Travel in Israel Archives

The Mount of Olives to the City of David and the Temple Tunnel

Today was a long walking day, I think I wore out some people. We started early at the Mount of Olives, there were no big groups and we were able to get a prime spot for viewing the Kidron Valley and the Dome of the Rock. In fact, the morning was cool and the strong breeze made me wish for a jacket.

Like most Mount of Olives walks, we walked down to Dominus Flevit, a church about halfway down the Mount commemorating the location where, according to tradition, Jesus wept over Jerusalem before the Temple action (Luke 19:41-44). There were no other groups when we arrived so we has a nice spot to look over the valley and discuss the Triumphal Entry and Jewish Messianic expectations in the first century. If you have never visited this site, there is a cave with examples of first century ossuaries (bone boxes) just inside the entrance.

Continuing down the steep walk we visited the Church of all Nations, the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane. This is another site which is usually crowded, but there was only one big group which was just finishing in one of the spots used for teaching. After a quick look at the olive trees many of the students went into the church to see the Agony Stone, the traditional place where Jesus wept on the night he was betrayed. We read Luke 22:39-46 (Jesus’s prayer) and 22:47-53 (the arrest). This gave us a chance to discuss the meaning of Jesus’s prayer asking God to “take this cup” from him.

Just a short walk from the Garden of Gethsemane is the Orthodox and Coptic Tomb of Mary (as opposed to the Roman Catholic church of the the Dormition and the site in the city of Ephesus which claims Mary moved there before she died (or ascended to Heaven). The reason to visit this crusader era church is to see how deep the Kidron valley was in earlier centuries, the tomb itself is 25 feet or more below the current level of the valley. There church was almost empty so we were able to enter the Tomb and explore the icons.

There is a promenade on the west side of the Kidron which makes for an easier walk (I did stop halfway to explain the view and catch my breath). The walk ends at the south east corner of the Temple Mount, near the Southern Temple archaeology park, offering a unique view of that end of the southern Wall. It is just a short walk from there to the City of David. Many of the viewing areas have been upgraded (in front of the Stepped Wall, for example).

What most people want to see at the City of David is Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This is the water system built by Hezekiah according to 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30. After a short walk down through tunnels to the Canaanite spring, there is a split in the Tunnel between the “wet” tunnel and the “dry” Canaanite tunnel. The wet tunnel has water flowing over the knees, and is completely dark. About half the group walked through the wet tunnel. I, however, took the the rest of the group through the dry tunnels.

The dry Canaanite tunnel exits near the Jebusite walls, and the park has re-configured the walk further down the hill to the pool of Siloam. We no longer exit the park and walk along the street (which is busy and potentially dangerous). There are now a series of wooden walkways within the park and partially through a private neighborhood. This is much more convenient and it appears the site is developing additional viewpoints along the way.

The pool of Siloam is mentioned in connection with Jesus healing a blind man (John 9:7). In the first century it may have functioned as a public mikveh for pilgrims arriving at Jerusalem from the south. Since the pool was discovered more than ten years ago, additional work has been done to expose steps which appear to lead all the way up to Robinson’s Arch. What is new this year for me is climbing up the Herodian steps part of the way up top the Temple Mound, then through the first century sewer the rest of the way. This is a sometimes narrow passage, often the walls are covered in green algae and the steps are slippery, and for much of the way I walked stopped over. I have been waiting for this passage to be opened for several years and was quite happy with the walk despite the rough conditions. The tunnel is not too small, occasionally about five feet high (but higher in places) and just wider than my shoulders. It was quite a thrill to get to the end of the tunnel and see the Herodian stones and climb the stairs to the first century streets on the southern end of the Western Wall.

The Davidson Museum is closed for renovations (still!) and we had reservations for the Temple Tunnel tour, so we were rushed at the steps leading up to the Temple Mount. This was unfortunate (and unavoidable), I like to give people some time to read scripture and walk up the steps. This is one of the places in the Old City where we can say with some confidence likely Jesus walked up and down these steps, as did the apostles when they went up to the Temple to worship in the book of Acts.

