| Monday, our itinerary was altered due to heighten security and the closure of Jewish sights on Tuesday, the day of the election. Our first visit was to the Western Wall, better known as the Wailing Wall, one of the most holy Jewish sites and all that remains of the Temple after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. We were planning to visit the Temple Mount and view the Dome of the Rock on our way to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the crippled man, just a short distance away. But, the Muslims that morning decided to close the Temple Mount to tourists due to the Israeli elections, and so a short walk ended up being a much longer drive by bus, especially with the roadblocks. After driving around Jerusalem from the Zion Gate to St. Stephen�s Gate, we finally arrived at the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda in the courtyard of St. Anne�s Church. From there we continued our walk along the narrow streets of Old Jerusalem, walking along the Via Dolorosa or �Way of the Cross,� the traditional path Jesus followed bearing His cross. At each of the �Fourteen Stations of the Cross� we stopped to reflect. The last five stations were in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was said to have been crucified and buried. This church, just like the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, was shared by the same five sects of Christianity. After lunch we visited the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum containing the Dead Sea scrolls found at Qumran. |
