The last half of our Jerusalem trip was spent back in Jerusalem and its environs, including the City of David, and the Dead Sea and Masada Highlights:
Highlights:
Itinerary: Friday May 5: We drove south east into the wilderness of Judea, and descended into the depths of the dead sea valley. We stopped first at Ein Gedi, and marvelous spring in the desert, with waterfalls and running streams to walk through. We took the tram up to Masada to tour the ruins and learn the story of the Roman Army and the suicide-pact Jews. We stopped at a public beach to float in the Dead Sea. It was a very well-kept spot, but it lacked the mud smearing of the other places we had been in the past. After returning to the Jerusalem Center, we entered into the city again for the sabbath celebrations at the Western Wall, a cacauphony of prayer and song and dance and worhip that was quite the sight and experience. Saturday May 6: We attended church in the Jerusalem Center, then went south of the Old city to see the St Peter in Gallicantu church, which encompassed Caiphas’s palace where Christ may have been held as prisoner, and where Peter would have denied Christ. Then we went to the Canticle, the traditional site of the Last Supper, and also the site of the Tomb of King David. Sunday May 7: We went onto the Muslim Temple Mount to walk around (enormous space), and toured the southern wall excavations, which are extensive and ongoing. We visited the City of David site, and walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which is much lower and requires much more stooping than I remember. We walked back of the City of David entrance by walking through the sewer tunnel of the ancient Jerusalem road, which also required even more stooping. We visited the Hurza synagogue, and did some shopping along the Old Cardo, and attended an organ recital in the Augusta Victoria Chapel that evening. Monday May 8: Tera and I had a free day, and we took the self-guided walking tour given to the students and decided to follow it. We walked down into the Kidron Valley, searching for the “Green Door” pita place. We found the door, but no pita place. We spent some time alone in the Garden tomb during quieter hours, and went to the Austrian Hospice rooftop balcony and had some apfelstrudel and sacher torte. We found the St. Helena Coptic church and ancient cistern (awesome place) and went to the Bethesda pools and St Anne’s church, and listened to an outstanding choir take full advantage of the acoustics of the hall. We also visited the Kairite Jew museum, and the Temple Mount museum and the Burnt house museum, and did the VR tour of the temple at the Western Wall. We also spent some free time on either side of the curtain at the Western wall. I took a book of Psalms written by an old Jewish scholar, which was fascinating. Then we walked back of the hill to the Jerusalem Center. Tuesday May 9: We walked the traditional walk of Christ from Bethany to the old city during his last week, visiting the following churches, Peter Noster church (Christ’s ascension), The Ascencion church/Mosque (wherein lies a footprint of Christ, but the line was too long), Dominus Flevit church, the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdelene on the mount of Olives, the Church of all Nations, The Church of Mary across the street and the Gethsemane betrayal cave, then the Orson Hyde Garden, then the Church of the Imposition, and the church of the condemnation, and the Sanctuary of the Flagellation and the church of the Holy Sepulchre and finally the Garden Tomb, Wednesday May 10th: We said goodbye to Jerusalem and journeyed home to Utah.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorThis is the Schaumann's Travel Blog. Click on the headers above to navigate to blog posts and pictures from our world trips in the past years. Read ahead for the latest goings on Archives
April 2024
Categories |