You may remember that we started our first day with a worship service at St. George's. When the Dean, Graham Smith, found out I was a priest, he offered to take us on a tour the next day, Monday, yesterday.
We met him mid morning for a tour of St. George's College, which primarily hosts two week programs for American pilgrims, many from Episcopal Churches. Shortly after, he took us into Old Jerusalem where he led us through the Via Dolorosa, which is the path the church remembers Jesus took to his death on the cross. The prayers at each station were beautiful and moving. It's good to be an Anglican!
Graham was very generous with his time and showed us some of the more moving but hidden spots such as the Gate of Judgement, a probable place of the Last Supper, the places where Judas fled, and where Peter denied Jesus. Much to ponder and process. Thank you, Graham!
In the afternoon we went to the Israel Museum which just underwent a huge renovation and claims to be one of the top ten in the world. We only really had time to look at two things. The first was a huge model of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period, the time of Jesus. The second was the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex. Both provide great context and color to our sense of our tradition.
Another very full day, ended with a delicious Armenian meal in the old city with a magical late night stroll.
Our taxi driver to the museum yesterday talked us into hiring him today for a tour outside the city. It was a great choice. We visited four places.
First, we went to Bethlehem, where we saw the oldest continually running church, the one on the site of a stable in Bethlehem, where Jesus may have been born. It was sweet and moving, and once again we arrived in the midst of a service at the spot, this one led by Armenians.
From there, via the shepherd's field and some rugged landscape, we passed by settlements on our way to the Dead Sea, a salty inland sea at the lowest point on earth. It is very easy to float and a very cool feeling.
From there we went to Masada, which is stunning Roman style hill fort built by Herod and the site of one of the most dramatic sieges in all of history. It exceeded our expectations for beauty, history and drama.
Finally, we visited a small site in Jericho, where the oldest city known to the world was discovered. Whew! What a rich few days of history!
Tomorrow we hope to connect with a friend of our good friend Michael Weingrad and experience a bit more of today's Jerusalem.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment