Monday June 16 Jerusalem
This day was spent entirely in the Old City of Jerusalem with some exception. An amazing revelation begins to form in our heads as we see and are told of the many “layers” that make up the Old City. From the time of Abraham and Isaac who saw only the mountain called Mt. Moriah, (now the Holy of Holies in the Temple Center) to the hundreds of present day shops which are both on the top level and hidden on the many streets that take-up the millennia of building in the previous years. The Old City is very complex. One outstanding example is the Western Wall or Wailing Wall which is 36 feet above ground (see picture), BUT is also 36 feet below ground going down to the original building in Solomon’s time.
The time line would include changes that were affected by occupation by most of the following groups;
3300 BC the first settlements (Abraham and other tribes.)
1006 BC David’s time
585 BC The Babylonian Exodus –(Temple destroyed)
538 BC the Persians
332 BC the Hellenistic Era
63 BC The Romans (Temple destroyed)
6-7 BC Jesus birth
324 AD the Byzantine Era (Building over)
638 AD the Muslim Era (Building over)
1099 AD Crusaders (Building over)
1260 AD Monaluk
1517 AD the Ottoman (Building over)
1917 AD the British
1948 AD Israel
So with all the destruction and rebuilding, the battle to have “turf” went on for thousands of years. Hence one site ex:(Holy Sepulchre), might have three or four churches/mosques. In Bethlehem it is the same where up to 7 groups claim the site of Jesus birth.
We did cover a lot of the City, however, and here are some of the highlights.
Besides walking most of the “traditional” “Way of the Cross” (new evidence changes the “traditional” path), we also visited … (All of these in the Temple square) The Temple Mount where God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This is bare dirt and it is called “the Holy of Holies” We also saw the men and women at the Wailing Wall and it was Monday traditional Bar Mitzvah Day. We did visit and pray there individually in the afternoon. There was also St Anne’s Monastery and the Pools of Bet Hesda. (Bet means “house” in Hebrew) The northern Cistern all of which were hand carved, (held 250,000 gallons of water), and is also know as the Antonio Fortress. This was all in the Muslim Quarter. Then we followed the traditional Via Dolorosa (it has been changed through new evidence lately) which ends near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church actually is 7 churches in one spot. More importantly it is not the burial site (Tomb) of Jesus, which we attended the next day near Golgotha. We were able to look in on a prison ruins. Terrible torture took place here under many rulers. We followed the Cardo (the wide street which was the main street to enter the Old City, (25 feet wide) of the 2nd Temple Period and saw below the buildings from the First Temple Period.
After lunch near the Cardo, we visited the Robinson Arch (see picture) which left “no stone upon a stone” when it fell after the destruction in 70 AD. (See picture)We ended the tour that day by visiting the archeological Garden on the NE corner of the Wall.
Some facts:
Peter led 3,000 Jews to Baptism 7 weeks after Pentecost.
Jerusalem comes from the words meaning Yahweh, (God) Ju
(?), Salem (Shalom) God is peace.
We tasted Hyssop (on the sponge when Jesus was on the cross)
We tasted capers (ointment at death) and both grow on shrubs.
The British brought Armenians (5 families) to place tiles ALL THE AWAY AROUND the Dome of the Rock in mosaic style. It is a masterful work (see picture)
The Crusaders built the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre but it was destroyed by earthquake.
, There are 4 quarters in the Old City- Muslim, Christian, Armenian, and Jewish. There is also some German (Kaiser “Bill”), Italian, Greek, and many other influences in the Old City.
The church bells in the Catholic churches ring the ‘Angelus’ at noon.
During the Hellenistic Period the Kings converted to Hebrew faith.
