Jerusalem 2015 journal rev d

JERUSALEM 2015JERUSALEM 2015JERUSALEM 2015JERUSALEM 2015

JOURNALJOURNALJOURNALJOURNAL

By

Paul Rouse

Jerusalem 2015 Journal

Jerusalem 2015 Journal Rev D.doc Page 2 of 43

CONTENTS Forward..................................................................................................................................3

Saturday 18/04/15..................................................................................................................4

Sunday 19/04/15....................................................................................................................5

Monday 20/04/15 .................................................................................................................10

City of David, ....................................................................................................................10

Herod's Steps, Typropean Tunnel ....................................................................................13

The Temple Southern Wall ...............................................................................................15

Via Dolorosa & the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.............................................................17

Tuesday 21/04/15 ................................................................................................................18

Tuesday 21/04/15 ................................................................................................................19

King Solomon's Quarries also Zedekiah's Cave................................................................20

Wednesday 22/04/15 ...........................................................................................................22

Jewish Quarter - the Cardo...............................................................................................22

Jaffa Gate - the Palace of Herod the Great.......................................................................23

Mount Zion - Upper Room ................................................................................................23

King David's Tomb............................................................................................................24

St Peter Galicantu (St. Peter and the Cock Crowing)........................................................25

Thursday 23/04/15 ...............................................................................................................27

Western Wall (Kotel) Tunnel .............................................................................................27

Dry Run and Kidron Valley................................................................................................29

Kidron Valley ....................................................................................................................30

Friday 24/04/15 ....................................................................................................................32

Concluding photographic work..........................................................................................33

Shabbat ............................................................................................................................35

Saturday 25/04/15................................................................................................................37

Sunday 26/04/15..................................................................................................................39

Appendix 1 .......................................................................................................................40

Appendix 2 .......................................................................................................................42



Forward This is the journal of Paul Rouse, from 18/04/15 to 25/04/15. The purpose of my visit to Jerusalem, was to take a one time opportunity between employments to go and look at the latest archaeology of Jerusalem, with a view to doing talks to Cell groups at All Saints Wellington and St. Andrews Lutheran Church, South Ruislip. Apologetics is an important subject for Christians, and especially in this cynical age, when people believe what the media tells them and choose not to believe in God, I want to show, in various forms of media that people in the bible, like King David, and Jesus, not only existed, but there is an increasing amount of archaeological proof. This journal is just an overview of my journey, with it's attendant problems of running out of time, getting conned by the local's in the Souk and missing a guide, to name but a few. A lack of energy and general tiredness in the hot sunshine was fought with bottles of water, to keep the revised plan on track. I hope this journalistic approach will appeal to my readers. Contact: Paul Rouse Email: [email protected] Phone: 01952 412009 Mobile: 07914 345307



Saturday 18/04/15 Shabbat spent travelling to Israel. I was taken by taxi Heathrow Terminal 5 driver by Abdul from Armenia. I had plenty of time to ready the latest book: 'The Archaeology of Jerusalem' at the airport, then some more reading on the aircraft on outward journey. The flight time 5 hours 15 minutes. We arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule, which is not unusual depending on high level winds. At Ben Gurion, everybody proceeded quickly though security. They asked a few questions about what I was intending to do during your stay. The young lady was clearly surprised when I said I was here to evaluate the latest Bible Archaeology. Outside the airport there where three Shuruts. I got on to the first one, and there were already four or five people on board. I greeted them with Shalom and Salam, as there appeared to be a mixture of Palestinian & Jewish people. It was a good ice breaker, because people laughed. I sat next to an American couple who had come from Seattle, so we were immediately able to compare notes and share stories. Humour is good for breaking the ice, so I told them the story from my first trip, when we travelled on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, when the Bedouins tried to trade jewellery, a goat and a donkey for the young lady who just happened to get out the coach after me. A dozen stories flowed in each direction for the next 20 minutes. It had got dark as we were flying over Turkey, so the shurut drive was in darkness. It seemed very fast. As we neared Jerusalem on a dual carriageway, our driver cut-up a car while changing lanes, so that we made contact. We felt a slight bump at the back. Our Shurut pulled over, and so did the other car. Our driver got out and met the driver of the other vehicle who was an Ashkenazi, possibly a Rabbi. They seemed amicable and there did not appear to be any damage, so after 10 or 15 minutes we were back on the road. I arrived at the Abraham Hostel shortly before 11pm, much to my relief. Checking in was a formality, whoever a little problem bugged me for several days afterward. I thought I had pre-paid, but the man on the counter said no, it was just a reservation. I paid in my credit card, and got a slip, but I had not entered my PIN number on their machine. This could have been an awkward moment because I could not remember my PIN as I rarely use my credit card. I had cash in Shekels, Euros and pounds, but I would have ended up being very tight on cash. I assumed the transaction had gone through, but it played on my mind for the next two days - did it go through or not? I made my way up the stairs to the third floor. Room 322 was along two corridors, and the walk seemed miles as I was weighed down with a mere 20kg, but eyes that felt even heavier.



Sunday 19/04/15 Sunday morning I awoke at 7am, very tired but I forced my self out of bed. Breakfast was in the common room on 1st floor, a large open room with a kitchen at the far end, then tables, a lounge area with various lounge chairs and a bar on the left as you come in. As I was fairly early, there were not many people. Breakfast was a bowl of cereal, then a large plate for the typical Israeli / continental style breakfast of fresh chopped tomato; cucumber; cottage cheese and toast. You could also get an orange, have some orange juice from a machine. The coffee machine actually ground the beans before offering the usual choices – the best machine I have come across. As soon as I was able, I returned to my room on the third floor. There was a lift, but because I am so unfit, I decide I should take every opportunity to use the staircase (too little too late!). My first objective for the day and the week was to go to CMJ’s church (Churches Ministry Among the Jews), Christchurch at Jaffa Gate. I had no idea where the tram stopped, although I knew it cost 6 shekels. I decided to walk the 15 minutes to the major road junction and cross over to the city wall which headed eastwards to the Jaffa Gate. This was a good move as the tram headed across the north wall. I got to church early, early enough that is, to be caught by a trader who instantly recognised a newcomer / tourist. "My friend, I can help you? Where do you want to go? Oh no problem, come with me, I help you". Before I knew it I was in his shop, bartering over a necklace. ‘For your wife’ he insisted, as if he were giving it away. I was insistent that I had no time, but he persisted, and offered me a shawl for free. OK, OK, I accepted the price and the money was quickly taken. I was nearly out of his shop when is partner collared me because I clearly had money to spend, so I must be a rich tourist. I battled my way out of the shop insisting I was already late for a meeting. "I’ll see you again later", I insisted. And rushed to the safety of Christchurch, which I spotted was just round the corner. The way in to the church was not obvious, as the gates between the shops was closed, however, there was a Christian coffee shop next door run by Christchurch as people appeared to be going in. I followed them and then out into a courtyard at the back which lead to the church. Apparently the gates were unlocked, but that was not obvious. The church was much as I remembered 26 years before, with the Hebrew altarpiece and with high level stained glass windows. Both Hebrew and English wall hangings, but otherwise basic. Although I was early, a few people were already gathering. It was typical with a congregation of older middle class people – it’s what I remember from before. I said Shalom to several people, who were almost surprised when I used a Hebrew greeting. There was a mixture of people, most of whom were staying at the Christchurch guesthouse. I was expecting David Pileggi to be leading the service, but instead it was one of the other vicars, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Hilditch, who was from Ireland. He was excellent, and preached for about 30 minutes - a real hard hitting evangelical sermon on spreading the gospel, and reminding the church not to make 'daisy chains', in other words don’t be busy being busy, making something nice, but missing the point of why we are here.



