Israel: Day Seven

Old Jerusalem. This ancient walled city is quite small, only 220 acres (about one square kilometer). It is divided into four sections: the Jewish Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Armenian Quarter and Christian Quarter. The Muslim Quarter is by far the largest section. It contains the focal point of the city: the Temple Mount, where the Jewish Temple once stood -- and where the Dome of the Rock now stands.

Denise feeling very protected in the Western Wall plaza

We entered the Old City through the Dung Gate. This put us in the Jewish Quarter and near the Western Wall, our first stop. Also known as the Wailing Wall, it is one of King Herod the Great’s original 1st century retaining walls that enclosed the former Jewish Temple. It is the section of the wall closest to the Temple Mount.

Entering the Old City through the Dung Gate

Map of Old Jerusalem

The Western Wall is divided into the men's section and the women's section. Sure enough, people were wailing -- some louder than others. One gentleman, wearing a phylactery on his head, wailed exceptionally loud and for a long time. I think he was wailing when we left.

Why are the Jewish people wailing at this wall? The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. and never rebuilt, so the Jews mourn the loss. The wailing is a Jewish form of prayer, and most effective nearest the Holy of Holies, but not too close. Jews are forbidden by Torah Law to go beyond the Western Wall because that would bring them too close to the Temple Mount, where the Holy of Holies is. The Muslims built the current Dome of the Rock over the Temple Mount in 692 A.D., which may contribute to the grieving of the Jews.

Western temple wall to left. Southern wall to right.

We then took an underground tour of the Western Wall tunnels, which gave us a fascinating look at the huge foundation stones of Herod's wall. The largest stone is 14 meters wide, 4 meters tall and 600 tons. The tunnels actually get you closer to the Holy of Holies than the Wailing Wall. There's a special place in the tunnels, closest to the Holy of Holies, that is designated for women.

Western Wall

After the tunnels, we visited the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who had been an invalid 38 years. These are considered to be the actual Pools of Bethesda. Nothing "traditional" about them. Archaeologists discovered them in the 19th century and recognized that they matched the pools mentioned in John's Gospel. They are several feet below ground level, so you must look down into the excavated area.

Next, we visited the Church of Saint Anne, a Roman Catholic church, located near the Pools of Bethesda. The Romanesque-style church, built around 1130 AD, commemorates Mary’s mother, Anna. Known for it’s amazing acoustics, the church is a destination for soloists and choirs. Our group experienced these acoustics while slowly singing, with frequent pauses for effect, “Amazing Grace” and “Alleluia.”

Women's Wailing Wall

Women's Wailing Wall 

Prayers stuffed between stones in Western Wall

Near the Church of Saint Anne, we began the Via Dolorosa, which means "Way of Sorrows." The Via Dolorosa is a pilgrim’s path that highlights 14 stages of Christ’s sufferings, including where He was sentenced, carried the cross, was crucified, entombed and resurrected. These fourteen “Stations of the Cross” are located throughout Old Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa is not the precise path Christ took. Rather, it's a traditional route. The real path does exist somewhere in Old Jerusalem, but is several feet underground.

Men's Wailing Wall

The grand finale of the Via Dolorosa is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a highly possible location of Christ’s crucifixion, entombment and resurrection. Like Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the main entrance is very low -- built to prevent invaders on horses. Four locations are of note: where Christ was nailed to the cross, Golgotha where He was crucified, the Stone of Anointment where His body was laid (a recent tradition, the stone brought in in 1810), and the Aedicule that contains the sepulcher where Christ was entombed.

Entering Western Wall tunnels with Yarmulke

The following is a brief history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as well as some arguments that make this a "highly possible" location where Jesus was crucified, entombed and resurrected. In 325 A.D., Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, urged Emperor Constantine, at the Council of Nicea, to destroy former Emperor Hadrian’s pagan temple to Venus, which was (according to tradition) built over Christ’s tomb in 135 A.D.

In 326 A.D., Constantine’s mother, Helena, visited Jerusalem and was told that Hadrian’s pagan temple covered Christ’s tomb. Eusebius, Constantine’s biographer (339 A.D.), writes in detail about how Constantine zealously destroyed the pagan temple, unearthed and located Christ’s tomb, and built a lavish church around it.

