Day 5: Jerusalem Approaches

Shalom!

Today was our first day that we were out on the field for the entire day! I absolutely love being out on the field, and I find that I learn the material a lot better. Today, our field study focused on the approaches to Jerusalem. Basically, we looked at Jerusalem from a lot of different views.

We left at 7:00 AM. I woke up at 5:45. Early morning! Our first stop was Mt. Scopus. From here, we were able to see all of Jerusalem and the valleys, the Western Hill, etc. At this location, there were also tombs that were dated way back when...like 1st century! I took some pictures in them :). We then drove to the other side of Mount Scopus where we looked out into the wilderness. The land was absolutely beautiful, and completely different from the city of Jerusalem. It mostly looked like big rolling sand hills with little villages scattered around. We have been studying in class how the topography of Israel has a lot to do with where the "land of the shepherd" and the "land of the farmer" are. I can share more details on a later date...

After looking out from Mt. Scopus, we headed up towards the Mount of Olives. I was excited to finally be up there after looking at it for so many days. And I saw a camel! I think I'll have a chance to ride one tomorrow! The view from the Mount of Olives was beautiful...what else could I expect? The Dome of the Rock definitely stood out. It was also interesting to be on the top of the mountain and see all the Jewish graves below me. All the graves are made of white stone and appear as boxes above the ground.

We then began to walk down the Mount of Olives and stopped at a place where Jesus may have wept before he was crucified. At the bottom of the mountain, we reached the Garden of Gethsemane. The olive trees were absolutely beautiful! Part of the garden is fenced off so that the ground is nicely preserved. It is pretty likely that the trees are the same ones that were present when Jesus prayed there. There is also a church next to the garden called the Church of All Nations.

Next, we walked a little further and went to a place where the disciples waited for Jesus while he prayed. Next to it was also a Catholic Church who have a tomb for Mary - this is probably not the case...


That about concluded our morning. It was now 10:30 and we took about a 40 minute bus ride out to the wilderness! It was fun to see the terrain. Studying rocks in class has actually been interesting for once! Because not much is built on the terrain, it probably looks very similar to how Jesus saw it. The land was definitely more desert like and rocky. We were on our way to the Herodian Fortress. Here, Herod the Great built a giant palace. He actually cut off a lot of land from one hill and brought it over to another so that he could make his palace even higher. Our bus drove part way up the hill, and then we stopped to have our first picnik lunch. Pita and hummice! We were up so high and could see so much of Israel. We had to walk up even higher after lunch, until we reached the remains of his enormous palace. From here, we were almost able to see the Dead Sea! We could see Jerusalem from far away - Jerusalem can be distinguished by three church steeples. It was fun to walk all around the hill and see the wilderness land. The best part was that I saw a shepherd and his herd of sheep! For some reason, I thought that shepherds no longer existed...little did I know I was very wrong. I definitely felt like I was back in time, and realized that a lot of the culture is pretty similar today as it was way back when. Amazing. We learned a lot about Herod's palace, and walked down through this giant cistern where he held water. That was interesting...

Next we stopped at a Threshing Floor which would have been present during the time of Ruth and Boaz. It was basically a big circle of huge uneven white rocks everywhere.

Then came Bethlehem! We went to the Church of the Nativity and saw where Jesus supposedly was born, and where the manger was. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it too much, just because the priests were very pushy and were not giving us time to enjoy the place. We were also not allowed to have a tour guide with us, so we had to make it around ourselves. Noneoftheless, it was absoutely amazing to be in Bethlehem, where Christ was born! I will never sing my Christmas carols the same way after being there. Bethlehem didn't look quite as I had pictured...it's not so "little."

After the town of Bethlehem, we went up to two other sites where we were able to see a different view of Jerusalem (Ramat Rachel and the Evil Council Hill - has to do with Solomon and all his wives). No matter where I am or where I am looking, the view is always amazing.

So...long day! That about sums it up. Tomorrow we will be going to Jericho and the land of Benjamin. Another full day in the field! I'll keep you posted : )