Jerusalem Walking Tour - Part 2

We entered the Old City through The Lion’s Gate, also known as St. Stephen’s Gate.  This is the location where Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned (Acts 7:54-60).  At one point there were two pools here to wash the sheep that weren’t pure enough to be used in the temple.  Eventually new pools were made for these sheep and they were called the Palestinian pools and the two original pools became the place where lambs were washed before they were sacrificed.  The actual Pools of Bethesda themselves are ruins now, but much larger than we expected.

City of Jerusalem:  On the left is the Dome of the Rock and on the right is the Lion's Gate section of the wall

Lions Gate  - see the Lions on the wall

Pools of Bethesda

On our way to lunch we walked into a school that some believe was originally Herod's Palace where Jesus went on trial. In our spare time we've been listening to The Holy Land Revealed, one of The Great Courses class that presented evidence that this might not be the exact site. So while we may not know exactly the original purpose of this building, the upper level of the school provides some of the best views of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock.  

Taken from the school

Dome of the Rock

Having spent the morning walking in the wind and rain we were ready to warm up and get some lunch. We entered the Old City where we got completely taken for a tourist lunch, which while good was crazy expensive and not what we would have done had we fully understood. But, not wanting it to wreck the day, we pushed on despite the annoyance.

After lunch we continued walking the Via Dolorosa with the Stations of the Cross. In the Old City we did many of the same stops as we had on the Palestinian tour, but we received the Christian perspective, which resonated better with us, although we found it enriching to have been exposed to both worldviews.

A cross along the Via Delarosa

The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and we appreciated learning more details about the different areas inside this place which many believe commemorates the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The control of this church is a complicated arrangement that has not changed for 160 years and is shared between the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. A well known oddity exists in there is a ladder outside the church stuck near a window (picture below). This ladder has been there over 100 years and no will move it because the denominations cant decide whose job it is. None of them agree on anything so no one is technically in charge. Hence no one will remove the ladders, so it just sits there.

We were able to kneel and pray at the altar covering the rock that they believe Jesus was crucified on. There is an opening under the altar where you can reach down and touch the rock. In Adam’s Cave, a room under this area, we saw a rock that had split and is believed to be the rock referred to in Matthew 27:51. We also saw the area where Queen Helena, Constantine’s mother, supposedly found Jesus’s actual cross. The actual cross no longer exists as it’s been cut into pieces and distributed among denominations. On our previous visit to this church we had touched the stone believed to be where Jesus was laid when taken down from the cross and prepared for the tomb. We revisited the Syrian Church section of The Holy Sepulcher where there is a tomb that might have belonged to Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus. Since many of the Easter tourists had left, the line to enter into the structure which housed the bench Jesus was supposedly laid on in the tomb, was much shorter, so we waited in line to see this. In addition to the bench, there was also a small portion of a rock that is supposedly all that is left of the stone that was rolled in front of Jesus’s tomb as many tourists have brought chisels over the years to take home a “souvenir.”

Church in Holy Sepulcher

Church in Holy Sepulcher

Outside The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - notice the ladder in upper window

Mosaic near where Christ was Crucified in Church of Holy Sepulcher

Alter of the Crucifixion

Adam's Cave shows the rock split when Jesus died on the cross

This marks the place that Jesus's cross was discovered

The only remaining part of the stone that was used to block the tomb Jesus was laid in

The bench that's been salvaged from the tomb Jesus was laid in

A few of the many candles lit for prayer

Our day ended with some shopping and fun at the unique stores with both new and old creations. We spent a bit of time learning about ancient coins and various other artifacts. Throughout the day as we'd pop in and out of places, our youngest son would head straight for the shofar. This is an incredibly difficult horn to blow and he picked it up right away and would blow a shofar over and over again, commanding everyone's attention. While we parents found it quite annoying all the shop owners were highly impressed and continued to encourage him - oh the noise we bring!

G quickly learned to blow the shofar and practiced in every shop we passed!

Our day ended at local pizza shop near our apartment where we were given a free very unique dessert pizza with halva, which is a sweet root of sorts, we all enjoyed this special treat.