Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Herodium, and Bethlehem

October 24 (10:30 p.m.)
If the title of my post sound like a lot of things to see in one day, that 's because it was!  However, all this is within a 10 mile area. Looking out from the Mount if Olives, you are able to see the route Jesus would have taken when he  made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There is a saddle in the ridge that was the natural route and from there he descended into the Kidron Valley as people lined the road and waved palms. Palms are a symbol of victory in Israeli history.  From the vantage point of the Mt. Of Olives you can trace the entire route He took entire  during Passion Week. It is a very steep walk down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.  I will definitely have sore legs tomorrow. From there, we went about 10 miles South (on a bus, thank goodness) to the Herodium. That was a fortress, lookout, and elaborate vacation home that Herod had built for himself. He had a big swimming pool with an island in the middle constructed. Sisters, he had the original party island.  The site is under archaeological excavation and quite impressive. From the top of the fortress you can see a glimpse of the Dead Sea to the East, the Hebron mountains South, Bethlehem is West and Jerusalem to to the North.  Next, we went into the West Bank. We had to have our passports and go through an Israeli check point. Then behind the wall and into Bethlehem which is in what the people who live there call the state of Palestine, but the Israelis do not. A disputed territory. We visited with an Arab Christian shop owner who gave us a great talk about being an Arab Christian living in the West Bank. What I would say to all of you about the things you see on the news about this disputed area is that it's a lot like home; the news tells you what they want you to hear. There are two sides to every story and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. We visited the shepherds fields and our  group had a short "Christmas" service outside in the Shepherds  field with the Mediterranean breeze blowing across.  Pastor Rhoda from Ohio recited the Christmas story from Luke. Andy, a missionary from South America, led us in several Christmas carols, and Pastor Mike from  Michigan closed in prayer. Definitely a once in a lifetime Christmas service. After dinner, the director of the University had a reception for us at his home. He and his wife were very gracious hosts. Another big day tomorrow. Off to bed for some much needed rest.

At the Herodium. Ongoing excavation of Herod's Tomb in the foreground and Bethlehem in the far background..