Communion was interesting. The peace was friendly, and I greeted people with “Shalom, peace be with you”. Again, I was the only person using this, but people caught on and started to do the same. At the communion it’s self, there was no alter rail, but kneelers. Most people stood. The bread was matza. As we were given the host, the vicar broke it into our hands and said ‘broken for you”. This was very moving. Music was two women guitarist's and a pianist. The music was a mixture of English as Hebrew, with transliteration on the service sheet instead of Hebrew words. This was excellent worship. There was a great atmosphere of praise from a diverse selection of English, German, Dutch, Hebrew and others I could not identify. After the service, we were invited to go to the courtyard outside for drinks. I talked to a few people, including a couple my age, who had come from Galilee and had walked from Nazareth to Capernaum over four days. The first two had rained quite a lot, but the second two days were worth it. The weather was clear and hot, and despite a hard climb on the final day, the time at Capernaum was worth the long walk. I talked briefly to some other people. The time was already 1pm in the afternoon, and it felt like I was getting behind schedule. I took the route outside of the all, going from the Jaffa gate southwards down the Hinnom valley, using my phone 'Sat-nav' to confirm my direction. The first part of this was along the route of the wall, but the route was unclear as descended into the valley and the pavement by the road stopped. I back tracked a bit, back up the hill to the wall, on a zig-zag path, which hand been nicely landscaped. A gap in the wall, not a gate lead me onto mount Zion very near the church of the Dormitian, which is an impressive building, and one which dominates the landscape, when viewed from the Mount of Olives. I passed a car park, near the Zion gate and again followed the wall by the route of Ha Tkuma Garden. This gave a good view of the 'post Herodian' wall, probably dating to Suleman the Magnificent (1589). The heat from the sun was quite strong on my hat, even though the air temperature at nearly 3000 feet was only about 20°C. Although it was Sunday, as I approached the Dung Gate, which was the main entrance to the Western Wall area, there were many people, tourists and locals, and the road was full of coaches, dropping people off and generally blocking the narrow road. (This road has been extensively widened, but Coaches just take up a lot of room). I walked across the road to the City of David side, and just took a quick loo at the entrance to the City of David park as well as viewing the Giv'ati Car Park Excavation of the Roman Villa. I walked back to the Temple mount side to continue to the Kidron Valley, which was much as I remembered from 26 years ago. It had taken a good 15 minutes from Jaffa Gate to this point, with a little time wasted finding my way across Mount Zion (this would be 30 minutes from the hostel). There was a new path along the eastern edge of the Temple wall which went through the Muslim Cemetery. On this occasion, I chose to take the pavement at road level, and within ten minutes I was over the Kidron bridge (near St. Stephens gate) and at the foot of the mount of Olives. On this occasion my objective was at the top of the hill, so a stiff 15 minute walk up the hill over the to the Bethany side was in order. My back pack was getting disproportionately heavy, and I had to stop a couple of times for breath and some water (my life line). As I neared the summit (10 minutes), I thought I would know my way, having walking it years ago, but the junction was confusing with cars from two directions, persistently hooting each other to get out of the way on the narrow street. A coach went on to the pavement to get round the corner which was somewhat alarming. I went to the right following the ridge of the hill for a few metres, then seeing my objective down the hill toward Bethany, I pressed on another 200m. I arrived at a sort of unofficial viewpoint.



This was doubly amazing, because not only could I see the 'mist filled' Jordan valley in the distance, but to my right, I could see the 'volcanic looking' burial mound of Herod the Great who died in 4BC. I was on a pavement, by a railing at the place where a donkey had be tied up 26 years earlier. This was a fantastic place to start doing my video on the camcorder, and get strapped up with the GoPro. The situation quickly deteriorated, which set the scene for things ahead. There were a few lads hanging around, looking at me as I set my ultra lightweight tripod up, and added the Camcorder, ready to do a 'Selfie'. I felt very uneasy as lads of various aged from about 12 years old upwards observed what I was doing, as well as the odd passer-by. I wired my microphone from the digital sound-recorder. Bright sunlight was a problem. I could not see if I was recording sound as the display was obliterated by the sunlight. At least I had the sound on the camcorder, which I could strip and re-mix later. I announced that this was the first in a series of videos, walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Again this was been looked at incredulously from the same on-lookers, one of which passed by. This was getting embarrassing. No BBC camera crew to back me up here, I was on my own. Job done, I did an extremely quick strip-down and packed my bag. Next problem. I could not find the bracket that holds the GoPro camera onto the chest strap. I had selected brackets when I packed at home, but the strap did not arrive until a couple of hours before I left for Israel, and I had brought the wrong bracket. OK, I thought, I will use the 'Selfie' stick, and put it through the strap. Various attempts over several days proved that this just did not work. What I did not realise until later was that I had also dropped my 8m tape-measure, which I would need later to measure the large stones used in the Temple. That mission failed sadly. Bad start! I headed in the direction I came, with video rolling, tracing the steps of Jesus on his Palm Sunday walk to Jerusalem. The road I had just come on was confusing to say the least, along with the traffic situation on the top of the Mount of Olives of all places. I was soon lost. First I went into some bodies courtyard - how did I get here? Back again to the junction, but I had taken a turn too early and was walking toward the Jewish Cemetery and hotels.



A young man came passed and offered me some flowers at an extortionate rate, which I did not want anyway. I told him to go away politely and then not so politely. I insisted I was not a tourist, and he would see me again another day. Days later, the irritating lad was there again, so I reminded him to take the hint and leave an angry camera man alone! He didn't, so I walked on with him following me.

I walked past the church of the Ascension, which I was saving for another day. After the third attempt I recognised where I was and headed confidently down the hill. Just a short way down the hill, on my left was an open gate which a couple had just come from and there was a new view point above the church of Gethsemane. This looked brilliant. A good view, an unspoilt garden, and a chance to refuel batteries, and have a drink.

This was a good shoot opportunity, especially if I had pressed the record button on the GoPro correctly. The shots had to be redone. Further down the hill, on the right this time, a small parking area for cars. Being lower down the hill the view was not so good, but it was on the edge of the Garden of Gethsemane olive grove which spread up the valley toward Mount Scopus. I carried on down with camera rolling past the cafe on the left immediately above the Garden of Gethsemane. I was not going into the Church of All Nations or the small walled garden. I had some good 'stills' from my last visit. Time was moving on (4:15pm), and I was hoping to take detailed photos of the south east corner of the Temple wall. I crossed the bridge over the Kidron Valley (dry at this time of year, and passed the church at the end of the Catholic Cemetery. Ten minutes later I was at the corner, after hearing the Muslim call to prayer. Looking upward, I could see that massive repairs done to the wall recently, after significant damage had been inflicted to Solomon's Stables since 1999, and later in 2007. The wall had bowed so badly during the work, that this section of the wall had come close to collapse. The result was that the important archaeology of the brickwork in the area of the Hasmonean junction may have been lost. The only saving grace had been the amount of debris and material which had given rise to the 'Sifting Project' (2007) which I would be joining later in the week. After a 20 minute session photographing the stonework, and trying to establish the vertical footing for the former staircase, it was time to start heading back. I walked along the southern wall, where I has come hours earlier. Still full of tourists, I crossed the road and bought some more water as my supply was running low. This time I followed the road all the way along the Hinnom Valley, past St. Peter Galicantu to the south and Mount Zion to the north. I did try to see if there was a way down the side of the hill of Zion to the stairs of St. Peter Galicantu, but again I hit a couple of blind ally's in the Palestinian area, where very poor people lived. Just to the right of the entrance to St. Peter Gallicantu, is the cemetery where Oscar Shindler is buried. Five minutes or so later I walked parallel with the Hinnom Valley escarpment, past Akeldama, and a little further, the site where the 'Silver Scroll' was found, near to the Wolfson Garden. Across the large road junction was the Mitchell Garden which is now an outdoor theatre of quite impressive size, but was one of the Roman reservoirs. Again, no pavement, so it was a case of walking on the wall, with the valley dropping away to my left, and the hooting taxi's and coaches on my right. Every few minutes there was the sound of a whistle, and somebody would shout at me 'Hey, Taxi'. I was up the hill before they could catch me up.



