Day 10 – Wednesday, May 7: Old City Jerusalem, Qumran, Dead Sea, Judean Desert/Wadi Qelt, Old City Jerusalem
Today we began and ended the day in Jerusalem. In between, we would return to the Judean Desert since the road (Route 90) finally opened, but only to Qumran. The rains now have past (probably for the next 5 months or so). However at Ein Gedi the road was heavily damaged and the repair is not yet finished, thus not allowing us further south. But at least we could reach Qumran and the Dead Sea. It was a sunny day with warmer temps, around 90 at the Dead Sea. We read from Psalm 18 as we departed the hotel this morning at 7:30 a.m.
Old City – Eastern Gate, Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne’s Church
We drove to the NE corner of the Old City and walked to the Eastern Gate. This gate has been closed since 810 AD, with it open only a short time during the Crusader Period. It is also referred to as the Golden Gate. Its’ other name was the Shushan Gate (out of which the Escape Goat was taken to the Judean Desert). In 1969 an arch was found below the gate on the south side. This was probably a supporting arch for a staircase leading into the gate.
We then entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the St. Stephen’s Gate (also called the Lion’s and Jericho Gate) and went to the St. Anne’s Church. This is a Crusader Church that is known for it’s 7-8 second echo. We had the entire church to ourselves where we enjoyed singing a number of songs together. How incredible our worship was! On the same grounds is the Pool of Bethesda. We read John 5 while overlooking the steps of this double-pool. Following this visit, we walked back out of the Old City where David picked us up.
Qumran
We boarded the bus and drove east towards Jericho. Since both Ein Gedi and Masada were not accessible (Ein Gedi actually being damaged), we could only drive as far as Qumran. This is where the most significant discovery in all of Israel were found in 1947. When we arrived we hiked back to the edge of the cliff where we could see Cave 6 (one of 12 caves in which fragment of scrolls were found). To date, over 900 scrolls and fragments of texts scrolls have been discovered in 12 caves. The scrolls/texts date primarily from the 3rd century BC – 1st century AD. We returned to the site itself where we saw many miqvot (plural for mikve, or ritual baths), cisterns, and the scriptorium. In front of Cave 4 (and 5 & 10), we read from Psalm 19 and “151,” an extra psalm found here. We also remembered 2 Timothy 3:16 about God’s inspired Word. Thanks be to God for the preservation of His Word and the joy, instruction, direction, and hope it provides us!
Dead Sea
Close by here on the northwest corner of the Dead Sea we visited a public beach owned by our Jericho friends. Most in the group “floated” effortlessly in this unique body of water (33% salt and minerals). It was a very unique and wild experience. We all looked great covered with Dead Sea mud too!
Wadi Qelt
On our way to Jerusalem we made a brief stop to overlook the area of the Wadi Qelt/Judean Desert. We heard “the prophet Isaiah” (whoever he was :)) share the opening words of Isaiah 40 with us. Shlomo also sang Psalm 23 in Hebrew. The Judean Desert served as a backdrop for many of the Psalms of David.
“It was a mix of Old City and Judean Desert today. The road to Masada was still closed, but we made the best of this day! All of our experiences were rich with biblical connections again. Learning the context of the land adds so very much to our understanding of God’s Word!”
Jerusalem: Rampart Walk, Holy Sepulcher Church
Continuing our drive west “again entered the Old City, this time through the Jaffa Gate. The Jaffa Gate is where we accessed the entrance to the Rampart Walls for our walk around part of the Old City. These walls date to the Turkish/Ottoman Period, being built by Suleiman the Great (1520-1566) between 1537-1544 AD. The view from high on these walls was quite interesting! We walked from the area of the Jaffa Gate to beyond the Zion’s Gate on the south side of the Old City. We exited the ramparts within the Jewish Quarter.
Holy Sepulcher Church
From here we walked to the Holy Sepulcher Church. Built in 325 AD, this is the traditional location for the death and burial place of Jesus. The archaeological and historical records favor this site. We saw the Edicule that has enclosed the suggested tomb of Christ for now nearly 1600 years. A service was taking place in the tomb itself, not allowing us to enter. Other parts of the church were being renovated and excavated.
We walked back out the Jaffa Gate where David picked us up to take us back to the hotel. At the hotel, some walked 300 yards to see the Ketef Hinnom tomb. In one of these tombs, the silver amulet was found, bearing the name of God! It dates to the 7th-6th century BC. Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a marvelous dinner (again) and an optional walk to the Promenade, a quiet traffic-free path to get us a unique view of the Old City from the south. It was a great second last day here in Israel!
Day 11 – Thursday, May 8: Garden Tomb, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations, Western Wall, Moshe/Shoreshim, Free time
