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We started our Tour by going through the Old City Gate that has the best sounding name: Dung Gate! Yes, what it sounds like was what it was used for! It's the Gate that was used to get rid of the City's Dung!  It is also the Gate that is closest to the "Western Wall", more popularly known as the "Wailing Wall". This Wall is the western side of the "Temple Mount", an elevated area supporting the Temple. In 70 AD, the Temple was destroyed and the walls were the only remaining components.  Here is a view of the Wailing Wall from outside Dung Gate.  I spent some time writing a Prayer, speaking the Prayer, and placing the Prayer into a crack in the Wall (as is the custom). Over the next two weeks, I made two more trips to the Wailing Wall. These times were the most emotional for me over the whole Tour.  In 1967, a secret tunnel was dug along the entire Wall. You can see where only a small portion of the Western Wall is exposed on the right side, while the rest of the Wall is covered by the Moslem City.  I got to go inside! It's considered a Holy Place with hats and long pants mandatory. Notice the Herodian Cut of the limestones.     Inside of the tunnel there is a model of how the Western Wall looked before the Moslem City was built up against it. (The Western Wall is the one closest to us.)  Look, a 2000 year old Plasma Screen!  The Tunnel leads into an old Aqueduct System!   Walking down the Villa Dolorosa.  See the ramps built into the steps. The locals use them for carts and tractors!  Military Service is mandatory for men between 18-21 and women 18-20. Sometimes they carry clips of ammo in their M16's, sometimes they don't. I saw them every day, in just about every place we stopped, including restaurants and shopping malls. Part of their training is Israeli History. Here you see them walking by the Wailing Wall on the way to ???  The Cardo (Heart of the City).  The "First Golden Menorah constructed" since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. When the next Temple is built, this is the Menorah they plan to use.  Zion Gate.  The Mount of Olives. It is directly east of the Old City. Persons buried here want to be the first in line to get into heaven when Jesus returns (He is going to split the ground in two). Since most of the ground is limestone, having an above-ground burial is common.  The Mount of Olives in the foreground, the Golden Gate at the top (a double gate leading to the Temple Mount). It is sealed now and never planned to be opened until Jesus opens it himself! To make it even more challenging, the Moslems put their own graveyard in front of it because the Jews won't cross it.  The Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. That Olive Tree on the right is considered to be over 2000 years old!  The Church of All Nations next to the Garden of Gethsemane. Someday I'm going to have a door that tall!   The Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives. It was built in 1885 and is now used for the Russian Orthodox.  The Traditional Tomb of Absolon (near the SE Corner of the Old City).  The Traditional Tombs of Hazir and Zachariah (next to the Tomb of Absolon). See me up there?  The Pinnacle (the SE Corner of the Old City), where the Devil tempted Jesus to jump and let the angels catch him. 
Thanks for visiting my Website! Kevin Kulhanek Click here to go to Day 2! |