Our second day in Jerusalem

Our second day in Jerusalem. So much to see and absorb! We're really on information overload now. It's going to take some time to fully process this trip and to organize our notes and pictures.

We started our day exploring the City of David. It's the site of extensive archaeological excavations and is where King David built his palace.

The ancient water systems in Jerusalem are engineering marvels. We went through Hezekiah's tunnel - some of us slogging through the narrow, dark and wet one and others going through the shorter dry one. The shorter one ends at a portion of Nehemiah's wall. There seems to be something to investigate around every corner in Jerusalem! It was interesting to see modern houses built above the wall. What do the people think about living above such an important part of Biblical history?

Next up was Siloam's Pool. There wasn't much to see because it wasn't well excavated, but this pool is an important part of the New Testament story where Jesus gave a blind man his sight. The story is found in John 9. We walked up the steps that blind man had to negotiate, from where he encountered Jesus, to the pool where he washed his eyes and was no longer blind. Standing there, where this Jesus encounter took place, was incredible!

We got another, unexpected, chance to visit the Western Wall today. It was a bit quieter than yesterday and we took the opportunity to pray and to just linger there and absorb the sights and sounds of the masses. What a special, sacred place!!

We walked about 4 miles today and explored quite a few areas. So much history, so much information !

Tomorrow is our last day and promises to be quite special as we follow the path of Jesus' last days on earth.

Shalom!