Jerusalem City Tour

Once we left the Temple mount we then followed the path through the city of Jerusalem of Christ's Trial and Crucifixion. They are set up in seven stations the travel first from the house of Pilot, and ending at the church of the holy Sepulcher. It was interesting to see how they view what happened. Some other interesting site along the way were the pools of Bethesda where Christ healed an invalid man (John 5: 1-15), and the prison in which he was held. It was an incredible hot day today, so Kris and I were glad we had already seen much of the city and the mount of olives the previous day. We ended at the hall of the last supper and headed back to our hotel to escape the heat and enjoy an afternoon nap. We headed into New Jerusalem for dinner. It is a much different feel here. The new city is much more modern and you can get anything here that you can find in any city. We leave Jerusalem tomorrow, and I must say, I think I will miss it. It has been a great place to experience.

Jerusalem City Tour

WOW! Another incredible day! We began today early in the morning when our tour guide Sam came and picked us up at our hotel. We traveled first to the Dome of the Rock, a sacred Muslim, and Christian, and Jewish site. The Muslims occupy the Temple Mount now which the rock is on. They believe it is where Muhammad had his night dream and ascended to heaven. It is also believed to be where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, the first rock on Earth, and where the holy of holies was kept in the Temple of Solomon. Needless to say it is a point of interest, and very few people get to go in who are not Muslim. Luckily our guide, Sam who works for the UN, was able to get us special permissions to go in. Our guide on the Temple Mount had me get into a long skirt and cover my hair. I looked ridiculous, and the layers of clothing caused severe overheating, but it was worth it! The inside of the Dome of the Rock is elaborately decorated with mosaics and symbols of calendar dates and times. We got to touch the rock and go beneath it into what is called the Well of Souls. This is where Muslims believe they must pass before ascending to heaven. We then walked over to the El-Aqsa Mosque. It is the third holiest site for Muslims (first being Mecca and then the Dome of the Rock). It is here that we got to see out the window and view the remains of the Temple that used to stand on the Mount. We also both stepped in Pigeon poop at the same time and got in trouble for touching when Kris put his arm around me for a pic. Touching a woman is not allowed-even if she is your wife! This was by far the highlight of the day. The view from the Temple Mount is pretty amazing and their is an interesting peace there, much like you would feel on our Temple grounds. I think for the most part, Muslims are good people.

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

This morning I woke up early which is surprising since my internal clock should have registered it to be 2 or 3 in the morning. I was anxious to begin my site-seeing of Jerusalem. Kris and I walked down the Mount of Olives and on our way down stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane. The spirit and peace of that place was inspiring. I enjoyed the grounds the most, but we did wander into The Church of all nations for a look at what is believed to be the rock upon which Jesus wept and suffered for the sins of mankind. We sat in the church for a time and offered our own prayers. We then headed down the mount further to the tomb of the Virgin Mary. It was interestingly decorated with ornately designed lamps, rugs and paintings. It also had a strong smell of incense.
Our next stop was the City of David. Here we traveled through an ancient water passage made under the rule of King Hezekiah so ensure water supply to the city while under siege. It is an impressive tunnel about a third of a mile in length with water running through the entire way. It was very fun, and a nice reprieve from the heat. On the way out we ran into a group of Morman students on tour and listened to what they were saying about the pool of Shiloam being where Christ performed many miracles. We thought we might tag along until they went into a sewer that they said the Jews hid in. When we discovered they had led us into a stinky sewer we decided we could do better on our own.
The old city was our next stop. We entered in through the Dung Gate and saw the Wailing wall. Apparently men and women aren't allowed to be together at the wall and it is partitioned off. All I have to say on that matter was that the women's side was smaller and had no chapels as the men's side did. Sexist Jews....