Phisal's tower loomed large as I approached the Jaffa Gate which signalled just under 20 minutes walk up the hill of Jaffa Street to the hostel. After collating the day's photos and video's, I got some food and headed back to Christchurch for the evening service at 7pm. I was grateful for the slightly later start due to the 25 minute walk. Evening worship also had communion but was a smaller, quieter service with a different vicar. The piano was played by a retired man from New York who was spending a few months in Jerusalem. It was a bit surreal during communion as he played 50's and 60's swing numbers, which I guess were the tunes he knew. A little distracting but I got used to it. After the service just a few of us gathered in the awning outside the Christchurch Guesthouse Cafe. I met the wife of David Pileggi who was very pleasant. She explained that David was on speaking at a number of churches, so he was not around at the moment. We met the pianist who told us his story of being a widow, retired in New York and his time here in Jerusalem. Another man who was 87 I think, told us that he had been in Jerusalem in 1968 when the six day war broke out. He was there on holiday (47 years ago), when he and his wife, along with other tourists were told they were being evacuated. They just had time to grab their luggage when they were herded into trucks and driven up country to Carmel and Haifa. They were short of water and over crowed. At Haifa people were put on boats or flown out of the country to safety. Those of us gather round were amazed at his story. 25 minute walk back to the Hostel, and preparation for tomorrow.



Monday 20/04/15

City of David, Half of today had been allocated to visiting the City of David Museum Park, across the road from the southern edge of the Temple. This place was just referred to as 'Ophel' 26 years ago, and at the time I had no idea that it had been previously excavated by Kathleen Kenyon. It was later excavated by Yagal Shiloh, who probably died the year Rachel and I were there. At that time the area was impenetrable to me as I tried going down side streets, not even realising the importance of the area I was trying to get into. The new Museum has been done extremely well with lots of resources, and guides. The Palace of David (archaeologists are fairly sure of this now), has a full covering to protect the remains from rain, and the visitors centre and site office are over the top of the remains (8 metres), suspended by a framework of iron girders, leaving the site below, protected, accessible and illuminated. I arrived about 10am, but already there was a large number of visitors. Tours have to be booked ahead as they are in different languages. School groups and tour parties are catered for. The Palace of David had received a fair amount of rain the week before, so some parts were being pumped out when I arrived. It was still an impressively large area for a terraced hill fort. At the same time, the area as a whole is small for what was the Iron Age capital of the united kingdom of Israel. Kind David had moved his regional capital from Hebron to unite this people in supposedly neutral territory, but Saul's capital of Gibeon might have made more sense, or the impressive and prosperous city of Lachish in the Shephelah (western foothills). Descending the stairs from the Palace area, we were shown the 'stepped stone structure' which has been dated by Archaeologists like Yagal Shiloh to the Jebusite period 1300BC Late Bronze age. To the left of this supporting structure was a square tower dating to the Harmonium period. Also, at the lower part of the stepped structure was evidence of a two floored house, belonging to a high status family. This was identified with the house of Ahiel due to a potsherd that carried the name 'the house of Ahiel.

No time to do the full tour, so I went along the Eastern side of the ridge on a pavement which allowed access to several houses or flats on the hill side. These probably followed the original terraces which it is not possible to identify due to the buildings, which is the problem I found before. The path lead to a view point which was excellent to view up and down the Kidron Valley, and I could see the lower path that leads down to the water channels that have been excavated near the bottom of the ridge as well as low status housing from the Iron Age. (The channels controlled by a sluice gate from the Gihon Spring would allow privative irrigation of crops grown in the valley).



After another rest, drink, and photos, I went back the way I had come toward the old city, then took a staircase that lead down the valley side into the Kidron Valley. This brought me into the newly concreted road at the bottom of Silwan village. However, the place was a mess and had clearly been allowed to deteriorate again. Why? Battered cars tried to pass each other on the narrow road. There were plenty of passing places, but a lack of discipline, which had lead cars and vans to get dented. The old entrance to the Gihon Spring had been blocked some years ago so that the entrance is now inside the City of David Archaeological Park. I took a panoramic photo from the opposite side on the remains of a newish building which had been totally stripped out. At the bottom of the street, I had my usual encounter with an angry dog who barked persistently and showed its teeth nonchalantly to keep me away from the battered truck he was guarding. Persistently he followed me up to the entrance to the Pool of Siloam. But wait a minute, this was the wrong place, the Pool is over the other side of the hill. Surely this was the end of David's city with the escarpment. What was I looking at here, another pool? I tried to look inconspicuously through the gate, then walk on past to get to the a small hill, giving me a vantage point for a photo back up the city ridge, showing the escarpment, and the Tyropean Valley going up hill on the left. I decided to have another look at the entrance that people were going in an out of. Then there was that, by now familiar, "Hey can I take you some where" voice which after only one day I was dreading. A young man called Chet came up to me smiling and politely asked where I was from, and would I like to see the real Pool of Siloam? Curiosity got the better of me. I knew this was going to cost the last of my Shekels so I talked to him. This guy sounded interesting. He was one of the workers who had excavated this new area about 8 years ago. His father had worked with Kathleen Kenyon and Yagal Shiloh. Wow, this is worth hanging around for I thought. I plied a few awkward questions about Yagal Shiloh dying back in 1988, and the test was passed. Chet was willing to show me the pool for free, but I would have to pay to do Herod's steps and the Tyropean tunnel. That was worth it. Then the inevitable came. Chet offered to show me how this all linked to what was previously referred to as the Pool of Siloam, but in reality was just the exit from Hezekiah's Tunnel. "But we must go into my Uncles shop first, he would love to meet you and tell you about the archaeologists". Abraham Siam was a nice man, and not too pushy, but I think genuinely proud of what he had to sell, as well as clearly knowing the archaeologists. I knew money was going to be involved, and sure enough, a selection of irresistibly interesting coins and pottery lamps from the excavation came out. For 50 shekels (£8) this was a good deal for a Widow's Mite, and couple of Roman coins for a few more sealed the deal. The glass cabinets around the shop were full of artefacts from the excavations, and looked warn repaired or cleaned as you would expect from proper artefacts, as opposed to the clean, obviously copied items in the souk market in the old city. I also purchased a book written by Chet's cousin Dr. Ghanem Abu Sbeih. We came out of Abraham's shop and I just had time to snap a picture of the re-shaped exit from Hezekiah's tunnel. "Now come and see my family and have some lunch". I had been here before, but Chet seemed reasonable, and the bank was not quite broken. We walked up the Kidron valley to the steps I had come down earlier near the entrance to Gihon. We went passed some excavations, which Chet said were also Jebusite, although modern supporting walls were a little above. This was clearly an 'in-progress' section.



We walked around the side of the house then on to the balcony overlooking the valley. A child was playing outside, and in seconds we were inside a cool, dark room. Chet's uncle lay dosing on the settee in the heat of the day. He awoke with a start, not expecting visitors. Chet introduced me to the portly, yet jocular man who rose to his feet and addressed me as his welcomed guest with a hand shake. "Come, sit down, eat", he said invitingly. A younger son of about 14 brought some water melon and pieta bread, and I reclined in the settee with Chet. "come on, eat", he beckoned, so I tucked into some refreshing water melon, with some bread in the other hand. Chet explained who I was, but I could have been a friend for years by the welcome I received. An hour passed quickly, and I explained to Chet that I had a full afternoon, so I would be grateful if we could get back to the tour of the pool. We said farewell to his uncle and aunt who had just arrived with the shopping, and was also surprised by the stranger, but was also welcoming. As we got to the bottom of the stairs, Chet pointed to a white car. I threw my pack in and jumped in the front. We were off down the road before I could latch my seat belt, and so began the 'slalom' journey of just a few minutes, as we dodged cars coming the other way, and parked across from the from the iron gate that lead to the Pool excavation site. We walked past the young man selling tickets, and along the steps to the pool which was been sprayed with water by a chap I had seen earlier. I said 'hi' and he nodded. He knew Chet had a paying customer, so he stopped the spray and let me by him. Chet took me past the gully where the water was transported to the pool. He explained that the pool has bee discovered when sewage pipe for the 'Ophel town' had become completely blocked, and his father and a team dug down to the pipe, which runs under the escarpment. They found the steps to the pool about a metre below. The excavation begun after the archaeological authorities were notified, and Chet's father was put in charge. The area adjacent was owned by the Greek Orthodox church, but they were unwilling to sell the land, even though it is completely overgrown, and does not appear to be used. They have tried several time to purchase the land for excavation, but it does not look like they will sell it, which is sad. We proceeded to climb the stairs which leads to a corridor with a hording painted with a picture of what the pool would have looked like in the time of Jesus. The hording was about 25 metres long, and had some of the columns recovered from the excavation in front to make the picture look more realistic. At the end of the hording we turned right into a tunnel. This was 'Herod's Steps', and Chet said he would have to leave me here and get back to work. The Tyropean tunnel followed the route of the Tyropean valley or 'Cheese makers' road, up the hill to the corner of the temple (at the end of the Western Wall.