The highlight of the day for me was the New Temple Tunnel Tour. I have done this tour many times, but this was a brand new experience for me, the Great Bridge Route. We had an excellent local guide, one of the archaeologists working on the site. He was entertaining and informative, the video portions were very helpful and the site is laid out well with new stairs and railings. I was very impressed with several mikveh in the tour, which passes through Warren’s Masonic Temple. You may not realize it, but the Western Wall we normally see in photographs is only 11% of the western side of the Temple Mount. The highlight was the Western Wall itself; the same stones from the above ground Western Wall but untouched by 2000 years of weathering.

Tomorrow is a Museum Day, starting at Yad VaShem in the morning, then to the Israeli National Museum in the afternoon.

Following Jesus from the Mount of Olives

After a lighter walking day yesterday, we started at the Mount of Olives with the goal of walking across the Kidron Valley, up to the City of David, through Hezekiah’s tunnel, back up to the Southern Wall excavations and the Davidson Museum. I also planned to give the students some free time to experience shopping in the Old City (which really is quite the experience!)

We left the Hotel about 7:30 hoping to avoid the crowds at the Mount of Olives. this was successful, there was only one other small group there when we arrived so we were able to get one of the prime viewpoints on the Mount. By this time we’ve walked around the Old City and seen several models of the city of Jerusalem so the students were asking good questions about locations of various things we were seeing.

From there we walked down to Dominus Flevit, a church about halfway down the Mount commemorating the location where, according to tradition, Jesus wept over Jerusalem before the Temple action (Luke 20:41-44). There were no other groups when we arrived so we has a nice spot to look over the valley and discuss the Triumphal Entry and Jewish Messianic expectations in the first century. As we were leaving a very large pilgrimage group from India entered the gate to the church singing hymns and waving olive branches.

Continuing down the steep walk we visited the Church of all Nations, the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane. This is another site which is usually crowded, and today was no exception. After a quick look at the olive trees many of the students went into the church to see the Agony Stone, the traditional place where Jesus wept on the night he was betrayed. We read Luke 22:39-46 (Jesus’s prayer) and 22:47-53 (the arrest). This gave us a chance to discuss the meaning of Jesus’s prayer asking God to “take this cup” from him.

Our guide suggested we visit the Tome of Mary, just a short walk from the Garden of Gethsemane. This is a Greek Orthodox church commemorating the death of Jesus’s mother Mary; the Dormition is the Roman Catholic site and there is a place in Ephesus which claims Mary moved there before she died (or ascended to Heaven). The reason to visit this crusader era church is to see how deep the Kidron valley was in earlier centuries, the tomb itself is 25 feet or more below the current level of the valley. What made this visit very special is that we were able to witness part of a Coptic celebration of the Eucharist. After two men sang several hymns, the priest consecrated the bread and the wine. To be honest, I did not see any other Coptic Christians there, but it was the first time many of my students had even heard of Copts. To witness this this very ancient liturgy was very memorable.

Fir the last several tours I have led the students on a a walk through the Kidron Valley. This involves crossing the busy street (probably the most dangerous thing we did on this tour) in order to follow a walking path down past the Tomb of Absalom and back up the other side of the valley to the City of David. The parks service has cleaned this area up considerably ]and there are free toilets (not the cleanest in Jerusalem but good enough!) In the last two years the the City of David has sponsored a Bedouin style tent experience (we shared some nice mint tea) and there are camel rides steps for mounting the camels (this is more humane than forcing them to kneel). For the first time in the years I have been taking students down into the valley Uzziah’s Tomb was open. Like the tombs of Absalom and Zechariah, this tomb had nothing to do with the biblical king, dating to no more than 150 B.C.

