Day 10 – Saturday, August 13: Garden Tomb, Israel Museum, Old City, Rampart Walk
Today was our last full day here in Jerusalem. The weather was perfect, with sunny skies and pleasant temps in the mid 80s. It was also a later departure time (8:30), allowing us to sleep in a bit. 🙂
Garden Tomb
We read Psalm 48 as we made the short drive to the Garden Tomb located on the north side of the Old City. This is a recent (since the end of the 19th century) suggested (and alternative) site for the crucifixion and burial sites of Jesus. After visiting the site and seeing the tomb, we enjoyed a time of worship and Communion together. Following in Jesus’ footsteps in the north and now here in Jerusalem, and seeing God’s redemptive plan fulfilled was special.
Israel Museum
From the Garden Tomb just north of the Old City, we drove to the west part of Jerusalem to the Israel Museum. We saw three things here: The 1:50 scale-model of Jerusalem at the time of 70 AD, the Shrine of the Book (where we saw some of the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls), and the Archaeological wing of the museum. We saw a number of highlights of the artifacts found from all over the country that have biblical connections. It is incredible the amount of antiquities that is on display from the ancient past!
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“I am glad our last day of this trip included the Garden Tomb. It was a special way to begin the day and end the trip. I loved the worship and communion time we spent with the group. We all made new special friends united by our faith in Christ!”
Old City/Rampart Walk
We drove back from west Jerusalem to the Old City. We walked through the Jaffa Gate to the Christ’s Church Cafe where we enjoyed a bite to eat for lunch. We also visited the church itself. Christ’s Church was the first protestant church established here in Israel in the 19th century! We also enjoyed singing a few songs here. We then ascended the steps that lead us to the ramparts. We walked on top of the Turkish walls (built between 1537-1544 AD) of the Old City. We walked west and then north to the Damascus Gate. We then walked through the Muslim Quarter to Dr. John’s favorites “spice man” where we got a nice mix of spices for chicken barbecue.
At 4:15 we got a ride from David back to the hotel where we cleaned up for our flight home. Eleven in the group fly home tonight, while five in the group fly at various times tomorrow. On the way to the airport we stopped in for “the best hamburgers in Israel” at the “Elvis Restaurant.” We enjoyed an impersonator of Elvis sing some of the classic songs form the past (he only performs on Shabbat). It was a lot of fun and a unique way to end the trip! Who would ever thought “Elvis” in Israel? 🙂 We continued to the airport for our flights home. It was a great trip with a great group who God brought together.
NOTE: At the time of this posting, it is late Saturday night and we are awaiting our flight back to the States!
Day 11 – Sunday, August 14: Flight home
