Day 11 - Jerusalem (Shabbat)

Today I went back home. We went to church this morning at the Jerusalem Center. Mormons in Jerusalem celebrate the Sabbath on Saturdays in conjunction with the Jewish Sabbath. We got to the Jerusalem Center around 9:00 so we had time to explore the Jerusalem Center and the gardens. It felt so nice to be back in the place that was my home for some of the most crucial months of my life. I stared at the view and remembered how many dozens of times I sat on my balcony looking at that same view. I showed my parents the Biblical Gardens where we made olive oil while I was at the Center. I just loved being back there. Around 9:45 we went into the Jerusalem Center and took a few pictures before settling in for church.

View of Jerusalem from the BYU Jerusalem Center 
The balcony on the top floor of the BYU Jerusalem Center
Flowers at the BYU Jerusalem Center 
An ancient olive press in the biblical gardens
Alison and Blake trying to pick up this part of the olive press 
The view from the biblical gardens


Flowers overlooking Jerusalem


Going to church at the Jerusalem Center is unlike anywhere else. My Dad mentioned that the Jerusalem Center must be one of the prized jewels for the church because it really is so beautiful. The church is in the upper auditorium which has glass walls on 3 sides so you can see the Old City. There was such a special spirit in the meeting as people bore testimony of the Savior. The organ in the Jerusalem Center is beautiful! A generous donor provided it for the Jerusalem Center when it was built, and so there is always a staff member of the Jerusalem Center who can play the organ. We enjoyed listening to it. The organist was incredibly talented. As I listened to the testimonies I realized how grateful I was to be back in the place that I loved so much with my husband and with my parents. It was such a special time.

The chapel in the BYU Jerusalem Center
After sacrament meeting, we explored the Jerusalem Center a little more before heading to the Orson Hyde Gardens. We took a path that I took as a student that's the most direct way, but a bit of a hike. It takes you to the top of the gardens, so you can then walk down to the bottom. While we were wandering through the gardens, my Dad read about when Orson Hyde visited Jerusalem. He was called on a mission to meet with the religious leaders in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. While he was there he dedicated the City of Jerusalem for the gathering of Israel as prophesied in the Bible. The church later built a park on the Mt. of Olives to commemorate this dedication. The gardens are beautiful and reminded me of Salt Lake City.




The sign at the upper entrance to the Orson Hyde Memorial gardens 
View of Jerusalem from the Orson Hyde Memorial gardens
View of Jerusalem from the Orson Hyde Memorial gardens



Olive trees at the lower entrance to the Orson Hyde Memorial gardens
When we got to the bottom of the gardens we were near to Gethsemane so we stopped in there and read the account in Matthew regarding Christ's suffering. Gethsemane was a very special place to me when I was in Jerusalem. I went there often on Shabbat. The first time I went there was the first Shabbat I was in Jerusalem. I went with a group of other students early in the morning. We walked the same path that I walked with my family today. When I got to Gethsemane I opened my scriptures to Luke 22:31-32 where Christ tells Peter "when thou art converted." While I was in Jerusalem I was praying to become fully converted to the gospel and when I read that scripture I felt so much peace that conversion is a life-long process that even Peter hadn't fully mastered at the time of this account. It was such a profound moment in my life. After that, I went to either Gethsemane or the Garden Tomb nearly every Shabbat.


Inside of the Church of All Nations. This church was built at the traditional site of Gethsemane.  
Stained glass inside the Church of All Nations
The traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane
The traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane
A sign in the Garden of Gethsemane
After Gethsemane, we headed into the Old City and ate lunch. It was a bit of an adventure because they tried to charge us too much, but in the end, it worked out. After lunch, we tried to go to the Church of the Redeemer, but we were unable to go into the tower, so we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher instead. This is the most interesting Church I've ever been to. It's the Orthodox and Catholic site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is a crusader-era Church, that's been built over the centuries, so it's a very interesting church. In the entryway in the Stone of Unction where Christ's body was laid following the crucifixion. Up the stairs to the site of Golgotha where Christ was crucified, and the tomb is encased in the Edicule. The Edicule looked much better than when I was here last. The rules regarding ownership of the Church are very specific, and the Edicule area is shared between several denominations, so they don't clean it because cleaning demonstrates ownership. The last time I was here the Edicule was filthy and being held up by scaffolding. I was pleased to see that it looked much better this time around.

Lion's gate
Our lunch in the Old City
The Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
stone of unction
Dome inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Mural inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Aedicule

We wandered through several different chapels and into the Edicule. There are some chapels that are literally carved out of the bedrock and others that have modern art. This is hands down the most interesting church I've ever seen.

After the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we decided to buy a few trinkets from Shaban, one of the vendors that are incredibly kind and likes to supply the Jerusalem Center students. I couldn't remember where he was, but fortunately, some students walked by and I asked them. They knew exactly where he was.  We went in and started talking to him and he said that he remembered me. I spent A LOT of money in his shop when I was a student, so I wasn't surprised. He is so kind and treats the students so well. In Arabic hospitality, they offer people who come into their stores coffee and tea. Shaban knows that the students don't drink coffee and tea, so he has juice, and since 2009 he has added baklava. As soon as we walked in he gave us juice and baklava.

While my Mom and I were looking around, Eric looked up the ramparts walk, which was the next item on our agenda, and realized that it closed in 20 minutes. We told Shaban we would come back to finish our purchases and headed to Jaffa Gate to do the Ramparts Walk. The Ramparts Walk is where you walk on the walls of Jerusalem. You get really interesting views of the City and can also see where a lot of people live in the Old City. It's really interesting and fun! Because we got on the walls right before they closed, there were only two gates that we could come down. We came down at Herod Gate right after sunset. Hearing the sunset Call to Prayer from the walls was pretty spectacular. We got beautiful views of the Mt. of Olives, the Jerusalem Center, the Dome of the Rock, and even Golgotha (Garden Tomb). It was really fun!

View from the ramparts of Jerusalem

Arrowslit in the walls of Jerusalem


Rooftops in the old city of Jerusalem
View of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is visible in the distance

View of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is visible in the distance
View of Damascus gate from the ramparts in Jerusalem
View of the Mount of Olives from the ramparts of Jerusalem. The BYU Jerusalem Center is visible in this picture. 
We came down at Herod Gate, which was the first time I had ever been to that gate. Jerusalem Center students are not allowed in that gate because there isn't anything touristy there and it's the closest gate to the Temple Mount. The feeling from the Jerusalem Center security staff is that if something bad is going to happen in the city, it's going to be near that gate, so students are not allowed in. We walked towards Damascas Gate and then back into the Christian Quarter to see Shaban. My Mom bought a few things from Shaban, but I only needed to buy an oil lamp since I bought everything else from his shop the last time I was here. He gave me the oil lamp as a gift for coming back and bringing him additional customers. He is very kind.

Typical shop in the old city of Jerusalem

Christian Quarter at night
Alison outside of Shaban's shop
Looking out from inside Shaban's shop
After Shaban, we headed back to Jaffa Gate and caught a cab to come back to the hotel. It was such a great day in Jerusalem. It's a dream come true to be back in my favorite place with some of my favorite people. The only way this would be better was if my siblings were here too. 

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