No one can say our photographers on the tour haven't tried every angle to get that perfect shot!
Showing posts with label Footsteps of Jesus 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Footsteps of Jesus 2012. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Herodium
We've seen so many of Herod the Great's fortresses during our trip, but Herodium, just a short drive from Jerusalem, excited me the most, for its beautiful rounded shape, its views, colours, wildflowers and that spectacular sky!
Up on this hill Herod hollowed out a core like a volcano crater and built a double-walled stronghold. The spectacular views across to the Dead Sea and the mountains of Jordan in the east and Jerusalem in the west were worth the steep climb!
You can see, in this panorama, how the country changes dramatically from desert in the east to the green spring growth in the west.
The ancient City of David
This morning we visited David's City, on Mount Zion, and walked through the ancient Canaanite tunnel near the Gihon Spring.
We could hear the roar of rushing water through Hezekiah's Tunnel, too, after the rain.
It was only just wide enough for a person to fit through - and for a joker like Peter to pretend he was stuck and needing a push :-))
After a brief rest among the olive trees we were off again, this time to visit the newly discovered Pool of Siloam.
Unfortunately this is all we're ever likely to see, unless the Greek Orthodox Church changes its mind and agrees to sell the land to the left of the photo.
The Temple Mount
Our guide had us in the queue for the Temple Mount soon after 8am but it still took a whole hour for us to get through the necessary screenings and bag searches.
While we waited we had the sun to warm our bones, and this magnificent view of the walls, including those massive stones at the base dating back to the Second Temple built by Herod the Great.
Just as we might at home in our own churches, groups of women had taken their chairs out into the sunshine after the weekend's gloomy weather, and were enjoying studying their own holy book.
There's nothing quite so magnificent as the sight of the golden dome gleaming in the morning sun.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Running down from the Mount of Olives
Traditionally pilgrims walk steadily down the Palm Sunday path from the Mount of Olives, recalling the night before Jesus died.
But if you've lingered too long taking photographs, and you look around and find everyone in the group has disappeared, and then you take a wrong turn and end up in the little village on top of the hill - then you have no choice but to run like crazy to catch up!
After a moment of quiet panic on reaching the bottom of the hill and finding the Garden of Gethsemane empty, I realized our guide must have taken the group on a little side track.
Having the Garden of Gethsemane almost to myself for a short time was pretty special.
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