Following the footsteps of Jesus — Israel Day 5 and 6

We began to explore Jerusalem with a drive around the Old City walls, viewing the gates.

There are eight gates into the Old City — seven are open and one is closed. This is the Zion Gate, which was probably built around the time of the Crusaders. You can see pockmarks in the walls from gun fighting between the Israelis and the Jordanians during the 1967 Six Day War. This was the gate through which the triumphant Jews entered the Old City and rushed toward the Western Wall.

We visited Mount Zion where some say is the Tomb of David and the Upper Room. We explored the Southern Wall of the Temple with its more recent excavations. Here we were able to walk on the very street and steps that Jesus and His Disciples would likely have walked on to enter the Temple.

After observing the Orthodox Jews praying at the Western “Wailing” Wall, we toured the underground tunnels along the Western Wall. It was here we had close-up views of the gigantic stone blocks used by Herod’s slaves to rebuild the wall. The largest stone weighed more than 600 tons. It was 45 feet long, 14 feet wide and 10 feet high.

We ended our tour at the new excavations believed to be the palace of King David in the City of David. Here we walked deep underground through “Warren’s Shaft,” the very tunnel used to enter the city of the Jebusites and conquer Jerusalem for the Israelites 3,000 years ago.

Our last four hours were supposed to be for resting before our return flight to the states, but we took full advantage of the opportunity for adventuring into the Jewish quarter of the Old City. We are looking for gifts for the grandchildren. Here we found a quaint restaurant for tasting the cultural cuisine with the shop next door offering Israeli wine tasting. A group of us enjoyed some discussions with the shop owner as we reflected on the privilege of being able to walk where Jesus walked.