Some Final Thoughts from Jerusalem

30 August 2010 1948 (GMT +3) Jerusalem, Israel

With my time in Israel quickly coming to a close, I’ve been spending the last few days making the rounds of various sights one last time, as well as trying to see a few new things.

Yesterday I spent some time exploring Mt Zion, which is just south of the southwest corner of the Old City. Here you will find two particular areas of interest, the Church of the Dormition, and the Hall of the Last Supper. The former is a grand church built in the early 20th Century over the site where Mary is stated to have lived and died after the crucifixion. The latter is a Crusader-era construction supposedly over the spot where – if you could not tell – the last supper took place. The historical validity of these claims are tenuous, but again, the tradition is there. In fact, I am reading a book right now by an Israeli archaeologist who suggests that the actual last supper probably took place further to the east, just south of the Temple Mount, in the area where Jesus is thought to have stayed during his last week in Jerusalem.

Down the stairs underneath the Hall of the Last Supper is the supposed tomb of King David. Again, maybe, maybe not.

Also on Mt Zion is the grave of Oskar Schindler. On this one we are relatively certain. Unfortunately the cemetary was closed on Sunday, so I was unable to make it to the grave itself.

Continuing to the east, I did take a look around the area known as the City of David. This is across the street to the south of the archaeological park. Here, archaeologists have unearthed several structural remains that we believe are the remains of the city that David built after becoming king of Israel. There are also a number of tunnels and underground pools that people can explore, but I avoided this for two reasons. First, that part of the city requires an entry fee, and I was not interested in paying. Second, the idea of wading in waist deep water in an underground tunnel with a flashlight when I do not have to did not really appeal to me. I saw The Descent and that pretty much ended my spelunking ambitions.

Today I went through the Old City and made a final round

of the major sites, such as the Western Wall, the Cardo, the Holy Sepulchre. I even stepped over to the nearby Lutheran Church of the Redeemer – built by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1898 – and climbed the 177 or so steps up the bell tower for some magnificent views of the city. (Warning: Stay close to the candels. The sairway…can be treacherous. It is also fairly narrow.) I do like being high up. I’m just glad that they did not decide to ring the bells.

Unfortunately I was not able to get out around the rest of the country much on this trip. There were always reasons not to get out, be they school schedules, finances, or convoluted bus schedules. Busses to different parts of Israel are sometimes spotty, particularly to some of the more out of the way areas that I would have wanted to visit – such as the ancient remains of the city of Megiddo in the north, where John wrote in the book of Revelation that a big military buildup will occur in the end times. The Hebrew name – Har Megiddo (The Hill of Megiddo) has become Armageddon in our common useage.

Probably

the ideal way to get out and see the country would be to rent a automobile and do it on your own. Israel does not require an international drivers license, and automobile rentals are relatively easy. I think that, on a future trip, this will probably be the way to go.

On the other hand, living in Jerusalem has given me an opportunity that other visitors do not always have. It has given me the chance to explore more in depth the various sites here. People with tour groups might spend one or two days in the Old City, shepherded from one site to the next in something of a whirlwind tour. I have been able to spend a significant amount of time studying all the various details of sites like the Holy Sepulchre, and though I have been in that building more times than I can remember in the last few months, there always seems to be something new to see.

The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit used to have a saying: ‘Quality over Quantity.’ I suppose some of that principle can apply here.

Anyone who has any last minute requests from Jerusalem or Cairo should talk

now.

-MG

More Source:

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Some Final Thoughts on Lourdes | Spiritual Travels
Eichmann in Jerusalem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How Does God Guide Us? Some Final Thoughts « Mark D. Roberts

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Submited at Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 6:01 pm on Middle East by chuck
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