Herod's Steps, Typropean Tunnel

The tunnel was excavated under the leadership of Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron in 2011 and is 650m or just under 1/2 a mile long. I was often surprised how narrow it got, and it seemed to go on for ages even though I kept up a good pace. At one point, near the next section I came across an iron door on my left. I could not help hearing a mother and two young children talking. This door was obviously in the cellar of somebody's house on the hill side. I may have got in for free, but as I caught up with a German group in front of me, I realised that as we arrived at the Giv'ati Car Park excavation, we were either able to exit here or pay a man to carry on to the south east corner of the western wall. As it turned out the extra 25 shekels got me into the whole southern wall excavation area, which was my next objective. The exit at this point was up some stairs to street level, however the door to the Giv'ati Car Park site was open, so I had a sneak look at what the volunteers and archaeologists were doing as this is not yet open to the public. That site is another exciting development having buildings from Iron Age II, First temple, Hasmonean, and Roman periods. I pressed on up the passage passing some large cisterns as I neared the exit. The tunnel was much wider at this point and there were several sections which where not accessible. Sadly this included the section where in 1869 Warren observed the 4 ton temple wall stone had pierce the ceiling of the tunnel. His illustration and modern photos can be seen on the internet. I have included them here for interest. See pictures on the next page.



Warrens roof fall



The Temple Southern Wall The stairwell from the tunnels comes out immediately below the south eastern corner of the temple wall. A pile of rubble / large stones dating from when the army of Titus used battering rams on the Temple mount to smash the walls of the platform outwards. These were excavated in the last twenty years, and illustrate the size of stones used by Herod's builders. After talking to a Russian couple about these stones, I proceeded around the southern edge of the wall. I wanted to go up the Crusader extension to get a birds eye view of some of the excavations. This did not yield the view that I hoped for, as it mainly gave a view of the Garden area, which was not of interest. The sun was getting quite hot by this time (mid afternoon), so I was drinking a lot of water. Thankfully there was a refrigerated water fountain under the crusader extension, where various groups gathered at different times with their guides to be given a lecture prior to viewing the excavations. To my surprise, the steps leading to the Double Gate and the Triple Gates of the temple, had not just been uncovered, but the majority had been completely replaced to allow safe access to tourists. Another surprise was the extensive reworking of this southern wall, which I have extensively photographed. The 'Double Gate' was not only bricked up during the Muslim period, but the Crusader extension (11th Century), had been built half way across this door way. This is represented in many papers and websites. The bigger surprise was that there is very little of the original 'Triple Gate'. See photos on the next page



Left hand door with remaining pillar (not in it's oriinal place).

The Triple Gate

Again this was one of the things I have come to see, as on-line material just does not cover all my questions on this subject. I think this section was severely damaged by Titus, and was rebuilt using existing stones, which was common, but as Eric Morecombe commented in the 'Piano Sketch', all the stones went back, but not necessarily in the right order. Masonry re-use was very common as we shall see on the Eastern Wall. I continued around the excavations (which were only partially visible 26 years ago), for another two hours until closing time. The whole area is an archaeological minefield because of the many different ages of building here. First Temple, Second Temple, Hasmonean, Herodian and Byzantine being the last period with the exception of the Crusader extension from the wall. I have photographed nearly everything possible with the attendant signs. The site can be exited at the south eastern corner, however I returned to the Davidson Centre entrance by the Dung Gate - the drop-off point for the coaches. The time afforded another photo session by the south eastern corner, and along the eastern wall and the Kidron Valley. I decided, since I was by that wall, to take the opportunity to walk along the new path along the wall northwards, by the Golden Gate and up to Lion Gate, also referred to as St. Stephens Gate. Out of interest, according to Eusebius, the was a stone that marked the spot that St. Stephen was stoned to death, with Paul consenting. Sadly that stone went centuries ago. There is a large mound to the right of this gate outside the wall. This is yet another Muslim cemetery, and I would guess our stone would have been there somewhere.



The photos I took near the Golden Gate show how the Romans re-used Herods stone blocks to rebuild the wall as there is not coherent order. Aelia Capitolonia and the Temple of Jupiter was built in from 135 to 138AD, i.e. about three years using material re-use.

I tried to gain entry to the Hiram Al Sharif, but the solders said it was closed. This was the beginning of a game of cat and mouse, where the Hiram Al Sharif was closed every time I tried to go there. A few other tourists had the same problem.

Via Dolorosa & the Church of the Holy Sepulchre On to the next video shoot. This shoot was specifically Jesus walk along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Christ. Sadly this is archaeologically incorrect, as the path belongs to Aelia Capitolonia from 135AD, which is the point of my video. I walked past the Ecce Homo Arch, and was just heading down the hill when the customary whistle of yet another taxi driver rang out. The difference here was that this one knew my name - scary or what? "Paul", he called - oh it was Chet's uncle. "I want to buy you coffee, jump in". I knew what was coming, so I insisted I was filming and could not stop. "Nonsense, I will meet you at the bottom of the hill", he insisted. There seemed no escape. I told him I would see him there. I held back a little to explore, then continued. As I rounded the corner, I spied the white car, and scooted across the street and merged with other tourists. A deep feeling of relief as I got into the Souk. I was heading for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Somehow I missed the right turning and went deeper into the Souk. This was definitely wrong so I retraced my steps and found the sign. Turning up the hill, it was still another 10 minutes, but as I got to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. I again missed the sign and went in a circle until I was back where I was, and one road later I was there. My trip into the upper part of the souk again got me caught by a 'very nice gentleman' who asked, "where are you going?", and then said, "come quickly with me my friend, I will show you a great view", it will only take 5 minutes. That 5 minutes cost me another 25 Shekels, before I tore myself away and arrived at the near by Church of the Holy Sepulchre.



A couple of American women asked my opinion if I really thought this was the place where Jesus died and rose from the dead. Another 10 minute lecture began as I explained the arguments for this and the Garden Tomb. I was at pains to emphasised that the important thing is what the spirit tells you, and how close the place brings you to the Lord, a response which pleased them. We parted company among the crowd and went in. I had forgotten the magnificence and holiness of this place, although the icons and candles obviously appeal more to the Catholics and Orthodox Christians among us. The queue to the shrine of the Sepulchre was very lengthy even at 6pm. I have done this before, so I was prepared to give it a miss and sit with people outside to pray and meditate for a while - this was much more worth while, as all sorts of people including priests did this as well. At length, I decided to leave as I was beginning to get hungry. As I re-entered the Souk, heading for the Jaffa Gate, I again met he American ladies I had met earlier (both about my age), and I hurried them past the stall holders who all wanted to sell the same artefacts at the same price, or what ever you could haggle. They had appreciated my advice. I blessed them, and went on my way - another 20 minutes walk back to the hostel, as the air was becoming cooler. Another evening of sorting photos and a call to the family lay ahead.