The pool of Siloam is mentioned in connection with Jesus healing a blind man (John 9:7). In the first century it may have functioned as a public mikveh for pilgrims arriving at Jerusalem from the south. Since the pool was discovered more than ten years ago, additional work has been done to expose steps which appear to lead all the way up to Wilson’s Arch. After a shuttle ride back to the entrance to the City of David park, we entered the Givat Parking Lot Excavation, an ongoing new work across from the Dung Gate. The highlight of this part of the City of David experience is that the first century sewer has been cleared from the excavations, under the modern road and most of the Davidson museum, exiting just under Robinson’s arch. The tunnel is not too small, occasionally about five feet high (but higher in places) and just wider than my shoulders. It was quite a thrill to get to the end of the tunnel and see the Herodian stones and climb the stairs to the first century streets on the southern end of the Western Wall.

We had to hurry through the Davidson Museum since we arrive near closing time, but had a good long visit to the excavations on the southern end of the Temple Mount, The highlight for most people are the steps leading up to Herod’s Temple. This is one of the places in the Old City where we can say with some confidence Jesus walked up and down these steps, as did the apostles when they went up to the Temple to worship in the book of Acts.

Most of us had a late lunch (yes, I did have falafel again), some were satisfied with ice cream a short rest. Most people took the rest of the afternoon to shop in the Old City. I always enjoy watching people as the encounter the sights and smells of the market and try to negotiate the often bewildering bargaining style. Oddly enough, most Americans are not prepared for the aggressive tactics of some of the shop owners. I noticed more shops with signs indicating the prices marked are in Israeli shekels and are non-negotiable. I appreciate this, especially given some of the more guilt-based sales techniques. I personally just get the old “hey Mr. Mustache, come into my shop” followed by a really awkward pat on the belly.

We leave Jerusalem early tomorrow morning and head north to Caesarea, the Megiddo and finally our hotel on the Sea of Galilee.

GBC Israel Trip 2015, Day 13 – Back Home Again

[The group has now returned home after a long day of travel from Tamar in the Negev to Tel Aviv to fly through Newark to Chicago and finally a bus ride to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I took a day to recover, and now I am teaching a summer session Jesus and the Gospels course, but I thought one final travel report was necessary.]

The highlight for most of the students on the drive from the desert was a stop near Beersheva for one more visit to Aroma Coffee, but we did stop at the Valley of Elah for a short walk in the general area of the well-known battle between David and Goliath (1 Sam 17). We talked about the story for a few minutes and most people took a stone or two from the dry river bed. I have often wondered where all those stones come from, since every American tourist seems to take a handful home with them.

We spent our last four hours in the Old City. Some of the students revisited the Holy Sepulcher, others walked back to the Western Wall, and a few went all the way to the Pool of Bethesda. I visited the Tower of David exhibition just inside the Jaffa Gate with Josh and Lisa Tweist. I have never gone through this site before and it was well worth the shekels. They have done a nice job making use of the limited space to present Jerusalem from the Hasmonean era through Herodian, Crusader and Ottoman periods. We were in a bit of a rush since the Museum closed at 3PM, but were able to seem most of the outside displays.

There are two maps of Jerusalem within the site, one small model of Jerusalem at the time of Herod is designed like the National Park models. It is rather small, but should give some basic orientation to the Old City. Near the exit is a larger model created in the later 1800s by Stephen Illés. This is a fascinating map since it is a model of the city as it was seen by Illés in 1864-1873, showing the height of Robinson’s Arch for example. For anyone who has been around the Old City for a while, this model is worth visit.

Tower of David

After the Tower of David I visited the Christ’s Church bookstore and then camped in their coffee shop for an hour and a half for some quiet reading and espresso before getting to the airport for the late flight back to the states. Overall, this was one of the best student trips I have had the pleasure of leading. The students were always interested and excited about what we did each day and asked great questions.

Now that I am back, I plan on editing the previous dozen posts (writing on an iPad is always an adventure!) I will also add a few more pictures for days I was unable to transfer my photos, so check back in a few days for some updates.

GBC Israel Trip 2015, Day 6 – Heading to Galilee

We started very early today and drove from Jerusalem to Caesarea, Herod the Great’s tribute to the Roman Empire on the Mediterranean Sea. This is one of the best presented sites in Israel and I have always enjoyed the walk along the beach. We started at the theater and spent quite a bit of time looking at the various columns and other architecture behind the theater itself. Several students took some pictures on the columns of Herod’s palace (without my approval of course).

