolls and preserve them.
We visited Bethlehem and went to another olive wood shop. There we were fed falafel, a pita bread filled with fried chickpeas or garbanzo beans and tomatoes and cucumbers. It was o.k. We went to the Church of the Nativity. The door was filled in centuries ago to keep the Turks from riding their horses into the building. One has to stoop low and step over a cement block to get in. There were many trappings inside, so many it was hard to imagine a simple manger. Down below in the church, besides the grotto of the nativity is a grotto where St. Jerome lived who translated the scriptures into the Latin of the people. It was quite dark in there; I could imagine how hard it would have been to write by candlelight. We sang Away In a Manger and Silent Night there. So many fancy buildings are built over presumed holy spots that it is hard to see what things might have looked like.
We next drove to Shepherd’s Field overlooking Bethlehem. It was quite dry but I have seen picture of it in other seasons and it can be quite green. We sang O Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel. It was quite hot. Bro. Nyman told us that whenever he brings BYU students there a shepherd usually comes along with his sheep. It was a very nice experience, with the area feeling like it would have been so long ago.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a diamond factory, NDC National Diamond Company. Our guide says that Israel is #1 in the cutting and polishing of diamonds, Belgium #2 and Holland #3, which surprised me as I thought Holland was #1. He said many old Jewish diamond cutters came there after surviving WW II and gave a boost to the industry. It was very interesting. We saw a lot of beautiful stones plus replicas of some famous ones.
Our next stop was the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. We visited the children’s section. There were one and one-half million children who died during the holocaust. Out of doors in one area, there is a cluster of columns with the tops broken off showing that their lives were broken off. At the entrance to another memorial to children the top is covered with cement with rebar sticking out showing that their lives were still under construction. Inside it is dark with little pinpoints of light, supposedly 1,500,000. A record plays continuously naming each child, their age, and the town from which they came. It was most impressive. We also visited a building that had pictures of the holocaust, very depressing. There are long avenues of trees planted outside in memory of gentiles who helped the Jews during the war with their names on plaques.
We next went to the Israel Museum. Leon’s ankles were bothering him so he borrowed a pillow from our driver, Eddie, and took a nap in the back of the bus, while I visited the museum. It is very modern, clean and light. Next to it was the Shrine of the Book museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is built in the shape of the stopper of the clay jars in which the scrolls were found. It is white, and for some reason, water sprays on the outside. Inside, underground, is like the caves in which they were found. In the middle is a large replica of the handle of the rod that holds a scroll. It had a replica of the Elijah scroll on it. Around the walls of the room were sections of the actual scrolls. In areas we could not see they study the scrolls and preserve them.
We visited Bethlehem and went to another olive wood shop. There we were fed falafel, a pita bread filled with fried chickpeas or garbanzo beans and tomatoes and cucumbers. It was o.k. We went to the Church of the Nativity. The door was filled in centuries ago to keep the Turks from riding their horses into the building. One has to stoop low and step over a cement block to get in. There were many trappings inside, so many it was hard to imagine a simple manger. Down below in the church, besides the grotto of the nativity is a grotto where St. Jerome lived who translated the scriptures into the Latin of the people. It was quite dark in there; I could imagine how hard it would have been to write by candlelight. We sang Away In a Manger and Silent Night there. So many fancy buildings are built over presumed holy spots that it is hard to see what things might have looked like.
We next drove to Shepherd’s Field overlooking Bethlehem. It was quite dry but I have seen picture of it in other seasons and it can be quite green. We sang O Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel. It was quite hot. Bro. Nyman told us that whenever he brings BYU students there a shepherd usually comes along with his sheep. It was a very nice experience, with the area feeling like it would have been so long ago.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a diamond factory, NDC National Diamond Company. Our guide says that Israel is #1 in the cutting and polishing of diamonds, Belgium #2 and Holland #3, which surprised me as I thought Holland was #1. He said many old Jewish diamond cutters came there after surviving WW II and gave a boost to the industry. It was very interesting. We saw a lot of beautiful stones plus replicas of some famous ones.
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