We ported in Haifa........
Then we were driven to Jerusalem.......
Our guide was excellent. He discussed the current conflicts explaining how Christians, Jews and Moslems have fought over the city for centuries and there appears to be no resolution, just an uneasy peace. Before exiting the bus he gave us each a special sticker to wear and card to carry should we be separated so that their company's security people could come find us. This is Jerusalem.
Our first stop was the Church of All Nations, so named because many countries helped pay for its construction.....
It is located by the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before being arrested by the Roman soldiers. Gethsemane means olive press in Hebrew and was once near the place that pressed the olives, hence the many olive trees........
Jesus was then taken into the Old City through these gates......
They have since been sealed off and a Muslim cemetery placed in front of it since this area is controlled by the Moslems.
It was time to enter the Old City....
We were told to expect to see a lot soldiers.......
On our way into the Old City we were able to visit the Wailing Wall, (known as the Western Wall in Jerusalem), which is the last remaining remnant of Solomon's temple.....
Then we wound our way the through the Old City onto the Via Dolorosa which is the path Jesus took on the way to his crucifixion.
It is in the heart of the Muslim quarter which is jammed with vendors, people and tourists and the Stations of the Cross wind through these narrow streets.......
At one juncture you have the stations where Jesus first fell with his cross and then met his mother....
which is right next to an Arab stall selling belly dancing outfits.....
The final Staions are found at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.....
Prior to entering we had to wait for these Armenian bishops to exit.
Then into the church we went. It is very pretty, very old and jammed with visitors.
Here is the place called Golgotha where Jesus was crucified...
And here is where His body was taken down and given to His Mother....
Below Golgotha is a place where the blood of Jesus can be seen where it seeped down on the rocks below.........
This is the stone of purification where Jesus body was cleaned....
And this is Jesus tomb which is housed in a church within a church......
I had to quickly take this out of focus photo as the room would only hold one person and there were dozens of people waiting.......
The entire experience was wonderful and I will treasure it always.
After finding our way back out of the old city we were taken to a kibbutz for the best meal I have eaten on this entire trip (could have been the great hummus).
Our next stop was Bethlehem.
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