At Caesarea

The palace has a cistern which is labeled as the pit in which Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea, but this seems to be unlikely since he was a Roman citizen under house arrest. Another room has a sign indicating it is the location of Paul’s appeal to Caesar, but I am not sure how that can be known. It seems to me it is best to just say Paul was at the location and leave the details vague.

After the students put their feet in the Mediterranean, we walked across the hippodrome to the aristocratic homes overlooking the sea. I noticed a few Greek mosaics I had not seen before, although I might find I had photographs of them already. We finished out Caesarea in traditional fashion for my tours, at the gelato shop near the exit.

We traveled across the Jezreel valley, stopping at the MacDonald’s near Megiddo for lunch. This was quite the experience. First, they have a “Big American” burger that I have never seen in American, the thing is as big as a small pet and probably was about 9000 calories. But I got a small fry and diet coke, so I am going to be okay. Second, Anna Lange was ahead of me in line and tried to pay for her meal (19.40 shekels) with an American $20 bill. A manager was called to make change, and he gave her two coins totaling .60 shekels. She asked me if that was right, and I called for the manager who sheepishly gave her the additional 65 shekels she was owed. It was a pretty clear attempt to steal from an innocent tourist.

Bet Shean Theater

After our lunch, we drove to Bet Shean, another favorite of mine. Like Caesarea, this site is excavated to the Roman period, although the city has a long and important history. After starting in the theater (where Ben Stout reenacted scenes from Lord of the Rings, or maybe Gladiator, I could not really tell), the group divided, with some hiking to the top of the Tel while the rest followed me through the bathhouse, agora/market, and sacred precinct. There are several pools and a nicely restored public toilet. It was a bit cooler today, but still quite warm without shade, so we only stayed about two hours before heading to our hotel (and pool).

We arrived at Ma’agan Holiday resort in Galilee in time for the students to enjoy an hour or so in the pool before dinner. I have been using this hotel for ten years now, and I have to say it is my favorite in Israel. While the rooms are a little smaller than most hotels, but it is right on the Sea of Galille and the grounds are immaculately landscaped. The hotel has expanded and modernized the resturant. Most of the tables have a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee and the dining area is much more appealing. Several students commented they enjoyed this food better than the Leonardo, and I thought the fried eggplant was phenomenal.

When I got to my room, I noticed my iPhone had slipped out of my pocket on the bus. Despite telling the students to double check their seats, I left my phone (and camera) behind on the bus. Fortunately the driver noticed it and called me on my Israeli phone to let me know. The downside is I do not have any pictures to post tonight. I will fix this when I get my phone back. Hopefully I can get this posted, the free internet at the hotel has not been reliable (although the Bruno Mars CD that has been playing all evening is working fine, sadly enough). Some of the guys are watching a soccer match in the lounge, looks like they are having a great time with some Israeli fans.

Tomorrow is devoted to the “Jesus sites” around Galilee, check back for updates tomorrow.

GBC Israel Trip 2015, Day 5 – From the East of Jerusalem

We had another great day in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. We began the day at the traditional drop off point on the Mount of Olives in front of the Seven Arches Hotel. When we arrived we were almost the first bus, so there were only a few people looking out over the Kidron Valley. Several of our people wanted to ride Kojak the Camel, so by the time we were done, there were many tourists crowding the viewpoint.

After the traditional group picture, we walked down the Mount of Olives to Dominus Flevit. This is the traditional site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. We took a few minutes to read from the book of Luke, beginning of the triumphal entry at the top of the Mount of Olives and his brief pause to lament Israel’s rejection of his messianic claims. We had a good time of questions and answers about this passage as we looked out at the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. One of the highlights of this particular location is a small cave just inside the entrance containing quite a few ossuaries, or bone boxes. This is an indication the Mount of Olives has been used for burials for centuries.

