Friday and Saturday

I had a lot of fun this last weekend; Friday was the Jerusalem Marathon, so I went with a small group to the Old City to watch a couple of friends run. I really wanted to run as well (10K, not a full marathon) but physically I am not there yet. I am getting there though! Here are some pictures:

You have no idea!!!!



The next day, Saturday, I walked to the Mt. of Olives. We left the Student Village around 11AM and made the 40+ minute trek to the mountain. Breathtaking views! How many times have I said the view here never gets old? It bears repeating.

View from Mt. Scopus, where Rothberg Int'l and Hebrew Univ. are located

Lone tree in the valley

I love these wild red flowers, they are everywhere

The route we took to the Mt. of Olives took us through an Arab neighborhood. The only problem with this is we did not have a male in our group. Unfortunately it has been my experience thus far that if travelling through an Arab area, I and the other girls with me have been subject to vulgar comments and gestures. Not every time--the majority of the time. I've never felt threatened, just that I needed a shower. I will avoid these areas in the future. Once we made it to the area by the Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, the atmosphere completely changed; it was no longer chaotic, loud and frustrating; it transitioned to calm, quiet and peaceful. I've seen the Mt. of Olives from Old City many times, but I've never seen the Old City from the Mt. of Olives. I realize some of you are not familiar with places in the Old City so I labeled some important sections:

This gives you an idea just how large of an area the Temple Mount is. You can also see the Muslim cemetery that runs along east wall, and it continues even further to the north (right); Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed the Golden (Eastern) Gate in 1541, some say for defensive reasons, others say he was trying to prevent the Messiah from entering through this gate. Ezek. 44:1-3 is an amazing prophecy stating the gate would be sealed at one point; this prophecy was given over 2,000 years before it happened. This is a fascinating topic to study. Here are some other views from the Mt. of Olives:

The valley you see between the Jewish cemetery on this side and the road on the other is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is also mentioned many times in the bible. I have mentioned several times that I usually walk everywhere here in Jerusalem, and that it is usually uphill (I'm very thankful when it's downhill), so I have included a picture to give you an idea of how steep the hills can be:

We walked through the cemetery, then we worked our way down to the valley. I really love that Jews put rocks on graves. No one is sure of why they do this, but I know that throughout the Old Testament rocks were used as markers and memorials. I myself collect rocks, mostly from places I visit, but also as a memorial for times in my life when something significant happens. I carry a small rock in my pocket everyday that serves as a reminder of many things. I know someone who carries a shekel in their pocket everyday to remind them to pray for Israel. Sometimes we need reminders. I was anxious to get to the valley because I knew what was waiting at the bottom: Absalom's Tomb, Zechariah's Tomb, and the tomb of the sons of Hezir, a family of priests. The first two I mentioned are not the literal tombs of Absalom and Zechariah; Absalom's Tomb dates from the end of the Second Temple period and Zechariah's Tomb dates from the first century B.C., meaning both are too "new" to belong to either of them. Absalom's Tomb is empty, and Zechariah's Tomb is not really a tomb. However, the other one, belonging to the sons of Hezir, is from the second century B.C. and includes an inscription at the top identifying those buried here. You can read about these families in Nehemiah 10:21 and 1 Chronicles 24:15.


On the left is the tomb of the sons of Hezir, "Zechariah's Tomb" in the middle, and an unfinished tomb on the right

View of the valley as we neared the bottom of the cemetery





You get an idea of the size of these tombs with my friend in the picture



Me on Absalom's Tomb

We spent over an hour in the valley. We relaxed in the warm sun, ate some snacks, and read passages about the Mt. of Olives. Afterward we walked up to the Church of All the Nations, which is next to one of four areas said to be the Garden of Gethsemane. Some of the olive trees were in existence when Jesus walked here, I think they know of 8 that are over 2,000 years old.

Olive tree in the garden

View of the valley, Absalom's tomb from street level

Garden

 

After walking around the garden for a bit (you can't walk IN the garden of course) we walked over to a place where tradition says Mary is buried. The following picture is my favorite from the day:

We then walked to the Western Wall and sat until the sun went down,which means when the sun went down, it took all the warmth with it. I did get the next picture on the way to the Wall:

Shalom,

Stacey