5 Days in J-Town!

Kevin on the Mount of Olives.

Think for a moment about cities in the world, especially the long successful cities and you begin to find obvious trends. It is most likely they are built on a water source, have a natural defence, and are on a strategic trade route. If you can think of a major city that does not have one of these three please leave a comment below. I will give you one right now, Jerusalem. Surprisingly this legendary city does qualify in any of these. The questions then arises: how can a city with nothing going for it can survive so long and be so popular? This it what our guide has been trying to answer for us the last five days.

Dome of the Rock.

After visiting the Temple Mount, Holocaust Museum, Upper Room, Mt. Zion, Israel Museum, Hezekiah's Tunnel, City of David, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Via Dolorsa, House of Caiaphas, Rabbinical Tunnels, Pool of Siloam, Gehenna Valley, Garden Tomb, Bethlehem, Dome of the Rock, Golden Gate, Wailing Wall and Golgotha I have a small clue of the significance of this city.

Wailing Wall. (That's our group pastor, Jimmy, in the middle)

Jerusalem is the holiest Jewish city, holiest Christian city and third holiest city to the Muslims. That should explain it all. This is a bottle neck of heightened tension, everybody has their own agenda not only religiously but politically. This makes it a fascinating city to visit and one I would recommend to anyone. But be warned the tourist trail here is well worn in with likeminded travellers. Highlights of the city for me were the Temple Mount and the City of David. Herod was an amazing builder, but as our guide said today, "he is the man we love to hate." And seeing the location of the City of David and how the water source was manipulated into the city walls gave great visualization to Old Testament accounts.

A couple photos from churches in Jerusalem, to many churches if you ask us! 

Although this is the end of the guided tour of the Middle East the adventure does not end here. In fact the next two weeks will bring about their own stories as Nathan and Theo head to Holland to visit relatives and I stay behind in Israel to meet a Professor and dig for the Biblical city of Ai (Joshua 7 if you would like to read the story.)

Stay tuned.

--Kevin