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.