Caiaphas' House - Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu

This is a very possible site of Caiaphas' House, where Jesus was brought from the Garden of Gethsemane.  The pic above is from the corner of the house looking East/North East.  The white mass on the far hillside is the  Mount of Olives and to the left you see the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount...the Kidron Valley running between them.  In the bottom of the valley is where the Garden of Gethsemane is.  The road you see in the foreground, coming up from the valley is a 1st century road that Jesus would have walked on.

The pic above is a statue outside this church representing when Peter denied Jesus and the cock crowing.

Elevated View of Old Jerusalem

We were able to climb up into an old tower and look out across the city.  This is looking East...notice the Dome of the Rock in the middle...the Mount of Olives is just beyond that (the mass of grey/white on the hillside).  The Kidron Valley runs between the Temple Mount (with the Dome of the Rock on it) and the Mount of Olives.  Bethlehem would be off to the right but out of this picture.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

This is a mural inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the two possible sites of the crucifixion and burial.  There was a lot there and as many of the churches in Jerusalem, it was controlled by several denominations...but the key keeper is Muslim (an interesting story there).

The pic above is the right side...below is the left side with our friend Aaron standing tall.

Below is a pic with the top of the wood structure built over the possible tomb.  It was beautiful in there but the best part...the tomb was EMPTY!!  This site is the one that Helena, mother of Constantine, excavated and built up as the tomb Jesus was laid in.  It's possible, but not conclusive...either way it was pretty neat to see and experience.

Dome of The Rock - Temple Mount

A pic of Dome of The Rock (circa 691AD)...the mosque that sits atop the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem.  A beautiful building and supposedly the top is real gold.  The reconstructed temple was built on this very site by Herod "the Great" when he expanded and flattened the temple mount around 20BC.  The temple and most of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD by the Romans following one of the Jewish revolts.

Below you can see the tile work on the outside...redone since it was built in 691AD.  However, under the arch below you see more green and red tile...those are supposedly originals!  Very beautiful work.

...headed state side. Please keep us in prayer for safe and smooth travels. We love you all and are looking forward to seeing you soon.
We'll post day 6 pics as soon as we are able. It was a great day for sure...busy with time in old Jerusalem, dinner then straight to airport.

A sign above the entrance to the Holocaust Museum.  ...no pics allowed inside but this is one very somber place.  It is well done and although we only had about 30-40 minutes, you could spend half a day here.

This is a scaled model of the entire city of old Jerusalem that is kept at the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept.  The steps near the double doors on the left side of the temple mount is where Shana and I were sitting a few days earlier. (see Day 3 pics)

Here we are at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall)...and yes that is a yamaka.  Headgear is required to go down to the wall for men.

Marty at the Western Wall taking care of some business.  Praise God for hearing our prayers!!

A picture of the Western Wall from higher up.  ...prayers are done in the corner toward the left.  The white divider is for men and women...men to the left, women to the right.

Rabbi's Tunnel...it runs along the western wall of the Temple Mount under the ground.  Since the Temple Mount was built on a slanted hill, leveled off at the top, you can see Herodian stones set right on the bed rock...which is one of the reasons it is in such great shape today.  This idea of going down to the bed rock was apparently a new concept at the time. (see picture below)  The stones down here are in seemingly "mint" condition, especially considering their age.

This picture shows a Herodian stone (note the dressed edge) set into the bed rock.  Amazing engineering for the day...such tight fit and it obviously has endured the test of time.

Jericho...the world's oldest city!  There are many references in the Bible about Jericho but Joshua chapter 6 is a good example of the things that happened here.

Here is a pic of a sycamore-fig tree in Jericho, similar to the one Zacchaeus would have climbed up in to see Jesus. [Luke 19:1-10]

At Qumran...the area shown here is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered.  After the initial discovery more than 900 scrolls in various conditions were found in this area between 1947 and 1956.  ...the extremely arid climate enabled them to stay preserved for nearly 2000 years!