Tuesday 21/04/15 I checked my email, but still no word from Nabil, so my trip to Samaria was not looking good. My first port of call today was the Garden Tomb. Instead of going to Jaffa Street, it was quicker to go down Ha-Nevi'im Street, which was outside the front of the Hostel. This was a good move. Not only was it quicker, heading toward the Damascus Gate, but the high up view of the city was worth a couple of photos. The church of the Redeemer and the Holy Sepulchre stood out. The Mount of Olives was in the distance, so we were looking roughly south east. My route allowed me to go past the Garden tomb and go around the block to search out the entrance to the Muslim cemetery behind the escarpment. As it happened it was all around the block in Salah-Din Street, and was not open to non Muslims. This area is again one big souk, with people selling fruit, vegetables, mobile phones and water all over the streets including the Sultan Suleman Street which goes along the old city wall. Lots of aromatic smells as the hubbub of people haggling and doing business. Some women were sitting on the ground with just a few wears to sell - sad, they would be lucky to sell anything, let alone get a living wage. I made my way back around the black to the Garden tomb. Down the narrow passageway yet another salesman plying his trade to the tourist groups about to go in. I overtook them and went straight to reception. Here I met Wilma who had been working there longer than Victor Jack. She asked me to pass on her regards. There was no charge, donation only. There were plenty of generous donations in the transparent boxes. The place was crowded. I did not come here for crowds of people. As I stayed several hours, I was able to observe the ebb and flow of people, and found several times of peace, although I was unofficial guide to several people. As the crowds receded, I got my opportunity to have a bit of quiet in and out of the Tomb. This may not be the historical place, but I believe the Lord graciously allowed many people, and latterly General Gordon to find this place. Due to his fame, this site acquired the name of Gordon's Calvary, which is unfair to the countless people who argued for this site before he did. It is a place of peace, contemplation, with visual aids which bring you to your knees, rather than the over crowed Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with so many pictures and statues to distract from the real meaning of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. There is much debate in Wikipeadia, which is as it should be, because the facts have to be debated before conclusions drawn. It is worth a read if you have time.



King Solomon's Quarries also Zedekiah's Cave My next target was King Solomon's Quarries (also known as Zedekiah's Cave). This is a good title, but again difficult to verify. Certainly it is a massive underground quarry, most likely used during the time of Herod the Great in the building of the Temple and wall, along with other quarries. The entrance is about 200m east of the Damascus Gate. It was re-discovered in 1854, and opened to the public in 1985. I did not know about this place on previous visits, and it was not on any itineraries of people I spoke to. I asked the two people selling tickets if many people came. Sadly not many people. It costs a lot to run with all the lights, but it is kept going by the government subsidy.

My next target was the Roman street under the Damascus Gate. This would again date to Aelia Capitolonia. I went to the cafe under the bridge where the entrance should be, but the cafe owner, who was Palestinian said that it had been closed for a couple of years. After having a coffee with him and asking the usual questions about business etc. I decided it was time to move on. I did a quick survey to see if there were any other museum nearby, but no luck. The Damascus Gate was a well worn route I had used many times in 1986, when I stayed on Mount Scopus, a similar distance from the city as I was at the hostel. I used the route to get through the Souk to the Via Dolorosa again. This time it was a visit to the Sisters of Zion church and the Lithostasse. Although this site was firmly dated to the Aelia Capitolonia period, post 135AD, it was still a site of interest, and there had been a long Christian tradition here. The church now made it clear in several places that this was probably not Gabatha or the Lithostrasse of Jesus time, but it was still a holy place. From my point of view, there was the site of the Struthon Pool 10 meters below ground which did exist at the time of the Antonia fortress, so getting some better photos was an objective, as well as understanding the layout of this now, subterranean pool. More about this when I go to the Western Wall Tunnels tomorrow.



I also wanted some fresh pictures of the Ecce Homo Arch, which was actually the Victory Arch for Titus, built by Hadrian's rebuild from 135AD. It is very similar to the one in Rome, of a similar date.

When I left the Sisters of Zion church, I had another quick attempt at going to Hiram Al Sharif. Again the soldiers said that there was no entry today. I carried on the Lion Gate then turned right (south) along the temple wall, to the south east corner, where I tried to improve some of my photos of the temple wall. I then went westwards to the Dung Gate. I took the opportunity to go to the western wall tunnels. This meant going up some steps, down some more, then through a 'check point', where my back went through an x-ray machine, and the contents of all pockets had to be emptied so I could go through the scanner. I got used to this routine. At the Western Wall there is an entrance on the left which goes to the tunnels without going into the area of worship, i.e. the men's area. I proceeded to the entrance and then to the ticket office. The ticket office was now closed. At the entrance to the stairwell going down to the tunnels there is a barrier where they hand out Kippur's as the men's head must be covered according to tradition. It was here I met a gentleman about my age, who asked if I was Jewish since I had my own Kippur. I explained that I was 'Goy', which is Yiddish for a gentile. It was funny, but this genuinely did not seem to be a problem for him, and we entered a discussion of nearly 30 minutes as he allowed people in for prayer and turned the tourist's politely away. He explained that I would have to book this tomorrow to get the English tour, so be back here by 9am. He was prepared to let me go as far as the area of women's prayer. I would settle for this. Our discussion was lively and he tried to show me that Jesus was really a 'plant' by the Jewish authorities to get the Jews moving out of Jerusalem due to the impending Roman clampdown, giving them the protection of being a separate group of people. Also, the quoted the Toledot Yeshu, which is an 11th century manuscript used by Jews to represent the life of Jesus. Not only is it a late manuscript based on the oral tradition of the Rabbis, but it is a fanciful story which gives a very wrong idea of Jesus and the apostles. No wonder they have such a strange view of Christians today. (See the appendix of this article for our correspondence). 15 minutes in the first part of the tunnels at least gave me an idea of what to expect tomorrow morning. Another packed day over, I went out of the Dung Gate and went outside the wall up to Zion Gate and then back via Jaffa Gate.



Wednesday 22/04/15

Jewish Quarter - the Cardo Today started in the Jewish Quarter. The first port of call was the Cardo (Cardo Maximus), the colonnaded Roman road dating from Aelia Capitolonia in 135AD onwards, and was part of the Roman, north to south route which would have gone to the Damascus Gate. It is a shame in a way that this is the largest remnant of what was probably another spectacular Roman city in it's day. The Burnt House was the house of a Jewish priest at the time when the Roman army of Titus destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. (The name Katros was found on a piece of pottery, the name of a family of priests referred to in the Talmud). Most of the buildings including the temple were burnt down by the army of Titus. This house was discovered during archaeological excavation in the Jewish Quarter from 1969 to 1982 by Nahman Avigad and turned into a museum showing life as it was before the destruction. A 45 minute video tells the story of the family who lived there, but has a real slant to Jew nationalism - you would understand if you saw the video. All in all it was an informative museum, with many artefacts. After leaving the Burnt House, I walked through the Jewish Quarter hoping to find the Broad Wall, dating back to the time of Hezekiah, however, I went down the next road, missing it completely. However, my next objective was there Western Wall again, and I soon arrived at the stairs descending to the check point. There is a Crusader building which has been partly preserved at the top of the stairs overlooking the Wall. Tomorrow is the independence day for the State of Israel, which will be a national holiday: Yom Ha'atzmaut centers around the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel by the Jewish leadership led by future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurionon 14 May 1948. In the Western Wall square, celebrations are beginning. The flags are raised and there were two soldiers standing to attention for several hours by the Independence Memorial Flame. Many people gathered here over the two days, from Israel and abroad. It was nearing lunch time, and there was a good place to eat at the top of the stairs from the Jewish Quarter. I had to walk past the Golden Menorah, which is a close replica of the one which would have been used in the Second Temple. It is in a glass case overlooking the square. As I stood next to the menorah, I could not help but hear a Jewish guide talking to an Indian gentleman called Raju. What he was being told about the Christian sites and about Jesus was just plain rubbish. I just felt I had to intervene. After a few minutes correcting some of the errors, I took Raju's email address. We have corresponded and the email is in Appendix 2.



Jaffa Gate - the Palace of Herod the Great. After a good lunch at a cafe just above the menorah, I went back through the Jewish Quarter back to the Jaffa Gate. My next target was the Tower of David Museum there. This is another complicated site because the exterior is crusader, but it was partly built during the Herodian period i.e. the dressed stones for much of the lower parts of this building, but the moat and drawbridge are Crusader. The upper features are from Suleiman the Magnificent and some parts specifically point to Mecca. Part of the inner courtyard had been converted to an outdoor theatre like the upper part of the Hinom Valley. An event was being set up in the courtyard as part of the Independence Day celebrations. I had come specifically to look at the Palace of Herd the Great, which was in the middle of the high walls. This was a large museum and I was there 2-3 hours, with many displays on the history of the Jewish people

in Jerusalem, which was of a high quality and easy to read. The ruins are clearly marked and signed as well, which was important and I was trying to identify the Hasmonean, Herodian, and crusader sections. There are also two excellent scale models of Jerusalem cast out or metal (an unusual media for a 2m square model), one from the time of Jesus and one for the Byzantine period. These have made use of the latest archaeology, and topographical information, so they give a good representation. Unfortunately strong sunlight made these difficult to photograph as the shadow went across both relief maps. The museum was closing for the evening performance at 4pm, so I did not find the latest excavations which was disappointing. The section of Herod's palaces has been done in the past seven years, but I could not find signs to it. Apparently, according to the Web site, tours to this section have to be pre-booked on-line and are twice a week. Also they are either English or Hebrew - good if you have inside knowledge of these things. However it was a full afternoon without the extra section.

