Jerusalem

After leaving Galilee and the Jordan Valley, we arrived in Jerusalem, where we stayed and explored the remaining of our trip. Jerusalem consists of an old city (inside the walls), and a more "modern" city (outside the walls). Nevertheless Jerusalem is very rich in history, culture and religion. Jerusalem was where Jesus had the Last Supper, where Peter denied him three times before the cock crowed, where Judas betrayed Jesus, and where Jesus walked the Stations of the Cross to his death and then was resurrected.

Long before Jesus' time, Jerusalem was also the place where Abraham was supposed to sacrifice Issac but God saved Issac's life. Jerusalem was the place that spawned three religions - Jewish, Islam and Christianity. Hence, the old city is sacred to the Jews, Muslims and Christians at the same time.

We were priviledged to explore both the old and new city of Jerusalem. After the first night in Jerusalem, our first stop was the Mount of Olives and the Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept for the future fate of Jerusalem, hence the church itself was shaped like a tear drop.

 The famous Temple Dome as seen from Mount of Olives

 I saw a sheikh and his donkey!

 The streets of the old city are really this steep. We went down here to go to Dominus Flevit.

 View of the Russian Orthodox Church from Dominus Flevit

 The "tear drop" shaped church

After this we went on to Church of St Anne and Pool of Bethesda, but unfortunately, it was not opened that day since there was a graduation ceremony of the priests. So we then proceeded to walk the Via Dolorosa, also known as the Stations of the Cross where Jesus was trial, sentenced, made to carry the cross, and finally crucified.

We also went on to lunch, then proceeded to the Upper Room of the Last Supper, part of the City of David, as well as the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu. But all these will be covered in a later post. After that, we went back to the hotel for a rest and dinner, then went on to Ben Yehuda Street for some night shopping.

Our third day in Jerusalem was a Sunday, so we proceeded on to Bethlehem in the morning (which will be covered more thoroughly in a later post), then went on to the Holocause Museum after lunch. The Holocaust Museum was set up to honour the victimised Jews during World War II. Photography is not allowed inside the museum, but it is distressing to see how the Jews were persecuted whole scale just because of one man's idiosyncracies.

 Entrance of Holocaust Museum

 View from the promenade

 This is to honour the children who died

After the Holocaust Museum, we went on to Haas Promenade, next to the United Nations Building, to have another paranomic view of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy that day so the view was not as clear and nice as before. Then we went back to the hotel for dinner and rest.

The following day was our last day in Jerusalem. We went to explore the old city more thoroughly, covering the sacred sites of Temple Mount on Mount Moriah, Southern Temple Mount, Western Wall or Wailing Wall, and the Jewish Quarter, before going for lunch at Notre Dame Institute.

After lunch, we went to the Israel Museum for an outdoor scale model of the Holyland designed by King Solomon, and then inside to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. After that we requested to be dropped at the Jaffa Gate to shop along the small stretch of shops along Via Dolorosa, before hitching a cab back to our hotel. And that concludes our Jerusalem adventures!

 Gate into the old city

 The famous Temple Dome on Mount Moriah, where Issac was supposed to be sacrificed before God saved him. In Islam, it was believed that Abraham's other son, Ishmael, was to be sacrificed.

 Close up of the gold dome on top. The gold was donated by King Hussein of Jordan, the grandfather of the current king of Jordan.

 Excavation site of the Southern Temple Mount

 The Southern Temple Mount

 This was the replica of a pillar that collapsed

 The Western Wall / Wailing Wall, where I squeezed all prayer requests into the already full slots

 Golden Menorah at the Jewish Quarter

 Houses of the Jewish Quarter

 The collapsed Damascus Gate

 Israel Museum, with a model of the Holyland as planned by King Solomon

 What the Holyland was supposed to be

 Through the gate here lies the Dead Sea Scrolls, but photography is not allowed inside

 Jaffa Gate, the entrance to the old city and the shopping stretch

 I really like the collection of Aladdin lamps!

 An Orthodox Jew busking at the Jewish Quarter, where we passed by after our shopping stint

 Sun setting over Jerusalem and our adventures come to a close. Incidentally, the Christian cemetery with Oskar Schindler's grave is just next to this stretch.