Israel Day 7

Our last day with our guide and new friend Moshe in the white hat walking us through the old city of Jerusalem very early in the morning.  We wailed at the Western  Wall on the Temple Mount and we had to wail loud as men were on one side and women on the other.  Some did not seem to mind stepping up on chairs so they could wail a little closer to each other.  We went under ground through the ancient tunnels which continue to be excavated.  It was dark and I did not want to use flash so no good pictures.

We got close to the  Dome of the Rock but couldnt wail there because we were not the right religion but we wondered nearby and saw how beautiful it was on the outside.  Makes an interesting statement if I must say, as my husband was certainly able to wail at the wall and I went into all the churches.

We walked the trail of Jesus on the Via Dolo Rosa starting at Station I, The Church of the Condemnation all the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  I touched the spot where Jesus was said to be washed in olive oil and Myrrh and took the scent with me as they must oil it regularly.  It was smooth and cool and the scent was so nice that I purchased some in the market, where I could have stayed all day and photographed everything and everyone, but we had to move on.

Yesterday we saw one of the caves where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and today we went to a museum where we saw some pieces of the scrolls and learned that they are the oldest scrolls of the old testament yet to be found.

Our final stop for the day was at Yad Vashem, a very sad place where the stories of the holocaust are told in first person testamonies and with pictures and documents and artifacts.  No pictures allowed inside which was fine with me, since i have many from my adventures in Europe that covered many of the same sights.  I did grab some outdoor photos and enjoyed my walk down the Avenue of the Rightious as it reminded me that there were some good people who were willing to risk there lives to help others when many would not.