Best of: Welcome to the Holy City!

This was first posted in March of '07. By request, I'm re-posting it during this month of retrospective blog work. Den

Shalom, and welcome to the beautiful town of Jerusalem! While you’re here, why not pick up a couple of souvenirs? They are, after all, only 1 dollar for you. For most people, the price is 2 dollars, but for you, my friend, I will take half off.

So went much of the bargaining today as we toured around Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Our bus would pull up to a shop or tourist attraction and peddlers would appear from every nook and cranny trying to pry even a penny from our cold American fingers. I find this rather amusing, especially when you get the chance to bargain with a peddler about an item that catches your eye.

Today was a great day. We started out by going to what is believed to have been the upper room (where the last supper took place) and then to the tomb of King David.

After this, we went to an outlook where we could see nearly the whole of
Jerusalem. There, our tour guide (Boaz) pointed out the many different locations that we would be seeing that day. We then proceeded to visit many different churches (I must admit that they all become muddled in my head- even after just a few hours) including the church at the Garden of Gethsemane. While at Gethsemane (across from Temple Mount, on the mount of olives) we talked about the very special thing that happened there.

As lunch time approached, it was time for us to enter into Bethlehem. Although it is under Palestinian control, Bethlehem is still relatively safe (especially for tourists.) We ate at a very nice restaurant (put on by the Nisson bros.) and then headed on over to the Church of the Nativity (birthplace of J.C.) and had a fantastic time there. We finished up with a couple more places in Jerusalem and then headed back on over to our hotel for dinner. Right now we are having a brief meeting about the days to come.

This has been a very special time for me, and I hope that you continue to follow this trip!

Colin

P.S. visit this website to catch a glimpse of some Israeli jewelry. You can probably order some if ya want, but by all means at least check out the website. My dad bought a necklace for my mom from this place (shhh...secret) and man, o man is it beautiful!

Comments

[Andrew Rampenthal]

Awesome! Jerusalem sounds like a great town/city, and just being there and seeing where Christ had been and taught must have been amazing. Thank-you for reposting this. I look forward to visiting here someday soon.

Andrew

[Trish Greene]

It sounds like you guys are having a wonderful time!

Colin! Congratulations on the Baptism! What a great experience that must have been!