Mount Zion - Upper Room A short walk from here is Mount Zion, which I have passed over many time already this week. I wanted to re-photograph the Upper Room as I only have one reasonable picture. Mark Ireland kindly sent me a text during the week to tell me that there was another site in the Jewish Quarter, not far from the Zion Gate, but I left this to Saturday morning, but I went the wrong direction at a road junction and could not find it. The present hall, which is an upper room, dates back to the middle ages. I can't find out the basis for this tradition at the moment. There is an interesting view from the roof of this chapel, accessible by stairs at the side.



King David's Tomb The burial place of King David is another site that has scant tradition to support it, (12th century tradition) and the more likely place would be the tombs in the vicinity of the City of David, the original Zion. The building is adjoining the Upper Room, on a quadrangle. The tomb is a Synagogue, so a Kippur has to be worn by men if entering this site. Because it is a synagogue it is not geared up for lots of people as it is a place of prayer, and part of a larger Jewish compound. The actual shrine is underground, which I visited in 1986, but this is not open to the public now, and I do not think the bones or ashes of King David reside here either. At best this is a shine, but still of interest.

My photo from 1986 I didn't get in without one of their official l guides, who was an old gentleman, and happily took my photo which did not come out, and it cost me 30 shekels for a site that is donation only. Very difficult to get past these people.



St Peter Galicantu (St. Peter and the Cock Crowing)

This was a church I have been to twice before, but sadly the dungeon area has changed to allow more visitors at the cost of it's realism before. The main church stands out from the lower slopes of Mount Zion and is below the cemetery where Oscar Schindler is buried (A large tiered cemetery). The features of this site are: the house of Caiaphas the high priest; the steps leading up to the house / church, which have been preserved; and the dungeons under the house, where Jesus could have been kept for questioning. There is no sign of the courtyard where Peter denied Jesus three times, but it probably would have been over the outside ruins, which are visible to the right of the stairs when looking down, or downwards from the church balcony.

Dungeons left of the stairs looking upwards or below when looking from the church balcony.

The church itself is a beautiful place to worship, and it was full for a catholic service while I was there. It as become a very busy place with lots of large church groups all day long, and a large car park for coaches. At the front left side of the chapel, is a door to the stairwell down to the dungeon. In my memory this was a poignant and moving place where you could see a hole in the floor, where a prisoner, i.e. Jesus would be lowered down by rope into an underground chamber in the cold, damp and total darkness. The staircase to this was stone, very steep with no hand rail, and dimly lit. You could just make out 1st century red crosses in the wall, which are now not visible. Continued >>



By contrast, today there are glass windows everywhere, and marble staircases. The whole upper section has been enlarged to make more of the chambers visible, and there was a circular route through the chambers to allow large groups of fifty or more people to experience these places. The dungeon where Jesus was possibly held was large enough to hold 15 people at a push, and there was a lovely service of meditation on Christ's suffering, 15 minutes duration being held by a Catholic priest. Sadly not in English.

Despite the large number of people, it was a special place. I purposely came at the end of the day, but it was till busy.

Outside, further up the hill, below the road that descended Mount Zion to the car park, was a separate outside building. This was above another set of ruins the other side of the steps (I had not seen these before either). The building was like a large, hexagonal tiled roof with open sides. Under the roof was a large model of Jerusalem, probably 10 metres, 30 feet across. The model buildings were fairly basic, but the topography was accurate.

Another tiring day over, I returned to the Hostel exhausted.



Thursday 23/04/15

Western Wall (Kotel) Tunnel Thursday morning was up at 7am for a quick shower and breakfast, and out by 8:15, to ensure I was at the Western Wall tunnels by 9am. I was among the first to arrive. I quickly prepared my equipment ready to shoot some video and take some pictures. It was then that I realised that my camera batteries were still in the charger back at the hostel. Never mind, camera 2 on my phone would have to do. The results were not quite what I would like quality wise, but they were passable - I would not be able to repeat this event. The people for the tour soon arrived so there was 25 to 30 people. Our leader, a very nice, intelligent lady, reminded us it was the Independence holiday today, and she could have been having a nice barbecue with her family on this cold day, but she would rather be with us. Not everyone got the joke. We set off down the stairs I had gone down two days before, with the reminder that this was a holy place, and to remember that people would be praying as we proceeded near the 'Most Holy Place'. We first went into an alcove used for lecturing, and our guide proceeded to explain the walk and the history behind the tunnels, with visual aids and images on the screen. Hopefully I captured a good amount of this on video, but my arm ached the rest of the day through holding the camera up. (message to self - use the 'selfie stick' or the tripod next time). After a 15 to 20 minutes well spent, looking at models and sections of the temple mount, we proceeded to walk down the first section of tunnel, effectively walking toward the temple mount. When we arrived at the part I had been to yesterday, we turned left to walk through fairly large tunnels, which where as far as you could go from the western wall years ago. We were effectively at the height of Barclays Bridge, and were able to look down to what would have been street level over a millennia before. The section which is the Western Wall tunnel was above ground before the Muslims built over it, during the Muslim period after the Romans and Byzantines. The group proceeded down another flight of stairs which lead to what would have been street level. In front of us, so we were told was a large stone with rectangular slots in which was 20m long and weighted 500 tons. We were reassured by our guide that this was a genuine foundation stone, not just a carved frontage from the bedrock behind. The illustrations of carving and moving large stones came to mind from the lecture a few minutes earlier. The rectangular slots were from a period when all these stones were plastered, which has been carefully removed to reveal the dressed Herodian stones.



The tunnels soon narrowed but RSJ girders above supported the stone ceiling 10 metres above. Soon we came to a much smaller area, with what seemed to be a group of women either seated or standing. Our guide explained that this was the part of the wall closest to the 'Most Holy Place' or the 'Holy of Holies'. The women were committed to not only obedience to the Torah, but to praying for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple. Although we were only here for a few moments I was struck by the sacredness of the moment.

Sorry for the poor quality photo. Internet photo We passed into another large area which I think was a cistern, with holes in the ceiling about 10 metres up. Soon we were in the narrow and low part of the tunnel, which lead some distance along the wall. The tunnel was all the more narrow due to RSJ supports both on the sides and the ceiling, and tall people would have to bend for about 200 metres, before we got the to Hasmonean section. This part was unsupported, but again 7 to 10 metres high, with no passing places. This narrow gully probably took rain water to the Struthon Pools near the Fortress Antonia, and the slightly later Lithostrasse (135-138AD), which adjoined it.

Narrow section

Hasmonean canal to Struthon pools

Upon arriving at the Struthion Pool, we were told it was only 1 to 2 metres deep, but this seriously could have been a private swimming pool, with its stainless steel walkways and tasteful up lighting and down lighting which made the pool an incandescent turquoise colour. This part of the Struthion Pool was separated by a wall from the part under the Sisters of Zion church. I have got to draw this up to work out the geography.



At this point, our guide gave people the option to go up the stairs and come out in the Souk in the Muslim Quarter, or return with her to the start. Almost everyone left by the stairs. I would have been curious to see where it came out, but I wanted to take the opportunity to ply my 'captive guide' with questions, which she was all too happy to answer. It seemed like only a couple of minutes and the were back where we started - surely not, it had taken 45 minutes to get here. Time flies ..........