This location meets the Biblical description that places Golgotha near the tomb -- both within the same garden (John 19:41). In Christ’s day it was located just outside the city, per Biblical description. First century tombs have indeed been discovered here, as well as the type of soil befitting a garden.

Closest allowable spot to Holy of Holies

Massive W. Wall base stones in tunnel

The current walls around the old city, built about 400 years ago, enlarged the city to include the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The church complex is shared by Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Syrians and Copts. Abyssinians occupy part of the roof. Rights to the tomb are divided between Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic churches. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the grand finale of the Via Dolorosa, including stations 10 through 14.

Pools of Bethesda

Church of Saint Anne

Old Jerusalem is a maze of narrow streets. It's almost claustrophobic. We had lunch in the center of the Jewish Quarter, a nice, open area where we could relax without feeling confined. It was a nice place to people watch.

Pilgrims along the Via Dolorosa

Not that Old Jerusalem is like Disneyland, but there are a lot of sights to see within a small geographic area. The Dome of the Rock was the next "ride," and a long line awaited us. The Muslim custodians allow visits for a limited time, so you hope to get in before the cutoff time. It must have been in the high 80s because I struggled with the heat as the line slowly moved. We made it past a security checkpoint and shuffled up a ramp to an entrance near the top of the Western Wall. We barely got through the temple wall into the Temple Mount plaza before the cutoff time. It was an eerie feeling, knowing that we stood where devout Jews are not allowed to stand. The Holy of Holies was just a stone's throw away.

Stations of the Cross plus Christ's resurrection 

There it was before us, that big golden dome -- no gates or walls between it and us. Unfortunately, before we had a chance to walk up the wide, stone stairway to the dome, an intense, Muslim security guard told us to leave, as in "Now!" I actually got a bit scared as our group hustled toward the exit. Oh, well. We still got close and they wouldn't have allowed us inside the dome anyway, unless we were Muslims.

After leaving the Dome of the Rock "plaza," we revisited the Wailing Wall. We had nearly an hour to kill, so we people-watched and I took my favorite photo of the trip: Denise standing in the midst of several armed Israeli troops. Nice. Evidently, some sort of military exercise was taking place near the Western Wall; troops were everywhere.

Vendors within the Old City

Nice fabrics for sale

Modern-day Templar Knights?

Via Dolorosa: Jesus carries His cross

We then left the Old City. Just outside the city walls, we visited and walked on the Southern Steps. These are a wide expanse of stone steps leading to the southern entrance of the Temple Mount plaza. The entrance is sealed off. The top of the gray dome of the El-Aqsa Mosque is visible beyond the high southern wall. The significant thing about the Southern Steps is that they date before the time of Christ. Jesus and His disciples would have used them whenever they visited the Jewish Temple. This is "certain," and it was really cool to actually walk where Jesus walked.

Pilgrim prayer along Via Dolorosa

Go Ducks!

I said goodbye to Old Jerusalem and joined the group. We walked down a street towards the Kidron Valley, past an area called the City of David.

Dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

In the valley, we visited the actual Pool of Siloam, where, in John's Gospel, Jesus healed a blind man in an unusual manner. The Lord spit on the ground and made mud, which He place on the blind man's eyes. Half of the pool was excavated in 2005, so this is a very recent archaeological discovery. The Greek Orthodox Church has jurisdiction over the other half and they have not allowed excavation. Is this really the same Pool of Siloam from Jesus' day? Yes.

Excited Ethiopian Orthodox cleric

And so ended our visit to Old Jerusalem. Come back next week and read about the eighth and final day of our awesome tour of Israel.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher entrance #2

Ceiling of Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Where Jesus was nailed to the cross

Golgotha: where Christ was crucified

Possible spot where Jesus was crucified

Stone of Anointment where Christ's body was placed

Mosaic of the dead Christ just after crucifixion 

Entrance to the tomb, where Christ was buried

Interesting people in Jewish Quarter

Center of Jewish Quarter where we ate lunch

Nice mugshot in Jewish Quarter

Perspective photo. Western Wall. Ramp leading to Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock

Waiting in line to see Dome of the Rock. Read the warning.

Israeli security on the ramp leading to the Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

Closest we got to the Dome of the Rock

Model of ancient Jewish Temple where today's Dome of the Rock stands. (On display at the Israel Museum)

Cute kids near Western Wall plaza

Near City of David

Pool of Siloam near Kidron Valley