Jewish quarter

In the Jewish Quarter we finally made some pictures of the three of us.

The Mount of Olives is in the background

Jerusalem is divided into 4 quarters

Everywhere in Israel we saw stray cats. Some were very large.
Our guide, Dvora, would take eggs along to feed them.

soldiers

There were a lot of soldiers in the streets.

They were young; service is mandatory for every Israeli 18-year-old.

Boys serve 3 years, and girls 1 year.
Even though there were so many soldiers it wasn't tense. Most were smiling

Ariel

Ariel = Jerusalem, the Lion of Judah (in Hebrew)

There was a contest to make lions. After the contest, the lions were placed throughout Jerusalem.

We used this lion as a gathering spot.

The Lions are fun to play on...

...for little kids...

...and big kids

Children

Irene took such beautiful pictures of children

Groups of school children are always accompanied by security

Zech 8:4-5 reads,

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."

Next time we'll make pictures of old people too.

The Cardo

The main street North/South, in Roman times, was called Cardo.

In Jerusalem we walked part of the Cardo underground

There were shops. This piece of art had the whole book of Deuteronomy written in Hebrew. Artwork like this was appropiately called "Scripture Art."

Shops with Jewish merchandise.

A first century map of Jerusalem

The Cardo at the first century level, with first century pavement.

We walked on it.

Crusader

The Souks

Going into the Souks

The man with the cart has a tire on the back. Going downhill, these carts are hard to stop.

The tire is used as the brakes for the cart. They do this by standing on it and dragging it through the street.

Shopping: 4 shekels to the American dollar

The Canadian dollar was even more valuable than the American dollar.

It had been in the news, so the last day people accepted Canadian dollars too.

Lots of things are for sale:

Frankincense and Myrrh too

Dresses for belly dancing, and in the butcher shops goat heads (no picture).

A shaft with walls in it from a long time ago - from the Hasmonian and first temple periods.

Here you can see how high Jerusalem grew.
At the bottom of the pit is first century pavement.

Jaffa Gate

We jumped in the taxi when they (finally) arrived and went to the Jaffa gate.

We passed David's tower (picture by Josh).

Unintentionally, the taxi driver got a very tiny tip because we mixed up our money. Some Israeli coins are big but not worth very much.

Jaffa Gate

Gates are named because of the direction they face. When you go out of the Jaffa Gate you end up on the road that leads to Jaffa (Joppa).

On the wall you can see a Mezuzah - A tube with scripture in it. This is based on the commandment in Deut:6, where it says to write Gods law on the door posts.

Day 9: Hotel Jerusalem

Two men in front of the Hotel.

Shoe shiner ready to "set up shop" in front of the hotel

Joelle & Robin ready to "take on the city".

Young people in our group: (clockwise) Josh, Jeremiah, Devon, Olga & Vanessa

Breakfast on the last day, raindrops are on the window.

There was a large group from Oakville. This is their pastor.

The Last Supper the Jewish way

We stopped at a shop where they sold beautiful olive wood carvings. This one, of the last supper, gives a good impression of how they would have laid down, and how the main guest is the second person on the left.

According to the Bible, John was the first (beginning from the left), and Judas the third; both were places of honour. Peter, as the foot-washer, was at the other end of the table.

Foot-washing

Carrying the arc of the covenant.

Nativity scene