Everyone in the city was very friendly. I think maybe because they were hoping we would make a purchase from their pile of Sheshca pipes, rugs, jewelry, and what no they all had for sale. We never did make a cash donation there. We were able to get a feel for the city and see the division of the people there. There are the Jewish, the Armenian, the Christian, and the Muslim quadrants. I though I would feel uneasy among the Muslim people, but I didn't. I was even wearing shorts and still felt okay. Granted they are below the knee (I have a religion too). We wandered outside the city to find the Garden Tomb. It was closed from 12 to 2 (lunch?) and we showed up at 12;30. We decided to go in search of food, and ended up walking around lots of shops instead and ending at a cafe just within the Damascus Gate where we sat and enjoyed a coke. After settling on calling our favorite Taxi driver to take us to Bethlehem we went back to the Garden Tomb. I REALLY love it there. The peace that was felt there was amazing. There are certain places in the Holy Land where you feel what I would call a stillness. This was definitely one of them There is some debate on the actually crucifixion and burial place of Jesus Christ. The Church of the Holy Seplechure was built over what was believed to be the place. Kris and I are see that tomorrow, but based on my knowledge of the scriptures, what I felt at the Garden Tomb, and a helpful dose of Apostles and Prophets stating they believe the Garden Tomb to be the spot of His burial, I am going to have to say it was there.
we next went to Bethlehem. It was really interesting to learn that our driver who is a muslim living in Israel cannot get an Israeli passport because they say he is Palestinian. However, he was not allowed a Palestinian one either because they say he is Israeli. He cannot leave the country! In fact he took us to Bethlehem, but was technically not allowed to since he is Israeli. However he knew which roads would let him in and we went. We had to get another guide to take us into the church of the Nativity since there was no way the guards would let him do it. So interesting, and messed up. Churches aren't my favorite thing to tour, but this one was kind of cool. They build it over the cave (stable) where they believed Christ was born. They also had marked the exact location of his birth. This is were I think there is a lot of just speculation. I don't think we could ever know that for sure. We were diverted back to a trinkets and bobbles shop where we were persuaded to purchase a manger seen made from olive wood indigenous to the region. That will be our one souvenir from here. I like the idea of having a manger scene from Bethlehem made from their olive trees. Our driver dropped us off at Pasha's for dinner again. We were both starving at this point, and we enjoyed a variety of hummus and salads. Great food. This concluded our very full day. I loved it. Tomorrow we are doing an official tour and get to see the dome of the rock.

Jerusalem

What a journey!

Kris and I left Salt Lake Saturday morning (June 6th) and headed East. We were lucky to make our plane. We arrived at the airport an hour early, but the line to check in was the longest I've ever seen! Luckily we were told of some not so well known kiosks upstairs and made the flight. Eventually the plane landed in the middle east-Tel Aviv Israel to be precise. We were travel worn, and hungry, but very excited to be in the Holy Land. We eventually found our way to the Mount of Olives Hotel, but we had to change drivers in Jerusalem. Apparently our Israeli driver was not too keen on traveling to the East (Palestinian) side of Jerusalem. We switched cabs and made it. This would be our first, but not last, experience with the sad division among the people here. We arrived Sunday afternoon and were fortunate enough to catch a piano concert by Israeli pianist Gil Shohat at the BYU Jerusalem center. This center, on the Mount of Olives, was amazing. There was an incredible peace there, and it afforded a breath-taking view of the old city. I couldn't help but put myself back to the time of Christ and think he was seeing Jerusalem from this same prospective as He was on this same mount.
We ended the evening dining at Pasha's, a great restaurant serving delicious Mediterranean food. The Humas and flat bread here are incredible; smooth is the best way to describe it. The lamb is also very good. This is the evening is also were we met our new taxi friend, Mahrer, a friendly Israeli-Muslim who would do a lot of driving for us. He was conveniently parked outside of our hotel. I love it when things just work out like that.
There are a lot of cats here. They are everywhere you go. I think it is like an independent cat colony. They have no owners, and definetly don't pay taxes, but they roam the city non-the-less. I slept like a baby this first night.

PICs of recent adventures

Formal Night on the Cruise boat

Dancing at Margaruitaville Jamaica

Climbing Dungaree Falls-Jamaica

New Year of adventure

I used to think I was an adventurous person, until I met and married Kris. That boy has me going non-stop! So already in the New Year of 2009 we have been to Mexico (oh wait that was the close of 08- close enough) and then to the Caribbean on a cruise. I had never been on a cruise before, and I don't think this was the best taste I could have gotton. We followed some stormy weather which made the boat deck not fun to be on. We also missed a port because of bad weather. However, I must say when we did get off the boat I had a blast. I soaked up the sun in Haiti, Rallied a four wheeler in the mud and rain in Jamaica, and went on my first ocean expeditin scuba dive. Going back to work was rough. I just wanted to play some more. I can now understand how Kris got addicted to adventure. I plan to hold the line though so that we can actually accomplish something in this life. One of use needs to hold onto the kite string! Anyway Kris is obviosly at it again with this new job he is trying to get. I admit I wouldn't complain too much (or at all) if I was forced to move to a sunny island for a few months. His application video is below and quite humourous. Watch it, Rate it, Love it!

Click here to view and rate the video!!