We rented a car for today and tomorrow to see the sites that were just outside Jerusalem. We still have our guide for today, thank goodness, because driving in Jerusalem is just as bad as driving in New York City!
First we went to the Mount of Olives where Jesus went on a number of occasions. Taking in the view of Jerusalem from that area was gorgeous. While he may not have seen the same landscape as us, it was the very location that he would look to Jerusalem and see the temple and the city.
The places we visited on the Mount remind us of the many events that took place in Jesus' life. Keep in mind, for most of these locations no one knows the exact place, and some of them are a little far fetched, but usually it is the general area where these events happened. Yesterday we saw Golgotha, the Garden tomb, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Today we went to Dominus Flevit, the church that commemorates when Jesus wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44. This is the view of Jerusalem from that church.
Next we visited the area where he taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer. The church has the Lord's Prayer written in dozens of languages displayed all around their courtyard.
Finally we went to one of the seven churches that remembers Jesus' ascension into heaven. The Catholic Church even has the rock where he ascended from and the "footprint of Jesus" in the rock to prove it. Can you see the footprint? (Like I said, some claims are a little far fetched!)
The second area we went to was Bethlehem, about 5 miles from Jerusalem. After the wise men got to Jerusalem they didn't have too far to go! Since Bethlehem is in the West Bank and Palestinian territory, our guide could not go with us. So he arranged for another guide to meet us at the border and we spent 2 hours in Bethlehem. Security was very easy and there were no problems or danger whatsoever.
We went first to the Shepherds' Fields just outside Bethlehem city. According to our guide, shepherds were wandering nomads that travelled all around Israel with their sheep. They were not citizens of Bethlehem or taking care of sheep that belonged to people in Bethlehem. As they wandered they would find caves to spend the night and allow some of the baby or sickly sheep to stay with them where it was warm and out of the rain. They would rarely sleep outside and if they did they had a tent they took with them and slept under the tent. We saw some of the fields, which were rockier than we had expected, and went in one of the caves that still had the black ceiling from all the fires that had been built in it over the centuries.
Our last stop in Bethlehem was to go to the Church of the Nativity. In it, descending to a cave below, is the celebrated birthplace of Jesus. Although the church has fancy decorations and walls covered with cloth, you can still see the original stone cave of the ceiling. Jesus was born in a cave where animals were sheltered overnight. A 14 point star commemorates the actual event as well as an area where the manger was supposed to be.
You can see the original stone ceiling of the cave in this picture.
For our last stop we made a change in plans. While we had planned to go to Ein Karem where the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah were and where John the Baptist was born, we decided instead to go to Hebron where the tombs of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were. Yes, this place is also in the West Bank but since it is such a holy site for so many Jewish and Christian people, safe passageways have been created so many could make this journey. While tense at times, our guide knew where to go and where not to and there were never any real threats.
It is one of the few sites where all three major religions visit since we all have ties to the area, but there is a separate viewing area for Muslims and non-Muslims so the people don't have to mingle. Here is the sign posted as well as a picture of the Muslim viewing area taken from the non-Muslim area.
The tombs were very impressive. They each had a separate room and covered with a cloth. It was mind boggling to think that here were the patriarchs of all three religions from 4,000 years ago. Hard to get our minds around!
There is so much to see and do in Israel. So much history, religion, and yes politics. And it is such an important place to so many people and so many different religions. It is truly a holy place. We have been encouraged by several people and we pass that request onto those who read this, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Israel."
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