Mount of Olives & Jericho

On Thursday we were back in Jerusalem.

First was the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church containing the stone where Jesus went to pray before his arrest. Matthew 26: 36-46. As beautiful as the church is the very old Olive trees next to the church. This was a relatively modern church, built in the 20^th century with beautiful mosaics and the stone where Jesus prayed in the middle for us to pray on.

We then walked down the street that Jesus entered the city on Palm Sunday, which was very steep and offered a great view of the city. They must have had strong Donkeys to carry a man that way. We saw the “Golden gate” from a far which is the gate where Jesus would have entered the city. This gate is talked about in the Old Testament as the gate in which the 1^st coming will enter. It is owned by the Muslims and the gate has been sealed and tombs placed in front of it.

Dome of the Rock sticks out like a sore thumb from this view. All the other buildings in the area were made from local stone, but the dome of the Rock presents itself on the horizon, bigger and more beautiful than the rest. I wonder if the people were upset by it during its initial building.

We then ended at the Tear Drop church, which is where Jesus wept over the city before he was arrested. The church offered an amazing window behind the alter overlooking the city. This church was also built in the 21^st century.

                                           

To show how close together everything is, all the above where short walks between them.  Also the entire time the wall of the old city and the Dome of the Rock were right across the valley.

Then we went on to Jericho, where our guide has a new home, for us to disclose our prayer partners and each Lunch. The prayer partner disclosure was special for a trip like this. Some of the partners did not know each other before they started the trip and were able to form relationships. Others had known each other for a long time. It was special to have someone to pray for during this time. For those of us wishing to go to the Dead Sea, we would go after.

When we got to the Dead Sea, we floated and covered ourselves with mud.  The dead sea is the lowest point on earth.  There is no way for water to flow out so only evaporates thus the high mineral content. The water was warmer than the air and it appeared that the sea has been shrinking due to the increase demand for water from the sea of Galilea and other areas that feed the dead sea. We stayed the time allotted and then journeyed back to St. George’s through the check point for our early morning the next day.