3/29/2011 - Wilson's Tunnel

Before actually entering the tunnel, Nir showed us two interactive models of the Temple Mount and the various transitions that it underwent through the centuries.

We entered the tunnel and the first thing we saw was a 500 ton stone that was the size of a small school bus.  As we walked along the low ceilinged, narrow tunnel, we reached a point that had a picture of a menorah from the Temple time.  At the top was the name of God.  Nir told us that this was likely in line with the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

There were several arched areas that were adjacent to the Tunnel.  The walls of the tunnel had been shored up and were definitely not natural.

At one point there was a large stone abutment on the side of the tunnel.  It was clearly an artifact from the Temple.

We then came to the Herodian Columns in the tunnel.

  Near the end of the Western Wall, we reached a point where the stones were setting on bedrock so it was actually on Mt. Moriah and not quarried stones.

At the very end of the tunnel the ceiling became natural stone that was very low and a much narrower passage.  This area was used as a water tunnel and was already in place before Wilson's Tunnel was dug.  You could see algae or mold on the walls.

Very low ceiling!

Finally, we reached a pool of water that was maybe one or two feet deep, but was runoff from the rains.

When we exited Wilson's Tunnel, we were on a portion of the Via Dolorosa.

3/29/2011 - The Southern Steps

We then headed to the Southern Wall and the stairs - one small and the net larger to show the walk to the entry gates - to the Southern Wall.  We again same Shir HaMa'alot as we went slowly up the stairs and sang the Shema when we reached the wall.

After some time, we returned to the courtyard of the Kotel (Western Wall) to prepare for our walk through Wilson's Tunnel - under the full distance of the Western Wall.  The tunnel runs under the arches that support the Arab Villages and the Temple Mount.

3/29/2011 - The Davidson Center

After breakfast we started touring at the Davidson Center, known as the Jerusalem Archaeological Park in the Old City.  This center is located near the corner of the West and Southern walls that surrounded the Temple Mount.  The Temple Mount is on Mt. Moriah where Abraham bound Isaac at the request of God, Isaac being spared by the viewing of a ram caught in the thicket.  The Muslims view this as their Dome of the Rock - the Rock being the location where Mohammad rose to heaven.

In the Davidson Center we reviewed the various ages and occupiers of Jerusalem history.  It began with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob during the Canaanite Period (3300 BCE).  The time of the first temple (1006 BCE) was known as the Israelite Period.  The first temple was destroyed in 586 BCE during a period known as the Babylonian Exile.  The Persians came in 538 BCE, the start of the second temple period.  It was destroyed by the Romans in 63 BCE and Jews were forbidden to be in Jerusalem until 1948 and from the Old City until 1967.  The Hellenistic Period began in 332 BCE and the Romans came in 63 BCE.  The Byzantines began in 324 and the Early Muslims in 638.  The Crusaders were in Jerusalem in 1099 with the Mameluke's following in 1260.  The Ottomans took Jerusalem in 1517 until they were overtaken by the British in 1917.  Jerusalem was returned in part to the Jews in 1948 when Israel became a state and was fully accessible to Jews following the 1967 Six-Day War.

We continued our tour of the area of the Southern Wall which has several additional done by the Ottomans and before them by the Romans and Crusaders.  We stood on the overlook of the Herodian Streets and looked upon the remnants of a ritual bath house and the location of the Robinson Arch, which was built on the South Side of the West Wall on one side and upon the supports of the shops on the other side of the Herodian Street.  We looked at the extremely large Herodian stones that are identifyable by the framing around the edges of each stone.  The Al Aksa mosque sits above the Southern Wall.

The Al Aksa Mosque inside the Southern Wall.

Herodian Street - the Robinson Arch rested on the left-side wall.

Framed Herodian stones.

In about 1000 BCE King David conquered Jerusalem and named it as the capitol of his kingdom.  Back in the Davidson Center we viewed a film that described the City of David during this time period.  It spoke of a traveler from a small village coming to Jerusalem on one of the pilgrimage holidays (Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesach or Shavuot), having to exchange his money so he would have a half shekel to give to the Temple, buying an animal to sacrifice and then going to the mikveh (ritual bath) - going down the steps of the unclean and coming up the other side as someone who was now ritually pure.  He would then take his offering to the priest for sacrifice before returning to his village.

3/28/2011 - First Night in Jerusalem

We walked up to Ben Yehuda Street, which is now a pedestrian mall with many shops and restaurants.  We ate at the Rimon Cafe with Allan and Suzan, Sandy Berkowitz and Dick and Patty Strouse and had burgers and fries.  The food was good and the waitress very tolerant!

After dinner we met up with Rabbis Rick and Susan and the rest of the group and walked back to the old city through the Jaffa Gate.  There isn't much that is familiar as we walk through the gate.  Jerusalem has grown into a commercial center over the years.  The streets in the old city are still narrow and bustling, but there are many more shops and restaurants and it appears to be much cleaner than I remember.  I caught a whiff of the smell that I remembered, but it lingered for only a second before it was gone.

We walked through the Armenian Quarter to get to the Jewish Quarter and the overlook of the Kotel (Western Wall).

We returned to the hotel via the Mamilla Mall, a mini mall outside the walls of the old city that has many shops that we see in the U.S., including GAP, Nike, North Face and Columbia.  We walked past the Waldorf Astoria residences that are being built in an old gutted out hotel building, past the American Consulate in Jerusalem and up to King George Street and our hotel, the Leonardo (formerly the Sheraton).  Our room is very nice, but still in winter mode so the heat is on - we will be sleeping in our twin beds pushed together with the window open to stay cool.  The sounds of the city go on much of the night - cars honking, sirens going off, the Muslim call to worship at 4 a.m.

3/28/2011 - Up to Jerusalem

We left Beit She'an and made our way up to Jerusalem singing Shir Ha'Ma'alot and reading Psalms along the way.  The geology along the way showed how volatile the earth has been in the area, curving upon itself.

We arrived at Mt. Scopus where we drank wine after kiddush and had challah after the motzi.

We also opened up the two pomegranates that Yitzchak had given Suzan and me in Rehovot - yes, we carried them with us for about a week.

The old city gleamed before us in the late day sun.

 After leaving Mt. Scopus, we were able to look back and see the buildings, including the Church of the Ascension, the gold onion domes of the Church of Mary Magdalene and the mosaic depiction of Mary and others on the front precipice of the Gethsemane Church.

Church of the Ascension

Church of Mary Magdalene

Gethsemane Church

We then saw the burial grounds of the Mt. of Olives and proceeded through the Dung Gate to the Western Wall.  The courtyard surrounding the entrance to the wall is filled with a very large complex of Aish HaTorah World of Canada, the Chabad and other yeshivas.  The men went together to the men's side and the women to the women's side.  This visit to the wall was more emotional and fulfilling than my visit of 40 years ago.  I recited the Shema and stood quietly with my fellow travelers.  We slowly backed away from the wall and returned to the courtyard where a bride was being photographed.

 We left the old city and drove to our hotel, seeing the Montefiore Windmill along the way.