Intro to Jerusalem

We'd worked for months to arrange some tours while in Jerusalem, as we were aware that it is the busiest time of year, and being here over Easter was one of the few things we were intent on making happen when we set off on this wild adventure. We wanted to be intentional with our schedule in Israel and have a slower-paced touring schedule so that we could reflect and not feel rushed as a family. Unfortunately, it ended up we were re-working details with our tour person up until the Friday of our arrival, which was frustrating.

We started out Saturday morning with a walking tour that we were not aware was guided by a pro-Palestinian guide. We started at the Damascus Gate and toured the Muslim quarter inside the walls and learned some of the history and perspective of the people there. Then we walked along parts of the Via Dolorosa, looked out over the Temple of the Mount/Dome of the Rock, visited the Western Wall also known as the Wailing Wall, and ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will go into more detail in a later post about some of these sites, but this post will focus on our first impressions of the city. While it was amazing to see firsthand these locations, hearing about Jerusalem from the Palestian perspective gave us a very unique first impression, especially after having celebrated Shabbat with a Jewish family the night before. We would end up appreciating this insight for what it was worth later, as we would have it to reflect on during the remainder of our time in Israel, because trying to wrap our minds around the history and the conflict here is not at all for the faint of heart.

Some of the highlights about what our tour guide pointed out to us was the duality of treatment for Palestinians in Israel. The Palestinians are citizens who pay taxes but are not considered residents and are not given Passports. Israeli soldiers with automatic weapons are everywhere and certainly elevate the tension. Palestinians have different schools, neighborhoods and water availability, even streets in some instances. The majority of the tourist sites are Israeli by nature, and nothing of Palestinian significance is shown much reverence at all. It was eye-opening for us to better grasp just how frustrating it would be to grow up in such a hostile environment. Certain parts of the city are simply not traveled by the Jewish and vice versa. As tourists we were "allowed" to go almost anywhere, and never felt unsafe at any time, but in many places the tension could literally be felt. This was a very eye-opening first day and certainly sent our western brains spinning to process all that we learned from a very new vantage point.

As we walked around inside the walls, we were introduced to Jerusalem bread, a bread with somewhat of a baked pretzel texture sprinkled with sesame seeds, formed into elongated "O" shaped loaves and eaten with a salt mix of herbs and sesame called Za'atar. We also tried salted green almonds which have a sour lime sort of taste and are actually the fruit of the almond pit we know as the almond nut, before we would consider it to be ripe.

The Damascus Gate, built around 140 AD. The "older gate" is visible below and to the left of the guys

Jerusalem rooftop - Dome of the Rock in background

Middle Eastern spice market

Loaves of Jerusalem Bread- YUM!

In the afternoon we headed to the Garden Tomb for a tour. The Garden Tomb is one of two sites that is potentially thought to be the location of where Jesus was crucified and buried. Having visited the other possible location, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, that morning, and not having received a Biblical perspective of the site or much time to search Scripture or reflect there, we were very impressed with our time and tour at the Garden Tomb. The rock structure that resembles a skull could be a possible site of Golgotha, the hill Jesus was crucified on top of. Then in another area of the beautiful garden is the tomb that is set in a cave. The entire area is picturesque and we all agreed was much more like what we envisioned these areas to be like in our Western-minds. We did find it interesting that the distance from the location of the crucifixion to the tomb was not very far, but it all seemed like a possibility to us and the garden itself was a calming, beautiful place to explore.

Skull rock which could be Golgotha (though not the traditional spot)

Potential tomb where Jesus was laid

Outside the "Garden Tomb"

"He is not here, for He is risen!"

Bible verse with G and the tomb in the background

Since we still had our rental car (due to Shabbat), we decided to drive a few minutes away to the area of Ein Karem. This was a unique area that seemed a bit artsy, picturesque, and not so touristy. This is the area where Elizabeth and Zachariah are believed to have lived. Apparently they had two homes, one in the main village area where John the Baptist is thought to have been born, which was their main home; however, it was closed when we arrived. Their second "summer" home was up a large hill (where it's cooler) and by the time we arrived it also had just closed. However, we were able to see through the gate to the statue depicting the pregnant Elizabeth and Mary meeting one another and John the Baptist leaping in Elizabeth's womb (Luke 1:39-45). On the wall behind this statue are tiles of Mary's song of praise in over 50 languages (Luke 1:46-55). We read Scripture, admired the view of the valley from the area and discussed what life here might have been like for Elizabeth, Zachariah, Mary and John the Baptist. We also visited a spring of water that Mary supposedly took a sip from before she ascended the hill to meet Elizabeth. We wrapped up our night with a bite to eat before heading back to our apartment.