So the day after the night of bad decisions (Wednesday I think) we decided to just sleep late and then take a bus to Bethlehem. We did as such and arrived in Bethlehem in the early afternoon and decided to hire a cab to take us to the sites. We were really only there to see two things: the wall that separates the West Bank from Israel and the famous graffiti renderings of Banksy in Bethlehem and on the walls. The taxi driver knew all of the paintings and took us to each one. The wall is extensive and very long and is covered in anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian propaganda.
After that he took us to the church over the place that Jesus was born. It is the oldest known originally Christian church in the world. Behind the altar there are stairs that lead down into the caves under the church in which it is believed that Jesus was born. It was pretty cool, I could definitely imagine the whole scene happening in that cave. I was unable to take a good picture because it was dark and filled to the brim with people.
Crowded place of His birth
Church
Outdoor market in Bethlehem
Our taxi driver was Palestinian and we spoke with him in Arabic for most of the journey and at the end he offered a lower price than we had originally agreed upon because our Arabic was so good and he enjoyed speaking with us. Who ever said that Arabic never got me anywhere?
Thursday
Next day was our full day of going on top of the Dome of the Rock, going into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Israel Museum, and Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum) We woke up early and walked directly to the Temple Mount and got in without waiting in line. We walked into a very clean area around the base of the Dome of the Rock and could walk around without difficulty and see the entire Temple Mount. Well about 20 minutes in I lost Gideon, because I headed immediately to the Eastern Gate, that Jesus is prophesied to return to his temple through. The Muslims bricked it up a while ago and prophecy says that He will break through the barrier when he returns.
Anyways I lost Gideon and I wondered around the Muslim Quarter for a while after that and got lost but eventually made my way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is built over the sight that was traditionally Golgatha. I was skeptical at first, but after doing some research I found that actually there is a really good chance that it was in fact Golgatha and that Jesus' tomb is on the same premises is also very possible. After spending lots of time in front of the rocky outcrop that traditionally held the cross and the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea, and near the crack in the mountain from when Jesus died, I made my way back to the hostel and lunch.
I grabbed a bus to the Israel Museum and after paying an arm and a leg I saw numerous archaeological evidence from the first humans in Canaan and weapons from the Romans, mummies, scarab beetles, coffins, and Greek pottery. Then great works of art from the likes of Van Gogh, Picasso, Gaugin, Monet, and Rodin. Also would have seen the Dead Sea Scrolls but the exhibit was closed for the day.
Then I jumped on a bus and headed to Yad Vashem which was a very sobering experience to say the least. And if you want to know my true opinion about it, ask me in person because I don't think it would be wise to post it on the internet. Besides that, some of the impressive things I witnessed (that I remember because there was just so much) are: a whole gallery of anti-semite Nazi programs, stickers, board games, pictures, banners, books; a circular room about two stories high with the walls made of book shelves and filled from top to bottom with books filled with names of the deceased from the Holocaust and that was only half of the total Jewish victims; a case filled with shoes; halls filled with possessions of victims; pictures and pictures and pictures; exhibits about the criminals and there fate; and a particularly powerful collection of videos that related personal accounts of survivors.
I ran into Gideon at Yad Vashem and we agreed that it was the most sobering experience of the day. After that went and ate and fell asleep pretty early actually.
Friday
So we slept in a bit and we split up again, I headed straight for Succat Hallel, a 24/7 Christian prayer and worship center in Jerusalem near the old city. I walked in and the first song playing was Fire Fall Down by Chris Quilala off of the Jesus Culture soundtrack. I have this song on my iTunes and it is one of my favorites, anyway I worshipped and the music continued with what I think was the rest of the Jesus Culture soundtrack. There were several people there, but the stayed in the back for most of it. I read a lot of Psalms and the ends of the four Gospels and parts of Job after some worship. After that awesome experience I basically grabbed a slice of pizza, some pastries, and went back to the hostel to chill out.
I am ready to go back home. Originally we were going to the Sea of Galilee but it turned out to be pretty expensive, so we decided to take it easy today, but today during worship I had the strongest desire to go to Galilee. It was, however, too late by then for the buses to Galilee and tomorrow everything is shut down because it is the Sabbath. So tomorrow we are going to Tel Aviv to kick it on the beach for the day. Shared taxis are still running tomorrow and I just want to do whatever I can to help pass the time to get back to the U.S.
See everybody soon I hope (59 hours to go by my count)...
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