"Jerusalem: the city which miraculously transforms man into pilgrim; no one can enter it and remain unchanged." Elie WieselThe Temple Mount area of the Old City in Jerusalem is such a sacred place for 3 world religions it's hard not to feel the convergence of faiths with shared but diverging beliefs coming to a head here.
Religion can be such a conundrum. We're taught not to judge and yet we have to make judgements. We're commanded not to kill but there are times when killing becomes justified (Laban, etc.). We should show respect and tolerance for all faiths but are still admonished to share the gospel. I guess this is one reason we can't solve age old religious questions intellectually and it makes me grateful for modern day revelation.
Most of our sight seeing yesterday took place inside the Old City. We did a little souvenir shopping; Webb finished that up in about 20 minutes and had to wait patiently while the rest of sought out all sorts of tchotchkes (Yiddish for knick-knacks!) Actually, an older Arab man befriended Webb while we shopped sharing tales of 3 wives and his tiring life (with multiple wives who wouldn't be tired!).
Garland took us on some neat tours in the Old City:
The Southern Steps & Archaeology Garden - where Paige shared that when Astronaut Neil Armstrong learned that Jesus had walked upon these steps he said: "this means more to me than walking on the moon."
Zedekiah's Cave - the stones for Solomon's temple were quarried here. Webb got a little claustrophobic but manned it up!
The Western Wall Tunnels - walking back into history you can see the Herodian, Byzantine, and Crusader constructions. Andie was enamored here with a little down's syndrome Jewish boy (no surprise); apparently a highlight of her trip!
For New Year's Eve we went to see the celebrating on Ben Yehuda street, wandered around, ate a nice dinner, but were all exhausted by about 10 pm! Guess we'll have to ring in the New Year back in the states!
