WOW. From 7:45 am until 5:00pm we were on the go. Today was packed with more information about Ancient Israel than possible to absorb in one day... But we made a valiant effort!! We began with a short visit to the wall where we could offer a “Modeh Ani” morning prayer--the prayer we say upon waking up saying “thank You” to God for allowing us this new day. We then spent hours exploring the Old City--the ancient walls found underground that were part of the Temple. In these tunnels, is the closest Wall we have to the Holy of Holies inside the Temple. See pic. below:
After the tunnels we went for a tour of the Christian Quarter and the 14 Stations of Jesus/saw the Church where Jesus is said to be buried, heard beautiful gregorian chanting in the church which added depth to our experience of seeing a most holy and significant place in the Christian world. There were people kissing the place where Jesus is said to be entombed, monks in robes--some hooded, some not walked around, and some lit candles. The importance of this sight was palpable.
After the Church we went through the busy corridors of the Arab/Christian market and made our way into the Jewish Quarter stoping to shop and sightsee at the Cardo-an ancient thoroughfare and shopping area that has been updated by thousands of years and is home to some of the most expensive stores in Jerusalem. The cardo today:
The Cardo a few thousand years ago: we are still shopping....
We then sat for about 35 min. For lunch and then off to tour again! We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the City of David, walked through an ancient waterworks system, walked through tunnels, did some climbing and walking, saw a 3800 year old spring and then stood for a “we did it!!” picture at the end of the day!!!
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