Day # 9 Old City Jerusalem

Jolynn's pedometer measured 11,000 steps today and it was all within about a 1.5 mile radius - maybe less. Our day began at the Western Wall where ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for prayer. The exposed section of the wall is only a fraction of the entire original wall. Our guide took us through an excavated tunnel along the base of the original wall. It's really hard to imagine just how massive Kind Herod's city was and what an amazing civil engineering feat it was to construct.

Back on the surface of today's Jerusalem, we visited the Via Delarosa (or Stations of the Cross). Fourteen markers commemorate the final hours of the Jesus' earthly life. The last stations (where Jesus was stripped, crucified, died, taken off the cross, and laid in the tomb) are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These Stations, and the location of the Sepulchre as the location for Jesus' burial are typically more revered by Catholic and Orthodox worshippers. Tomorrow, we are going to visit the Garden Tomb which Protestants generally regard as the location of Jesus' burial.

Afterwards we saw the location Jews regard as the burial place of King David. During the years that Jews did not have access to the Wester Wall, King David's tomb was their most holy place for prayer. (It's been fascinating hearing our guide talk about all this since he was raised in Jerusalem and remembers quite well what life was like before the Six Day War). We also got to see the location where Jesus is believed to have celebrated the Passover Meal (or Last Supper) with his disciples.

Our tour of the Old City of Jerusalem is a strange mix of fact, faith, and tradition. No one can really be sure if any of the places are what they claim to be. In my Protestant arrogance, it's hard not to scoff at all the fuss made over rocks and relics. And yet, the core of our faith isn't some ethereal idea. Being in this place again reminds me that our faith is built on the claim that God became a very real person in a man named Jesus during a very real time in history. This Jesus wandered the streets of a very real Jerusalem, ate a very real Passover meal with his disciples, died of a very real Roman crucifixion, and was buried dead in a very real tomb. We can quibble about whether or not we have the locations exact, but that he lived and died - and that he lived and died *here* - is without question.

Pic descriptions:
1. Prayers at the Western (Wailing) Wall
2. (same)
3. Under ground (under the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem) you can see the massive stones of Herod's city wall.
4. In the Old City Jerusalem.
5. Worshippers touching the slab where they believe Jesus was laid after being crucified.
6. The "Upper Room."
7. Random picture with ironic significance. Doors of the "World Peace Center" securely locked. I guess we'd hate for peace to start running wild now, wouldn't we!