From Dominus Flevit we walked down to the garden of Gethsemane. This is the traditional site of Jesus’ prayer after the Last Supper, his betrayal and arrest. We walked around the small olive grove to the Church of all Nations. Many of our group went into the church to see the so-called “agony stone,” and we gathered on the front steps of the church to read again from the book of Luke.

After visiting Gethsemane, we crossed the busy street and walk down into the Kidron Valley to see the Tomb of Absalom. While this rather spectacular tomb has nothing at all to do with Absalom, the national parks authority has created a nice walk along these famous Hasmonean era tombs. This walk now includes stairs going up the east side of the valley leading to the City of David. It is a bit of a long walk, but it was honestly a lot easier than trying to finagle the bus to pick us up and carry us to the City of David.

I have visited the City of David many other times, but this is the first time I have watched the “3-D movie” about the location. To be honest expected the worst, since most National Park films are not particularly well done. In fact this was occasionally quite cheesy. But for the most part the information was good and I thought the 3-D animations of the City and how Hezekiah’s tunnel was constructed were fairly well done. Nothing struck me as particularly out of sync with the Bible, although was a great deal of Israeli nationalism in the film. It was only 20 minutes and gave the students an introduction to the overall importance of the City of David. If you visit this location and have the time I would recommend watching the film.

The obvious highlight of the visit to the city of David is of course Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Once again I have visited the tunnel many times before, but this is the first time I have been through the tunnel since the completion of the construction project and multimedia presentation. Once you get to the bottom of the tunnel you can now see the Gihon spring, and there is a brief multimedia presentation showing how the tunnel cuts through the hillside. I was quite impressed with the amount of work on this particular part of the tour, after many years of work.

One other new feature is a small desk selling small flashlights for five shekels for those who did not bring a flashlight for the wet tunnels. If you’ve never been through the wet tunnels you need to know ahead of time that there is no lighting in them whatsoever. Once we finished with this section we experienced the “parting of the ways” as a handful of our party entered Hezekiah’s tunnel while the rest of us took the less-adventuresome (safe and sane) route through the Canaanite dry tunnels.

We met the brave souls who passed through the wet tunnel at the pool of Siloam at the bottom of the city of David. There was less new work there than I had hoped. You can still walk back up the sewer line and see the Herodian era steps, but they really have not improved the section in many years. Based on what I saw the last time I visited, I expected significant progress to have been made, perhaps exposing more stones and improving the presentation of the pool in general. Other than a much better system for paying for the shuttle up to the Dung Gate, there was really nothing different at the pool of Siloam.

The Canaanite Tunnels

Side Note: I’m always surprised at the two or three people selling “authentic Roman coins” found right there in the excavations. I’m really not sure why that sort of thing as tolerated since it is fairly obvious that they are fake coins. Honestly, if someone walks up to you on the street and tries to sell you an “authentic Roman coin for the special student price of $10,” that ought to be a fairly good indication the coins are fake.

Instead of what I had planned, I walked the group from the Dung Gate to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (rooster). This is the traditional site of the home of Caiaphas, the high priest who arrested Jesus. There was a crusader church at the location but the church is relatively recent. At the very least the archaeology underneath the church was a priestly home in the sight of the temple itself. If it is not Caiaphas is home it is certainly a good example of a wealthy, aristocratic home. Many people believe Jesus was kept in a cistern near the bottom of the house. Since Jesus was kept her overnight, Peter remained in the courtyard where he denied Christ three times “before the rooster crows.” Many students found the unexpected visit a good experience.

After Gallicantu, I marched the group through the Zion Gate and over to the Jewish Quarter. Since Sabbath was near, shops were closing and there were few tourist groups. We took a few moments to view the remains of the Roman Cardo (once again demonstrating how deep second century Jerusalem really is). We also stopped for a brief view of Hezekiah’s wall. We were a bit early for the bus, so everyone browsed the shops near Jaffa Gate (while I enjoyed an iced coffee).

We ended up walking just about seven miles again, which was more than I had planned. But I will make up for it tomorrow, since we will leave early for Caesarea and eventually Ma’agan Holiday Resort in Galilee.