Many ruins are being excavated today as it is ongoing. There are more archeologists in Jerusalem than anywhere else in the world. Tomorrow we finish with a visit to, the Holocaust (children’s memorial and grounds and the tomb of Jesus and Golgotha (Calvary). We will end with a communion service there at the tomb..JPG)
This day was spent entirely in the Old City of Jerusalem with some exception. An amazing revelation begins to form in our heads as we see and are told of the many “layers” that make up the Old City. From the time of Abraham and Isaac who saw only the mountain called Mt. Moriah, (now the Holy of Holies in the Temple Center) to the hundreds of present day shops which are both on the top level and hidden on the many streets that take-up the millennia of building in the previous years. The Old City is very complex. One outstanding example is the Western Wall or Wailing Wall which is 36 feet above ground (see picture), BUT is also 36 feet below ground going down to the original building in Solomon’s time.
The time line would include changes that were affected by occupation by most of the following groups;
3300 BC the first settlements (Abraham and other tribes.)
1006 BC David’s time
585 BC The Babylonian Exodus –(Temple destroyed)
538 BC the Persians
332 BC the Hellenistic Era
63 BC The Romans (Temple destroyed)
6-7 BC Jesus birth
324 AD the Byzantine Era (Building over)
638 AD the Muslim Era (Building over)
1099 AD Crusaders (Building over)
1260 AD Monaluk
1517 AD the Ottoman (Building over)
1917 AD the British
1948 AD Israel
So with all the destruction and rebuilding, the battle to have “turf” went on for thousands of years. Hence one site ex:(Holy Sepulchre), might have three or four churches/mosques. In Bethlehem it is the same where up to 7 groups claim the site of Jesus birth.
We did cover a lot of the City, however, and here are some of the highlights.
Besides walking most of the “traditional” “Way of the Cross” (new evidence changes the “traditional” path), we also visited … (All of these in the Temple square) The Temple Mount where God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This is bare dirt and it is called “the Holy of Holies” We also saw the men and women at the Wailing Wall and it was Monday traditional Bar Mitzvah Day. We did visit and pray there individually in the afternoon. There was also St Anne’s Monastery and the Pools of Bet Hesda. (Bet means “house” in Hebrew) The northern Cistern all of which were hand carved, (held 250,000 gallons of water), and is also know as the Antonio Fortress. This was all in the Muslim Quarter. Then we followed the traditional Via Dolorosa (it has been changed through new evidence lately) which ends near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church actually is 7 churches in one spot. More importantly it is not the burial site (Tomb) of Jesus, which we attended the next day near Golgotha. We were able to look in on a prison ruins. Terrible torture took place here under many rulers. We followed the Cardo (the wide street which was the main street to enter the Old City, (25 feet wide) of the 2nd Temple Period and saw below the buildings from the First Temple Period.
After lunch near the Cardo, we visited the Robinson Arch (see picture) which left “no stone upon a stone” when it fell after the destruction in 70 AD. (See picture)We ended the tour that day by visiting the archeological Garden on the NE corner of the Wall.
Some facts:
Peter led 3,000 Jews to Baptism 7 weeks after Pentecost.
Jerusalem comes from the words meaning Yahweh, (God) Ju
(?), Salem (Shalom) God is peace.
We tasted Hyssop (on the sponge when Jesus was on the cross)
We tasted capers (ointment at death) and both grow on shrubs.
The British brought Armenians (5 families) to place tiles ALL THE AWAY AROUND the Dome of the Rock in mosaic style. It is a masterful work (see picture)
The Crusaders built the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre but it was destroyed by earthquake.
, There are 4 quarters in the Old City- Muslim, Christian, Armenian, and Jewish. There is also some German (Kaiser “Bill”), Italian, Greek, and many other influences in the Old City.
The church bells in the Catholic churches ring the ‘Angelus’ at noon.
During the Hellenistic Period the Kings converted to Hebrew faith.
Many ruins are being excavated today as it is ongoing. There are more archeologists in Jerusalem than anywhere else in the world. Tomorrow we finish with a visit to, the Holocaust (children’s memorial and grounds and the tomb of Jesus and Golgotha (Calvary). We will end with a communion service there at the tomb.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment