We started out at Augusta Victoria Tower--a Lutheran church. We climbed 223 stairs to get a view of the city through a fence.
This picture is a view from the Tower of the Tower of the Ascension--known as the place where Christ ascended! I hope I get to go there sometime soon.
This is the Judean wilderness.
If you look hard into this picture you can see the separation wall. This is my first view of the West Bank.
It is such a beautiful church. It is actually a hospital as well for those that need it as well. It is gorgeous!
I loved it!
Next we went to the Seven Arches overlook which is located on Mount Olives. It was such a great view of the city.
Here is where I learned the most on the field trip. The Dome of the Rock is located on the temple mount. This is where Jesus would have gone to cleanse the temple. This is also where Solomon's temple would have been located. In this next picture if you look really closely to the right of the Dome of the Rock there is a gate that is sealed off. This is where Christ will make his triumphant return. Interestingly enough, right in front of it is a Muslim cemetery. They believe it will make it so that Christ cannot enter the gate, 1. because it is sealed and 2. because he shouldn't walk through a cemetery. Do you think that will stop the Savior? I don't think it will. Also, the cemetery view might be an old wives tale, but a pretty interesting one. There is also a Jewish cemetery right below us. A lot of people want to be buried there because they believe it is the spot of the first resurrection. Everyone wants to be close when that day comes.
Closer up of the gates.
But such an amazing view.
Another interesting fact. Just south of the old city is where the city of David sits. It isn't actually in the city. It is on a hill and goes down into a valley. (One can see how David was easily able to put himself in a situation to look...)
We headed to St. Peter in Galicantu Overlook. This is where Peter denied Christ three times before the cock crowed. We will be heading back there as a group later in the semester.
We stopped next at the Haas Promenade Overlook came about because a rich couple donated the money to make it. It gave a pretty good view of the city again.
Yes, I look like a tourist. But I will tell you what. Fanny packs are amazing. Probably my favorite thing ever at this point. I think I rock the look pretty well. The two girls in this picture are Lauren and Elise. They are hilarious and I love being around them.
Finally we ended at Deirmar Elyas/Elias Monastery. We had a little bit of a hike and then had a view of Bethlehem which is behind the separation wall. The distance between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is about the distance between north Orem and Provo. Around a 15 minute drive to get there.
This next picture is in front of the place where students stayed before they built the Jerusalem center. We are very lucky to have such a great place to stay that is super close to the city. I am with Brielle, Devin, and Elise.
When we got back to the center we had pizza. I am pretty sure it was made on pita bread but it was delicious! Probably one of my favorite meals that I have had here.
Today was the first day of school for us as far as legit classes go. I started out in Brother Harper's class. It was an amazing lecture about the basic of the Old Testament and how it is more a descriptive story rather than a prescriptive story. Meaning, it tells us what happened but isn't telling us what we should do (besides the 10 commandments). We shouldn't follow in Saul, or David, or Solomon's footsteps. It was fascinating. Another fact, the lost 10 tribes were lost because when the Assyrians conquered the 10 tribes they assimilated the tribes. Thus the 10 tribes became lost because they forgot who they were. They became apart of the Assyrians. The second class of the day was Ancient Near East. Interesting lesson. The difference between the Near East and the Middle East is where you are when you talk about it. In America we generally term it the Middle East because Europe is our near east buddy. Thus, it is middle east for us. However, in Europe the middle east is closer and would be the near east. But, it all refers to the same thing!
It was a pretty fabulous day and I enjoyed myself!
