Jerusalem - Days 1 - 3

We flew into Jerusalem on the 4th from Greece. Only a two-hour flight so relatively easy and joined the group. The group are 29 people from my church, Christ Episcopal Church, which includes our two Priest, Justin and Patrick. We didn't really know the people that well except Justin's family and Patrick's family. Additionally, we've never done a "group tour" environment before, but for this experience, having someone plan the trip for you, makes everything a surprise. 

On the first day we started with the sights -- Dome of the rock and Western Wall. A couple facts I didn't know about both:

1. Dome of the Rock has been closed (on the inside) to spectators other than Muslims since 2002. Tourist can enter the area around Dome of the Rock from 7:30 - 10:30 in the morning but cannot enter. 

2. Christians believe that the Dome of the Rock is where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaic, and Muslims believe that Dome of the Rock is where Muhammad departed and returned on his journey from Earth to Heaven and back overnight (called the Night Journey)

There is a lot of tension around this site. There is sign on the front door that says the following:

1. The Western Wall was called the wailing Wall by the Jews when they were not allowed to go -- now it is back to western

2. This is the remaining wall from the second destruction of the temple. 

3. It is important because it was the closest to the "holy of holy's" in the temple

4. (History of the temple) The temple was destroyed twice-- Soloman built the temple originally, then the Babylonians destroyed it. It was rebuilt by Cyrus the great and then Titus (the Romans) destroyed it again. Only part of it remains. 

We went to Bethlehem, for lunch and a beautiful family welcomed us in. This was our first time in Palestine, but not our last. That probably is a story for another blog as I think it is important to outline the difficulties of exiting Palestine for Jerusalem and the different "Areas" defined by the Israeli government.

On the second day we went back to Bethlehem for Orthodox Christmas Eve. There was a large parade, and some of the following church leaders were there: Arminian, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox. They processed into the church for the worship service.

It was pretty cold, so we ate in a local restaurant and walked around. When the Greek Orthodox Patriarch walked in there was so much Palestinian police force around him, that we didn't even see him. But we smelled him (the incents, but it was pretty anti climatic). Here he is below with some Orange Juice... it is closer than we got :)

On the third day we went back up to Bethlehem to see the Chruch of the Nativity inside. First, we stopped at the Shephard's field -- They were keeping watch of their flocks by night. We went into a first century cave where Mary would have Birthed Jesus. There isn't a lot of wood around here people. She would have been in a stone room. 

No room at the inn, really meant that she needed privacy and the main room, where the family normally sleep, would not have sufficed. The upper room of the house is where the livestock are stored, and that is most likely where she birthed Jesus. Much different than how we believe it to be portrayed.

Then we did all the tourist stuff, which although has significant meaning and is where the events we read about took place, was kind of a pain. First, we went to Bethlehem to see Church of the Nativity, but the wait was 2 hours to see the "room" and we didn't, as a group, have the patience so we left. 

Then we went to church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was a crazy place. This is where Golgotha and Christ Tomb are said to be. We can thank Queen Helena for that. We are looking for good books on her. If you know any let us know! We are hoping to get back and see the sights at Church of the Holy Sepulchre early on the last day. 

We lost people and phones on day 3. Not mine, but others in the group that caused angst. Even in the middle of the holiest city on earth, sometimes you just have overwhelming days, which is called being a person on vacation. Overall, we are learning so much about the stories we hear in the bible. We think Texas, when we hear the stories, but Jesus did most of his traveling by foot. These places aren't that far from each other. 

Lots of Love, 

Marissa and Wendy