Mt. Olives & Garden of Gethsemane

 

Saturday we decided to give our hiking feet a break and rented bikes in Jerusalem to go up Mount Olives.  Daddy wasn't quite sure how to get there but after an unintentional detour through an Arab neighborhood and riding in a 18" space between parked cars and moving buses, we did make it to our destination! =D  The picture above is of a Jewish mother and her six young daughters we saw walking to the Synagogue Saturday morning.



Dad and Joshua on Mount Olives with Jerusalem in the background.

To get to Mount Olives from the Old City it's quite a climb because you have to go through the Kidron Valley. Jesus and his followers must have been in shape to be able to walk all over those hills!  They sure didn't have air-conditioned tour buses to ride in! :D

 

The Dome of The Rock.
 

According to some Islamic scholars, the Foundation Stone inside the Dome of the Rock is the place were their Prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven.  The Foundation Stone and its surroundings are the holiest site in Judaism. Though Muslims now pray towards the Kaaba at Mecca, they once faced the Temple Mount as the Jews do. Both groups traditionally regarded the location of the stone as the holiest spot on Earth, the site of the Holy of Holies during the Temple Period.  Because Muslim authorities refused to permit Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, the custom developed of praying near the Western Wall, since it was the site nearest to the Foundation Stone.  According to Jewish tradition, the stone is the site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac; most Muslims believe it was Ishmael, not Isaac, who was to be sacrificed.

We rode down Mount Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.

 



Taking a break at the bottom of the Mount of Olives.

Behind Joshua is the Golden Gate of the Old City.  The Golden Gate is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls.  According to Jewish tradition, the Shekinah used to appear through this gate.  It is also said that Jesus passed through this gate on Palm Sunday. The Jews also believe this is the gate that the Messiah will enter when he comes.

  

A close up of the Golden Gate

 



Quite the line up of tour buses!



The burial cave to the left is dated back to the second century BCE.  The second structure was never used for burial but it is a monument commemorating the deceased. We happened upon them as we were riding our bikes around in the Kidron Valley.



We wanted to find Hezekiah's Tunnels but it was closed on Saturday so instead of riding through the heavy traffic back up to the Old City, we decided to walk our bikes up these steps.

 

Taking a break after lugging our bikes up all those stairs!  :)  Mount Olives is behind us.

 

We did most of our souvenir shopping on Saturday in the Old City.  I wanted to get some scarves and at one store the owner draped one over my shoulders to convince me I needed to buy it from him!  The shopkeepers are very high pressure salesmen over there!  Whenever you want to buy something, never pay the asking price.  You have to haggle with them because they will rip you off big time!  For example Joshua asked one owner how much he wanted for a small toy drum.  The shopkeeper said 40 shekels and Joshua haggled with him until he finally got it for 15 shekels--less than half the price he named!

 

We didn't have to return the bikes until almost 9 p.m. so Dad thought it would be fun to ride back up Mount Olives and see Jerusalem all lit up at night... but I didn't really want to go through an Arab neighborhood at night! :P So instead we went on a little excursion through a Jewish neighborhood and then on to the Old City :)

 



We bought some "Jerusalem bagels" for a snack in the evening.  It's a soft and slightly sweet bread sprinkled with sesame seeds. They come with a packet of spices you can dip your bagel into. 

We all liked it!

 

 

Sunday was our last day in Israel but our flight wasn't until 11:30 p.m.

What did we do on our last day?  Find out in the next post! :D

 

~Kaitlyn