Day 7 - Jerusalem

We made it to Jerusalem today. I just love this city and it feels so great to be back! We woke up this morning, packed our bags, and met our driver to head to the Jordan/Israel Border. The thing that is odd about this border crossing is you have to go through security/passport evaluation on the Jordan side and then again on the Israel side. Also - we had to pay a tax to leave Jordan, so we had to pay to enter Jordan and pay to leave. It was interesting. The border crossing took a few hours to get through both sides, but we made it!

Our driver picked us up and brought us to our hotel where we met Jimmy. Jimmy is a vendor in Jerusalem and works with Mormons a lot. I knew him when I was a student here. He met us and I told him that I was a student and we talked about some of the faculty that we knew. After we dropped our bags off in our rooms Jimmy drove us to East Jerusalem to change money and get lunch. We stopped at his favorite shawarma restaurant. It was amazing. I ate a lot of shawarma and falafel when I was a student here. 

Chicken Schwarma

After lunch, we visited his shop and purchased several olive wood figures. They are so beautiful and detailed. My favorite is a "Fishers of Men" scene depicting the apostles casting their nets. It's one of my favorite New Testament stories. We talked with Jimmy for a while and I told him that on my last day in Jerusalem I came with a group of people to his store and we sang "Angels we have Heard on High" and he gave us all an Olive Wood Angel. He remembered us coming and singing to him and I told him I put the angel up with my nativity every Christmas. He showed us where the BYU students went to church and stayed before the BYU Jerusalem Center was built. It was so great to see him and talk to a familiar face when we arrived in Jerusalem. 

Our purchases

A picture of us with Jimmy

Jimmy's shop

The olive wood we decided to get to remember our trip

Jimmy's Bazar

After visiting his shop he told us how to get to Damascus Gate to visit the Old City. We walked by the Garden Tomb so we stopped and visited for a while. We walked into the tomb and then around the back to see Golgotha. In certain lights, the face of the rock at the bottom of Golgotha looks like a skull, which is evidence that the Garden Tomb could be the site of the crucifixion and resurrection. During this trip, we will visit several sites that were supposedly significant for Jesus. When I was here last we visited a lot of these same sites and had discussions about whether they were the ACTUAL site. Of course, no one knows. However, one of my professors told us that even if these aren't the actual sites, they have been made holy by pilgrims visiting these sites for over a thousand years. The Garden Tomb is one of my favorite places in Jerusalem and I visited there often while I was studying here. 

Sign at the garden tomb

Garden tomb

Sign on the door of the garden tomb 

Sign at the garden tomb

Sign at the garden tomb

Sign at the garden tomb

Flower at the garden tomb

Sign at the garden tomb

Damascus gate

After the Garden Tomb, we walked through the Old City. As always, it was bustling! We walked by several shops and my Mom bought some zatar for her neighbor. It's a delicious spice that I loved eating while I was here. We walked through the Muslim Quarter and into the Jewish Quarter. We saw the Cardo, which are the Roman Ruins that signify City Center 2,000 years ago. After the Cardo, we visited the Temple Institute. They are a group of Jews who are preparing to build the third temple. They studied biblical texts and used science to determine how to build the altar, dye the temple clothing and create the vessels used in the rituals. They literally have nearly everything ready to go to build the third temple beside the site (because the Dome of the Rock is sitting exactly where they want to build it). It was fascinating. They had pictures depicting what it looked like anciently and what it would look like in the future. They also had the actual items that would be used in the temple. They had an audio presentation going over each item and explaining what it was, why it was significant, and what it would be used for. 

The old city of Jerusalem

Alison in a spice shop

Debbie buying spices

Eric is drinking pomegranate juice

The cardo

Alison looking at a map of the Jewish quarter

The Jewish Quarter 

Two worlds coexisting

A menorah prepared for use in a new Jewish temple by the Temple Institute

One of the most interesting things they discussed was the Ark of the Covenant. They said that Solomon knew the temple would be destroyed and so he build secret chambers to hide the Ark of the Covenant. They said that the Ark was never lost, it was just hidden and they knew the location and it would be used in the third temple. There is a theory that the Ark is buried in the Temple Mount, so it sounds like they plan to excavate the mount to find the Ark if they ever get the chance to build the temple. 

After the Temple Institute, we visited the Western Wall. This is one of my favorite sites in all of Jerusalem. It is such a special, sacred place. I visited it often when I lived here. It's easy to see the devotion of the Jews to their religion and their temple. It makes me grateful that we have temples to visit. At the Western Wall, the men and women are separated so my Mom and I went on the Women's side and my Dad and Eric went on the Men's. I felt the wall and said a silent prayer for peace in the region. We face-timed my siblings while we were there to show them where we were. 

The Western Wall

I'm so excited to be back in this city that I love with the people that I love!!