Pilgrimage to the Holy Land/Day 2 - Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, Hospital, Dead Sea Scrolls

Today's Slideshow

Breakfast at 5:15am and heading off to the Western (Wailing) Wall at 6:15am.  We visited the Western Wall where prayers are spoken and also written prayers are secured in nooks and crannies of the wall.  Men and women are separated and while the male side was very purposeful rumor has it that there was a lot of weeping and solidarity on the women’s side.

At 7:30am the reason for our early rising became clear as we were at the front of the queue to go to Temple Mount.  There is only one entrance for non-muslims with a sign from the Senior Rabbi that noted that for religious reasons Jews should not enter.  We walked along a long walkway and entered Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are located.  The Muslim tradition for the Dome of the Rock can be seen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra_and_Mi%27raj#Hadith  It is the third most important site for Muslims after Mecca and Medina. Some members of our group had discussions with Muslims eager for a conversation about Jesus; also a part of their faith tradition.

From Temple Mount we went down to St. Anne’s Church in Jerusalem, where pools mentioned in the gospel are located.  We entered the church and the Rev. Mark Stanger one of our tour guides led us in a famous hymn.  You can hear the results here https://soundcloud.com/timb21/singing-at-st-annes

After a brief snack we went back to our bus and traveled to The Jerusalem Princess Basma Center for Disabled Children to see their work with West Bank and East Jerusalem children in need.  The center was founded by the sister of former King Hussein of Jordan and we saw and heard moving stories of their work, done with therapy only, no drugs.

A delicious lunch at the Pasha restaurant followed and we took our bus to to West Jerusalem for the first time this trip and visited the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed.  We also viewed a scale model of the City of Jerusalem which set out the city much as it would have been in Jesus time.

After a long day, this was now 4pm, we returned to the hotel for some rest and relaxation.

In the evening Ophir Yarden joined us to give an Israeli perspective on contemporary issues; a lively discussion about the hope for peace and reconciliation in Israel.