2017-6-18 Third Journey, Day 2, Sunday

The "Old City" of Jerusalem is mostly squarish and only 6 tenths of a mile long in both directions. It is well defined by walls built primarily by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1500's upon two millenium's worth of previous constructions. The Austrian Hospice is pretty well dead center in the Old City from East to West but only 2 tenths of a mile from the northern wall. I set out at 6:30 and headed south for the general area where Caiaphas, the corrupt priest who condemned Jesus, may have lived. I took a circuitous route of more than a mile though. The streets were deserted that early in the morning as you can see from the following photo I took along the way.

The traditional "Via Dolorosa" is an unlikely course for Jesus to take that fateful night. My purpose was to try and trace a more probable route from Caiaphas' house (outside the Old City's walls) to the cross and the grave (still outside the walls of the Lord's time but inside those structures today).

View from upscale area of Caiphas' house looking southeast at where the Kidron Valley 

meets the Valley of Hinnom (lower slopes of the Mount of Olives/Offense/Silwan on the left):

Plodding quite slowly away from Caiaphas' possible neighborhood, in the silence of this Sunday morning, I know you won't hardly believe it, but I actually heard a rooster crow. Heading northward now, meditating on a sleepless, insulted, and bound Jesus, to the falsely so called "Citadel of David" which didn't exist in that venerable king's day. However, Suleiman's amazing 500 year old structure still stands on the foundations of Herod the Great's palace from New Testament times. The Magnificent Muslim king's towers give a fair approximation of Herod's own magnificence:

In this more likely location Jesus was now violently abused and finally condemned to die, so, after some more reflection, I set out for the so-called "Church of the Holy Sepulchre" which may in fact stand over the general area of Golgotha and the rich man's tomb. The photo below gives you an idea of just how much the area has changed over the centuries:

The church itself was originally constructed 1700 years ago at the wish of Emperor Constantine's 85 year old mother but it has suffered more than one destruction and rebuilding before becoming the truly awe-inspiring edifice of today. No camera can do justice to the 112 foot dome:

I admit to very strongly conflicting emotions in this place. My Catholic upbringing inspires feelings of loathing, yet the Bible student in me is also stimulated to meditate. I've been here four times now and am always torn in both directions. I suppose we should every one of us feel similarly conflicted while contemplating the horror of Christ's suffering and death yet passionately appreciating the salvation it produces. 

I needed to pack up by 10 am since I was moving to a new room in the Hospice today so I left the Sepulchre church at 9:30 and put all my stuff in a baggage room. Unhappily, I couldn't check in to the new room until 2 pm so it was time to hit the road again. This time I climbed the stairs westward, exited "The Jaffa (Joppa) Gate" and finding the head of the Hinnom Valley, turned left and  began my descent into Gehenna. This awful valley has seen the sacrifice of children to Molech and long ago become a cursed place in the eyes of both God and the Jews. Usually translated "hell" although Hinnom or Gehenna might be more appropriate, it is referenced in 2 Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 7:30-34, Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; and Luke 12:5.

An intriguingly beautiful gorge now, its western/southern side cliffs are evocative 

of Judas' suicide and possible area of "The Potter's Field" (out of sight to the left):

I left the valley to visit the office of Carta Jerusalem Publishers and then returned to set up my new room, but by 5:30 I was all set to worship by myself, the only saint in Jerusalem so far as I knew. The previous day's shopping had resulted in the following setting for the Lord's Supper. Using a Street Atlas for a table upon the stone of my new balcony 80 feet above the Via Dolorosa/El Wad intersection I crushed my own grapes through the strainer with a spoon, then prayed, ate, drank, sang "Have Thine Own Way Lord", and read the entirety of Matthew 26 in full view of the Temple Mount and Church of the Holy Sepulchre both. Like no other communion I've ever experienced.

But there was still daylight so I sallied forth yet again at 6:30. This time I headed east and down, down, down, out through "The Lion's Gate" and into the Kidron Valley. I struck up a conversation with an older Israeli man for a while before turning left and coming high up to the northern beginning of the Kidron which Jesus crossed so often. Turning south so as to see the length of the valley I ambled down along the middle, snapping this shot along the way:

Traversing south and slightly east I then climbed higher onto the western slopes of the Mount of Olives, racing against the rising shadow of the sunset, back up to the middle of the 3,000 year old Jewish cemetery. Looking due south from the midst of the graves:

Reaching the southern saddle between Olivet itself and the slightly lower extension known as Solomon's Mount of Corruption (or Offense) where he succumbed to his many wives' charms and allowed idols to be set up and worshiped (1 Kings 11:1-10 and 2 Kings 23:13) I looked out over the Wilderness of Judea all the way across the Dead Sea Valley to the contested hills of Reuben's tribe, the Moabites, and now the modern country of Jordan:

Continuing around to the far eastern side of the Olivet cemetery I looked down on the area of Bethany where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived. Unwilling to circle back all the way to my starting point, I climbed an 8 or 9 foot stone wall to get up on a higher terrace. Now heading due west into the seriously darkening sky, this shot of Jerusalem in the dusk came to hand:

I'd been all alone with my thoughts up to this point, but cresting the hill revealed that during my ruminations the cemetery gate had been locked and I was now inside a wall topped by an iron fence totaling ten feet.

Nonetheless, I bravely assailed the gates of Hades, and prevailing, escaped the realm of the dead:

This brought me back to the famous Rehavam Lookout Point (where all the tour leaders take their group photos). Heading northwest down the western slope of Olivet three 20 something women were snapping pictures of each other just ahead so I offered to use one of their cameras for a group shot of the trio. This led to a delightfully humorous quarter mile down to the bottom of the Kidron during which I learned they were all from Lithuania. So there you go, you single guys, it took me all of my 65 years to find that perfect "pick up" line, and I caught THREE the first time I ever used it!

My Lithuanian entourage parted company with me near the Lion's Gate (short date) after which I bought lamb burgers and chicken-on-a-stick from these Arab guys at 8:30. Used my phone's translating app to place the order. They didn't have change, so the younger kid in the middle had to run up the street to get some before I could savor my dinner.

According to my GPS tracking app I walked 10 and half miles today so I carried my beckoning mattress out of the room and laid it out on the balcony. Along about midnight I fell asleep to the sound of Muslims celebrating Ramadan in the street below after taking this shot of the view:

"The Days Are Just Packed"  (that's an inside joke for you Calvin and Hobbes fans) but it's also a quarter to two in the morning as I write this blog so that mattress is plaintively calling yet again.

Total walking distance for the day:  10.5 miles

Go with God and God will be good.

Larry H