DAY 10 – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Leaving the hotel once again at 7:30 today, our first stop as close by. Entering the Old City through the Dung Gate, we ascended to the Temple Mount. After getting through security and walking up the ramp that gave us a good view of the Western Wall, Shlomo introduced us to the history of the Temple. Muslims control this area, and they consider the Temple Mount the 3rd most holy area (even though Jerusalem is not even mentioned in the Quran once!). We saw the Al Asca Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. We saw the inside of the sealed Eastern Gate as well.
Leaving the Temple Mount, we enjoyed a little over an hour at the Kotel, the Western/Wailing Wall plaza. Some went down to the Wall to pray. Prayers can still be left in the cracks of the Wall. From here we had a tour of the “Western Wall Tunnels” (also called Rabbinical Tunnels). We walked parallel to this western retaining wall of the Temple itself, being amazed not only at the weight of the stones placed by Herod (one called the “Master Course” weighs around 450-550 tons), but also the precision in which they were placed.
Next, we walked out the Dung Gate and loaded the bus. We drove into the western part of the city. Here we visited the Israel Museum. We saw the 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem as it would have looked in 70 AD. We also ate lunch here. Because the archaeological part of the museum was closed until 4 p.m., we loaded back on the bus and drove 10 minutes to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial & Museum. We heard Shlomo share his story of his many family relatives losing their lives in Poland during WWII. We visited the Children’s Memorial as well as the museum itself. It was all quite moving.
From here we returned to the archaeological museum and saw the “highlights” of some of the artifacts found at various excavations all over the country. We returned to the hotel for dinner and an optional walk on the quiet Promenade, giving us a great view of the city from the south. It was another great day!
DAY 11 – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
We will the City of David, walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, see the southern wall excavations of the Temple, the Jewish Quarter, and the Garden Tomb.