Lower falls at the springs of En Gedi. [Josh 15:62; 1 Sam 23:29, 24:1; 2 Chron 20:2; Song of Songs 1:14; Ez 47:10]  The Dead Sea area is truly desert (wilderness) so it's easy to see why this was such a great place to hold up for a while.

This is a pic from just above that lower falls.  The water is fresh and plentiful!

Here we are atop Masada looking North.  The Dead Sea is in the distant, just over Shana's shoulder on the right.

This is the famous siege ramp built by the Romans when they attacked and defeated the group of about 1,000 Jewish rebels that were held up there. (picture is from the top looking down)

The Dead Sea...indeed far too salty for known "life" forms, having the highest level of salinity and density of any body of water in the world. (30% greater than our typical oceans)  It is, however, rich in minerals such as potash, magnesium and bromide.  

When you take a dip you are like a cork!!  It's true!  We went for a brief dip in the sea and you just lean back and pick your feet up to float on your back.  Curl your legs up and it's as if you are in a chair.

Okay, a couple fun pics...Bryan (above) as a star camel jockey about ready to race a bus (kidding, but he did saddle up).  Marty (below) taking the camel for a spin and loving every minute of it!!

"X" marks the spot with this silver star in a cave below the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where Jesus was born into this world. [Matt 1:18-2:12]  ..."Immanuel...God with us."

Bethlehem is also recognized as the place where St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin (Latin Vulgate)...and he was also laid to rest here.  The skull at his feet was his own way of reminding himself that he must finish his translation before he died...which he did and we are grateful for his discipline and dedication.

Here we are sitting on THE first century step on the South side of the temple entrance.  In the corner over Tyler's shoulder you can see part of an arched doorway.  That was originally a double doorway exit route from the Temple above us.  ...and YES, Jesus would have used these very steps to get to and from the temple.

Inside the church at Gethsemane, at the base of the Mount of Olives.  People are shown here kneeling next to "the" rock that Jesus prayed at, which is at the alter in this church. [Matt 26:36-57; Luke 22:39-53]    "...yet, not my will but Yours be done."

...this is the outside of the church at Gethsemane.

Dominus Fevit (the Lord wept)…a small church on the Mount of Olives that commemorates when Jesus wept over Jerusalem during His Triumphal Entry. [Luke 19:41]  The top corners of the building have "tear catchers" depictions and the church itself is roughly shaped as a tear.

Looking into old Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. [2 Sam 15:30; Zech 14:4; Matt 21:1, 24:3, 26:30, Acts 1:12]   al-Aqsa Mosque is seen in the middle with the gold dome.  Dome of the Rock is just to the left but hard to see in this picture...more on that in a couple days.

Bryan and Marty at the aqueduct that fed Caesarea Maritima

Here we are at Caesarea Maritima...built by Herod "the great", located about 60 miles NW of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean Sea

[Acts 10; 12; 18; 21; 23-26]

.Elijah on Mount Carmel...reference 1 Kings 18 for the story

Looking across the Jezreel Valley from Tel Magiddo...Mount Tabor (left) and Mount Moreh (right)  [2 Chron 35; Rev 16 ]

Greek Orthodox church of Annunciation…in Nazareth

Roman theater at Scychopolis (south of Sea of Galilee), Tel Beth Shean in the background...where Saul's body was taken to after his defeat.

At the house of Peter.  This is a reference to Matt 16:18 (the rock) at Capharnaum.

A tribute to the feeding of the 5,000 at the Church of Heptapegon (the seven springs) [Mark 6:30-44]

Worship on the Sea of Galilee…how wonderful it was to drop our burdens over the side of the boat.  [Matt 14:22-33]

<Note to Mashell...Bryan says Hi and He loves and misses you very much.>

Arrived Safely in Tel Aviv...long flight but uneventful, just the way we like em. ;-)

NY-NY

A stop in the big apple along the way. 10+ hrs more flying and we'll be in Israel!! So exciting to think about where we are headed. Wow!

TRAVEL DAY 1

PDX outbound...it's very early with 16 hrs of flight ahead of us.

Happy Trails

...and we thank you for your support. ;-)

Greetings

Hello friends!  Bookmark this page and check back often as we will be posting our daily experiences during our trips.