FEBRUARY 23 - JERUSALEM
The itinerary promised to be an extremely busy day.
After breakfast and before we went downstairs to meet Moody and George, I left clothing to be laundered which was part of our A&K package.
First of all, I've found a great website entitled "See the Holy Land" and I've included links from that website, when available, to all the sites we visited today.
First stop was a visit to the Garden of Gethsemane - where Jesus prayed with his disciples before his crucifixion - where we were supposed to visit yesterday but for our late arrival into Israel. It is a beautifully maintained garden and quite peaceful and contemplative. The Cross of Jerusalem in on the door leading into the Garden.
A tree planted in commemoration of Pope Francis's visit in 2014.
A tree planted in commemoration of Pope Paul VI visit in 1964.
Along side the Garden, is the beautiful Basilica of the Agony also known as the Church of All Nations.
National symbols of 12 donors — Argentina, Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain
and the United States of America — are inside the ceiling domes.
Nearby was the Tomb of Mary. According to the linked website, "the crypt, much of it cut into solid rock, is dark and gloomy. The smell of incense fills the air, the ceiling is blackened by centuries of candle smoke, and gold and silver lamps hang in profusion." All that is true. I did go into the little area of the "tomb" but photos were not allowed.
There are conflicting theories on where Mary was buried but it is believed that she was assumed into Heaven body and soul.
I love signage.
Next stop was Sainte Anne's Jerusalem, Bethesda, the birthplace of Mary.
Lots of walking and next began our walk along the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus carried the cross, arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus's crucifixion, burial and resurrection. As a young girl in Catholic grammar school, I regularly made what is called the "Stations of the Cross;" the fourteen stops along the Via Dolorosa commemorate Christ's Passion.
The first Station of the Cross is at the Sanctuary of the Flagellation.
The Bronze discs mark the Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa; the crossed arms above Station V are the Franciscan coat of arms.
I was actually under the impression that we would see a small hill near Jerusalem where Christ was crucified. Well, that is certainly not the case. As the link I'm including says, "But the pilgrim who looks for the hill of Calvary and a tomb cut out of rock in a garden nearby will be disappointed."
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem covers what Christians believe is the site of the most important event in human history: The place where Jesus Christ rose from the dead. This was truly an amazing place. We were extremely lucky to have visited when we had because Moody explained to us, in normal times, there would be a two-hour wait to navigate through this Church. As you can read from the link, there are 30+ chapels and worship places within these walls. As we came to know throughout our visit to the Middle East, there are churches built on top of churches that are built on top of other churches. Depending who is in charge, the church will have architectural elements from the Byzantines, the Greek Orthodox, the Catholics, the Armenians, etc. We saw elements of all these styles within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Here, Michael is actually touching the rock on the place where Jesus was crucified.
The most emotionally moving moment for me was touching the "Rock of Anointation" or "Stone of the Anointing" which is where Jesus was lain after being removed from the Cross. This is wear Mary prepared her son for burial. I couldn't even imagine what it would've been like to see your child murdered, to clean and wrap his body for burial. It was heart-wrenching for me. Right next to the "Rock" was a magnificent mural (it might have been created out of mosaics) of the death of Jesus, his removal from the Cross, the preparation for his burial and his burial.
I'm not sure of the sequence of events that day, but I know we had lunch at the Adom Restaurant near the train station. I ordered chicken livers which were very good but very rich. While speaking with the waiter, he told us a Big Mac at McDonald's cost 90 ILS or $30.00! A kid's meal was 40 ILS or $12.00!
After lunch, we headed to the Western Wall, an incredibly solemn place. As the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the holiest of places for Christians, the Western Wall is the holiest place for Jews. I went to the right side for women and Michael and Moody approached the wall on the left reserved for men. Before I left, I prepared my own little prayer list that I inserted into the crevice of the wall - upper half of photo to the left. I had read that the prayers are regularly removed from the Wall and buried rather than merely discarded.
This was a separate area inside the structure on the men's side where people were obviously studying.
Michael loves old and rare coins and after telling Moody about this interest, Moody contacted a friend of his, "Lenny," who was gracious enough to invite us to his home to take a look at his vast, and I mean vast, collection! We could not believe the thousands of items he had collected over the years!
After a very long day, Moody and George dropped us off at our Hotel, bade us good night and said, "We'll see you tomorrow at 8:30."
To get back to our laundry I mentioned at the beginning of today's happenings. We returned to our room to find the most elegantly handling of laundry we've ever encountered anywhere in the world. Everything was placed in plastic coverings, hung on hangars and placed in a hanging suit bag.
We were so impressed with Luis Tacos that we went back for another meal - this time Michael actually ate! Another big day tomorrow!
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