The focus for May 27 was the Old City of Jerusalem. Our group made a successful effort to be the first tourists in line to pass through the metal detectors giving us access to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount where both Solomon's and Herod's temples once stood.
Above the Western Wall can be seen the Dome of the Rock. To enter the Temple Mount we walked up the covered ramp.
Above the Western Wall to the right the Al Aqsa Mosque is visible.
The view of the Western Wall or Wailing Wall from the ramp leading up to the Temple Mount. The men are on the left and the women on the right of the barrier. Worshipers go to the wall to pray and some write down their request to God on a paper and put the paper in cracks in the wall.
As we walked up the ramp, it was a little disconcerting to see a stack of full body shields which are used during riots and other types of public disturbances.
Once on the Temple Mount, women were told to cover up with a scarf. Thankfully I left my scarf in the backpack and had it with me. Michael said they have never requested scarves at this location before, so a lot of the women weren't prepared and had to buy a scarf.
This cute lady here had to buy a scarf on site. And how unfortunate we had to be all covered up on such a sweltering hot day!!
We were strategically posing for a photo in hopes we could get a good shot of the group of military people sitting on the corner of this raised area where we are standing. They were all carrying machine guns by their sides and when they sat down, the guns would be pointing straight out at anybody walking by.
The ablution fountain known as Al-kas (the Cup) is located north of the mosque between it and the Dome of the Rock. It is used by worshipers to perform ritual washing before entry into the mosque.
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine that houses the Foundation Stone from which Muhammed is said to have ascended to heaven. It is also believed to be the site where Abraham was poised to sacrifice Isaac.
We put on our whisper sets so Michael could give us a lecture.
When the street sweeper came through, we had to pick up and move on.
Our two busloads of Fun For Less people gathered together for a group photo.
The Lions' Gate is located in the Old City walls of Jerusalem and is one of seven open gates in Jerusalem's Old City walls. Located in the east wall, the entrance marks the beginning of the traditional Christian observance of the last walk of Jesus from prison to crucifixion.
The streets got crowded when a car wanted to pass by groups of pedestrians.
Beautiful setting in this inner courtyard for Michael to give another lecture.
Near the Pools of Bethesda, the Church of St. Anne was built over the site believed to be the home of Jesus' maternal grandparents and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary.
This Roman Catholic priest talked to us for a few minutes about how this church is dedicated to the grandmother of Jesus who must have taught her daughter Mary about love and kindness. She in turn must have taught the same to her son Jesus, whose message to the world was all about love. I loved his message emphasizing the impact a mother's teachings has upon her child.
Ruins of the Pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who had been sick for 38 years.
Out on the streets again.
The Nuns' Ascent.
We met together in the Convent of the Sisters of Zion to hear a lecture from Michael.
Underneath the convent...
There is an extensive area of Roman flagstones which were part of one of the main streets of Roman Jerusalem.
On the street we almost got killed. There were so many people crammed into this narrow space, but that wasn't the dangerous part.
It got dangerous when this car started backing up with the millions of people pushing to try to get past it. Then when it began backing closer and closer to the wall, those of us who were between it and the wall felt like we were going to get crushed to death because there were too many people to move out of its way.
It was claustrophobic and awful!
Excavation of buildings from the time of King Herod by the Temple Mount.
Steven and Patricia found a good stone to sit upon for another of Michael's lectures.
Sign says: Collapsed on the paved street are stones of the western wall of the Temple Mount enclosure. They were hurled down by the soldiers of the Roman Legion after the destruction of the Temple...
A rock-cut Jewish ritual bath from the Second Temple period. The parapet down the middle of the steps separated bathers on their way down to be cleansed from those ascending who had already been purified.
By a gate with armed guards standing nearby with machine guns at the ready.
Next stop was the BYU Jerusalem Center which provides the students with a curriculum that focuses on Old and New Testament, ancient and modern Near Eastern studies, and language--Hebrew and Arabic. The grounds were so beautiful.
The inside was beautiful, too. Arches seemed to be the theme of the building.
We were ushered into the auditorium which has a breathtaking view overlooking the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley and the Old City.
One of the senior couple sister missionaries talked to us about the Jerusalem Center and then another one played several musical arrangements on the impressive organ behind us.
We took a tour around the grounds.
The eight-level, terraced structure is located on Mount Scopus. The Dome of the Rock is visible from this vantage point.
These replicas represent how Jerusalem looked during different stages of its existence.
The Jerusalem Center is set amid 5 acres of gardens.
At the Center, the students are able to participate in helping with the Biblical Garden.
The plaque reads: Thanks to the broad distribution of grapevines and olive trees, the Holy Land came to contain thousands of ancient installations for processing their fruits--wine presses for treading grapes and oil expression plants for pressing olives. Such installations have been reconstructed in the Biblical Garden in accordance with archaeological finds, ancient illustrations, and ethnographic comparisons.
So basically it means the students grow olives and grapes and using ancient equipment and their own muscles they make juice and oil.
Olive trees in the beautiful gardens.
Next the bus took us to The Israel Museum where we got to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls in a shrine nearby.
There was also an impressive Model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. It reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 AD.
Now here's a panoramic photo of the model.
Dinner (or should I say waffle dessert?) back at the hotel.
We enjoyed the view of the pool. The Dan Hotel has the same architect as the BYU Jerusalem Center. Both buildings are terraced and have beautiful arches in their designs.
This is what Glen's legs looked like at the end of this day. Not a pretty sight!
Step count for the day was 14,860 which is 7.50 miles.
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