Day 8: Sunrise in the Garden

Greetings, He is Risen!

I began my Easter Sunday by waking up at 5am and waiting in a long line to attend an Easter service at the garden tomb. For those of you who are curious; Pastor Nicky Gumbel gave the sermon. There were people from all over the globe gathered to worship and celebrate Jesus's resurrection and it was truly wonderful to be a part of. 

We then walked back to the hotel to enjoy breakfast before setting out to visit the Old city of Jerusalem/David's city. We watched a 3D video which was very helpful in understanding what the original city looked like. At this first site, we had the opportunity to journey through Hezekiah's water tunnel. Since this tunnel is very narrow and also has a waist-high water level, I decided to give this experience a miss. 

We then walked through a graveyard to reach the Golden gate. Some of the Old Testament mentions this as the gate through which the Messiah will enter. Christians believe Jesus has passed through the gate, and the Jewish people believe He is still to come through it. An Arab graveyard has been built in front of this gate and it is now also sealed. 

Our group also visited some of the ruins of the temple. While we did not go into the temple mound, there is still plenty of Herod's retaining wall to see and piles of stones which date back to the destruction of the temple by Rome. The ritual purification baths or Mikvehs can also still be seen. Some scholars believe that these may also have been used for baptism by the apostles since on one occasion many converts were baptized and there is no other water source to be found near the Temple. 

We ended the day by wandering the busy market streets. It was here that I found a mandolin-playing Jewish gentleman who had captured the attention of many passersby. I also found yet another cat! This one has been given a home after famously falling asleep near to the work of a well known Jewish artist. Her name is Lo-Shel. 😸

The Golden Gate



Lo-Shel




Beautiful flowers near Herod's retaining walls



City of David Museum


Street music


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