DAY 11 – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Today was a great last day here in Jerusalem. We once again began the day at 7:30 from the hotel. It was another very pleasant sunny day in the low 80s. We traveled by bus around the Hinnom Valley to the entrance into the City of David excavations. Here we began the tour of this ancient part of Jerusalem with a 3-D movie, followed by a walking tour of the eastern slope excavations. We saw remnants of David’s palace, Israelite houses, Warren’s shaft (part of the ancient water system) and the Gihon Spring tower. We then walked through the “wet” Hezekiah’s Tunnel, a 1,720 foot engineering feat completed in 701 BC. Others walked through the “dry” ancient Canaanite tunnel. We referred to the stories from 2 Samuel 5 (David’s capture of Jebus), and 2 Kings 20 & 2 Chronicles 32 (Hezekiah vs. the Assyrians). We exited the tunnel at the Pool of Siloam (John 9) where we sat on the very steps of this ancient pool where the blind man washed his eyes.
From here some of the group walked up the drainage channel that ran under the Herodian street above. Others bussed up to the southern wall excavations. At “Robinson’s Arch” we saw the foundation of this SW “pinnacle” corner of the Temple. On the Herodian street we saw the huge boulders that were brought down by the Romans in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed. We also walked over the southern steps of the Temple. Here is where commoners entered the Temple in Jesus’ day. Here we shared the stories of Simeon (Luke 2), Jesus in the “Solomon’s portico (John 10), the amazement of the disciples over the grandeur of the Temple (Mark 13:1) and the Pentecost story (Acts 2), among others (see also Luke 19 and Mark 12).
We ate lunch in the Jewish Quarter, followed by some free time (it was fun to “people watch”) as well as a visit to “Shorashim.” Here we heard Moshe talk about his Jewish faith. It was quite interesting. From here we walked through the Muslim Quarter. Exiting the Old City at the Damascus Gate, we arrived at the Garden Tomb for our Communion Service. It was a great way to end the day and our time in Jerusalem.
We returned to our hotel for dinner and a free night. We leave for Jordan tomorrow.
DAY 12 – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
We will cross into Jordan and see Mt. Nebo, Medeba, and perhaps Machearus en route to Petra.