A beautiful and spectacular place

We had an early wake up call this morning at 6:00am. Finally, we got to visit the city everyone talks about, Jerusalem. The bus let us off in the street outside the old city walls and we started walking, ascending the Temple Mount. It was amazing to walk through the gates of the old city for the first time. The first thing we did was to make our way to the Temple Mount. Once inside we were met with a calm and tension: armed soldiers providing security in a place shared by Muslims and Jews.

It was a beautiful and spectacular place with views of the city and a close up look at The Dome of the Rock. Our tour guide explained the history of the Temple Mount spanning the time from Abraham all the way to Omar, Muhammad's cousin, who built the Dome. Then we headed through the Muslim Quarter down to the Western Wall.

Before we actually went to the a Western Wall, also known as the "Wailing Wall," we were taken inside and below the streets of the Muslim Quarter to the newly discovered interior Western Wall which was another 60ft below the streets. We got to see the huge blocks that Herod used to build the base of the wall and we learned how he quarried, moved, and placed these huge 500 ton blocks to build the wall. In fact, we learned that these stones are bigger that any stone used to build the Pyramids of Giza.

Then we headed up and out to the actual Western Wall where many were gathered to pray. We could see the different sects of Jews distinguished by the different head dressing and clothing they wore. There was a woman just weeping at the wall - It was so powerful. By the way men and women are separated at the wall by a divider.

After that we were guided to the southwest corner of the Temple Mount where we saw the cornerstones and Southern Steps. We were told that this would have been the way Jesus would have entered the Temple. Surrounding the steps were over 100 Mikvehs, or purifying baths, part of the ritual before you enter the Temple. This is believed to be the place where Peter's preaching led to 3,000 being saved and then baptized in these baths.

Our next stop was the City of David which is just outside the old city walls. We were able to see David's Palace and take a tour down into Hezekiah's Tunnel. This tunnel was built to divert the water from the Spring of Gihon to the City of David which would have been in the city walls during that time. The spring was covered to hide the water source from enemies. This was the only source of water for the whole city of Jerusalem. The tunnel was dark, long, wet, narrow, low and a little scary. We had to fight the urge not to panic. But once we emerged, it was well worth it.

On to Bethlehem, where they love Christmas and actually celebrate it 3 times a year. We had a brief lunch of Shawarma, the Bethlehem version of our street taco, and went straight to the Church of the Nativity. The Christian community here believe that this is the actual birth place of Jesus. We ended our time in Bethlehem by stopping at a local Christian owned store and got to purchase souvenirs and locally carved olive wood nativities.

Finally, we headed back to Jerusalem and walked through the street markets located in the old city. (Think Disney's Aladdin, where there is food, jewelry, clothing and much more in a maze of narrow streets going in different directions). We have had such a great day full of so much information and fun, and we still have another full day to go! Cannot believe it. Thank you so much for making this a reality for us. We are amazed and very blessed.

Erin Dougan