Dry Run and Kidron Valley We came out where we had gone in, near the Western Wall. I was unhappy that I did not have my Fuji S5 Camera, so I made a hasty fly through the Jewish Quarter to the Jaffa Gate and up Jaffa Street. to the Hostel. I speedily retrieved my batteries, loaded them into my trusty camera, and headed back down Ha-Nevi'im Street for my next mission. I was heading back to the Kidron Valley to replicate the Garden of Gethsemane as it was in Jesus time, but this seemed a good opportunity to check where the Sifting Project was, before making an early start there at 9am tomorrow. The project was located toward the beginning of the Kidron Valley at the foot of Mount Scopus. Mount Scopus is the base of the Hebrew University which is involved in many of the excavations I have looked at, including the Sifting Project. It looks imposing ahead of me on the mount. After walking past the Damascus Gate with the hubbub of the Souk on the pavement, which I was becoming accustomed to, I continued on the road eastwards to the north eastern wall of the city, and passed the Rockefeller Museum (this is worth a visit some time but not now). The old city wall on my right sits on the bedrock escarpment. It is helpful to see this building technique which is underground and invisible for the rest of the wall. It is mostly Saladin's wall that is visible now, with material re-use as usual. At the north eastern corner of the wall is a major road junction. This is a standstill at 4:30pm onwards when traffic is coming from all directions. There is a complex set of zebra crossings, and instinct causes me to look the wrong way every time. The road I want is directly ahead, and does a hair-pin turn from the junction, down into the Kidron Valley. Bending steeply round to the left, north east, I am faced with a fairly steep decent, and the pavement (if it can be called that) is narrow with cars or truck periodically blocking it. The view is contrasting one. in the foreground, small businesses of lorry's; car repairs, building materials. The bins for the houses on the hill side on my left appear to be the odd skip which stink. In mid ground is the olive groves of the Kidron Valley, which look organised and maintained. Ahead, is the ultra modern community of Mount Scopus, with a dual carriageway snaking along below, at the head of the valley. This was an amazing contrasting view.

Ten minutes walk took me down and across the valley and up to the road which turns off. Its clearly signed, but another five minutes walk along the road / track to the entrance of the Zurim Valley National Park, which was the entrance to the Sifting Project. It was warm and a clear sky, and just a few clouds. I stayed to take a few photographs of the site, as I expected there would be little time tomorrow. Good call.



It is worth noting at this point that this 'park' was the municipal dump. In 1999 when the excavation of the Temple Mount began at the behest of the ruling Waqf (The Islamic authority who runs the Temple Mount or Hiram Al Sharif), 400 trunk loads of earth were dumped here in just a few days. I spotted another dump down the Kidron Valley, which I will inform the excavation group about.

Kidron Valley Having taken a few photos, I headed back the way I came and back down the valley. At the low point of the road, there are fences each side of the road and low walls to get into the upper and lower part of the valley. The Lower part is where I was going, which goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and then all the way to the Dead Sea some 40 miles away (the long way). There is a path, which I took which goes a little short of the road from Gethsemane, but there is no way through due to a small cemetery owned by the 'Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem' and a private property. One of the things I was looking for was a set of tombs on the hill side of Mount of Olives (left side). In 1986 I got chased out of one them by an angry dog who I had disturbed. Walking down the valley, and seeing the spot, I checked around. Just a few long haired goats looked nonchalantly at me, hoping I would go away. The long grass and wild flowers between the olive trees gave the place a wild, untouched feel, as it would have been in the time of Jesus, which is why I had come. I soon headed off the path to the left, on a small track up the side of the Mount of Olives, and I reached the outcrop where the tombs were in minutes. By now the clouds mentioned in last night's weather report come across, several hours later than predicted. A shower began, just enough for me to raise my lightweight hood. Soon enough, the shower became more persistent, and I was forced to shelter under an olive tree, which was little better than a sieve. After a few minutes, and with the rain lightening a little, I decided to make a run up the few steps onto the escapement, but the last few metres to the tombs had to be climbed on wet limestone rocks.

I entered the largest entrance quickly from the same ledge I had been on twenty eight years earlier, but this time no dog. I spoke too soon. looking out of the metre high opening, there he was across the valley stalking me again! He had the colouring of a fox but was probably Labrador size. Definitely not to be argued with. I hurriedly got my camera out and took some photos to get the feel of an ancient tomb, and trying to miss the broken bottles, Coke cans and plastic bags which had accumulated over decades. Mission accomplished. The rain was persistent and the dog was heading my way. Time for a quick exit, but not as quick as last time. I moved swiftly across the wet rocks with a hand on the ground so I could control a slip if necessary.



I headed down the valley to take more photos, aware that was been tracked at a distance. I checked to see if there was a way on to the road from Gethsemane, but there were too many walls and some convincing barbed wire that clearly said NO! I retraced my steps and the dog had followed my trail up to the tombs. I hurried up the valley again heading for the road from the Mount, which had a short cut. I assumed a truck or two had come down this steep road to off load Temple Mount rubble fifteen years ago. It was interesting to notice that the terrace walls along the valley had been renewed since my last visit - most of them had been tumbling down to some extent. Clearly somebody had poured a lot a money into the area, so at least the olive farmers had benefited. It was nearly five o'clock and the rain had long gone. As I struggled up the hill, the minarets sounded with the call to prayer as usual, an eerie wailing sound that I would imagine would drive people away more than anything. I returned along the northern wall via Ha-Nevi'im Street to the hostel for another night of editing.



Friday 24/04/15 Today is the last full day, although I may have to do a run into the city tomorrow to tidy up some shots. I headed off to the sifting Project along via Ha-Nevi'im Street at 8:15, hoping to get there early and confirm my email contact with Moran Ben Hemo at the City of David Museum, who I had been negotiating with during the week. I felt time was getting a bit tight, so I jogged down the hill, and through the Souk. I was sufficiently ahead by the Damascus Gate that I could slow to a walk. Upon arrival the staff were setting up. I spoke to a young lady who only spoke Hebrew, but she took me to the reception hut where I was able to speak to someone in English. I was able to stay as long as there where places, and the English group would be briefed just after 9am. That was great, so I went into the 60m long tent and unloaded my camera and video gear. A couple of coaches arrived just after me so people were soon accumulating in the meeting area which consisted of three rows of stone seats in a curve facing an artificial stone wall. At 9:30'ish we had a good 30 minute talk from a young man called Aaron, also from the Hebrew University who had been here about three years. He spoke very competently about the project, and explained everything very interestingly and held everybody's attention with a lot of information and visual displays.

I am showing several pictures here because it is easier than describing the frames and how much material we were given to process. Aaron had us split up into groups of three people per frame.

• The process went like this:

• Collect a bucket containing rubble and water from the middle

• Pour the contents of the buckets onto the middle of the frame

• Spread the rubble over two thirds of the frame

• Spray the bucket and the rubble with the high pressure water hose and clean off the dirt.

• Sort the rubble from left to right lifting out any items of interest (see below)

• Spray again, and resort to isolate anything that may have been missed

• Call a member of the team to double check the rubble has been efficiently checked

• Take the frame with the rubble to the wheelbarrow to disposal

• Take the artefacts extracted to the central collection buckets which are all labelled



The layout of the collection trays were as follows:

Special Stones (flints or unusual

stones)

Bones or teeth

Mozaic

Pottery Glass

(modern & Roman)

Metal

Any major items like coins or jewellery would be brought to the immediate attention of one of the staff, who would confirm the find and move it directly to the Archaeologists table at the end. Two coins were found in the morning I was there, and a great cheer went up among the group. Analysis of the finds will be published in the next one to two years because this is such a large project. Statistical analysis will be used to categorise the finds. For example, modern glass finds will be statistically compared with the Roman glass, because modern debris will also have fallen through the cracks in the large floor slabs and got into the rubble. Another area of analysis will be that of bones, and how the animal bones from ritual sacrifice have got into this area of the temple mount, since there is a high representation of bones and teeth as well as jewellery from first and second temple periods as well as Roman, Byzantine etc. I was privileged to have been able to work continuously from 10am to 1pm, and the University staff were very helpful and informative. If I get another opportunity to join them I would be happy to do so.

Concluding photographic work I had assigned my last afternoon to conclude photographic work. I had previously missed the Tomb of the Prophets on the Mount of Olives as well as the church of the Ascension and Dominus Flevit. Yet again the Tomb of the prophets was closed, so I will have to rely on my internet research and photos for that one. In truth there are no ossuary's remaining in that site, just a complex layout of burial chambers. Dominus Flevit was closed on my way up the hill, but would be opened at 2:30pm, so I decided to continue to the Chapel of the Ascension which I missed on Sunday. It was open this time. The Chapel of the Ascension is a very small building 7 to 10 metres in diameter, but in a court yard which surrounds it and a minaret in close proximity. I was reminded of the sermon given by Richard Kirby at All Saints in Wellington two years ago. I was supposed to be preaching last year on Ascension Day, but unfortunately I was double booked, so that sermons is kept for another time. It was hard to move with 30 or more people all in this tiny chapel, all looking at this small place in the floor, where the stone (used to) have a mark like Jesus foot, but has been so worn by worshipers kissing the ground that the stone is shiny, and the shape is indiscernible. Even though the chapel was full of so many people reverencing the holy place, there was still a sense of intimacy and closeness to the Lord, who promised he would come again.



In Acts 1 verse 11, the angels reminded the disciples, "This same Jesus who has been taken into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven".

Dominus Flevit was another small chapel. This is traditionally the site where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. I was so grateful that I had arrived when it had just opened, so I was alone most of the time, and I could be quiet in the Chapel. Apologies to Rev'd Mark Ireland as I have copied your photo exactly (right). This image was so poignant from two perspectives. Firstly this place would have looked directly at the Temple Holy of Holies at the time of Jesus, and secondly it now is directly aligned with the Done of the Rock, the Muslim holy place on Hiram Al Sharif. What was Jesus weeping over. Not just the temple, not just the leaders, not just the Abomination of Desolation which was soon to come.

Jesus words are, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing". Matt. 23:37 These words rang in my mind, as I felt His grief for our day, when his people are still persecuted in every country, all because we want them to know our Father's love. As a footnote to this place, there are some important tombs just inside the entrance to the site. Understanding burial methods and traditions was another area of investigation. There are two photos on the next page which again show a traditional sepulchre, like the one Jesus would have been laid in. A dead body would have decayed after several years, the remains and bones would be carefully removed and placed in an ossuary. Many ossuary's could be stores in these small family tombs. This tradition was from the second temple period to the time of Jesus.



The whole epic of the 'Jesus Tomb' in Talipot, just 3 miles away from here was dreamt up by non Christians, and was quickly disproved as no more than a hoax or at best bad archaeology. The lesson here is, don't believe everything you hear in the media.

I have missed the church of 'Pater Noster' or 'Our Father' this time, as again I have been twice before, and had a good set of photos. It marks the place where, by tradition Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer. It is a church I would recommend, and I am reminded of a German Lutheran church group who were singing hymns there, which kept my wife and I spellbound by both their beautiful singing and the worshipful atmosphere in that place. I went back down the route to Gethsemane, and had intended to go back though St. Stephens gate. I changed my mined and headed along the eastern side of the city wall on the Kidron Valley side, for a last look to see any hint of the 'footings' of Herod's bridge. It never ceases to amaze me that the Lord guides you to somebody who needs help. I met an English couple who had arrived on Tuesday. They were still uncertain of some of the holy sites, and how they fitted in historically. I probably spent 20 minutes explaining the history from the Jebusites and King David though to the two temples and the destruction in AD 70, up to the present walls. They went away excited and clear on where they would be going. How important it is that we encourage one another, and help each other to grow in knowledge and faith. I did not realise that there would be more to come.

Shabbat I got back to the Hostel early. Tonight was the beginning of Shabbat. I had pre-booked my place at a table at the Hostel Shabbat meal. For me Shabbat, like the Christian Sunday puts the Lord at the centre of the family and life. The meal can be as symbolic as communion, and the means of grace are hidden in Shabbat if only my Jewish brother's would look for it like the leaven in the Seder Meal. The shared bread an wine, the prayers of blessing, the candle symbolising the Lord's presence, inviting a stranger to be a guest at the meal, all things that are synergies with my Jewish brothers and sisters.



Prior to the meal I had interesting conversation with a Jewish man who more or less lived at the Hostel. He said that there were still things I had missed, and could just fit in tomorrow. Later I met a Jew from Siberia, he too had many stories to tell. Meeting people like these makes these times very special. The food was prepared by staff and volunteers. We did not eat until nearly 8:30pm, by which time everybody was very hungry, however it was worth waiting for. The Shabbat order of service was neatly laid out on a sheet, so everybody had a copy. Fortunately there was a transliteration of the Hebrew (not one of my strong points. The Shabbat order was read not chanted which was a little disappointing, and was so quiet it was difficult to follow, partly due to the large room we were in. The meal was worth waiting for, and was enough for several days. Perhaps that's why one of the Seder verses is called Dayenu, which means 'it would have been enough for us!' (sorry another Yiddish joke - this one was definitely not Kocher).



Saturday 25/04/15 Saturday was the day of my return to England. I had purposely booked a late flight, 16:48, so there would be no rush to get a shurut at 5am for the earlier one. This actually gave me a few extra hours in Jerusalem which I had not foreseen. Last night the Jewish chap who seemed to live in the Hostel told me that the crypt of the Holy Sepulchre was definitely open even though I could not get to it earlier in the week. He explained that the entrance was behind the shrine of the tomb. I had tried to find this earlier in the week and failed. Also my vicar Mark had told be that there is another site of the 'Upper Room' which I had not even heard of called the 'house of Mark 'or the Church of St. Mark'. I was aware of the tradition, but not the site. If I went to the Holy Sepulchre first, then doubled back to the Jaffa Gate then turn left just before the tunnel that leads to Zion Gate, I should comfortably do both. Best laid plans as they say. I set off down Jaffa Street, down hill at a pace. I would go through New Gate as short cut, however, yet again the confusing Souk, meant I soon got lost, and had to turn back one road, to ascend the steps, back to the road that goes east which I had missed. It was here that another extraordinary event happened. As I was walking a light incline within the Souk, an Orthodox Priest was leading an Indian group away from the church. I did begin to question if I was going the wrong way but they were coming away. I moved aside to let them past. However, the Priest, who was dressed in a white surplus and tall white (orthodox) hat, stopped to talk to me. He introduced himself as John Thomas from India and was leading the group, but he clearly wanted to talk to me, because he turned to his group (20 to 30) and told them to take a rest. I shook his hand and said I was Paul. I commented that his names were good biblical names, and we laughed as we both reminded the other that Thomas identified the risen Jesus with 'my Lord and my God'. Then he asked if I was an Archaeologist (Oops, the Indiana Jones hat was a give away, but I was not wearing it today, just sun cream). I explained that I was not, but I was here to look at archaeology which proves the Bible. He found this very encouraging and blessed me for telling him this. I insisted that I was holding up his group, but he said he was very glad to talk to me. We parted company, and his group followed him. I wondered what I had said that seemed to make him so encouraged and I pray that the Lord uses whatever it was to bless his group.

Minutes later I arrived that the Holy Sepulchre. At 8:30, it was already full of people, even if the Souk was relatively quiet. Walking back into the church seemed to demand a spiritual attitude rather than just snapping pictures - that is obvious, but not so much when you are in a hurry. As people were showing reverence to the site of the Crucifixion I felt compelled to do so too. After some time, I moved on to the Sepulchre shrine. The crypt shrine is 8 metres below ground and can be seen by a hole in the floor of the shrine. I intended to go below ground. I tried each of the five doors behind the shine, but the only one that opened interrupted a priest having a drink of coffee. He smiled, so I asked him where the stairs to the shine were. He motioned that he could not speak English, so I apologised and left.



I went back to the entrance to the shrine of the tomb which had many people queuing to go in. Out of desperation there was another orthodox priest with a long beard who looked like a Patriarch. I politely asked him if he knew where the underground shrine was. He was Russian but spoke a little English. He was very gracious and said he did not know, but I might try where he pointed. I thanked him for his kindness and set off in that direction. I spotted a stairwell the other side, so I went down a few metres to another shrine that people were coming out of. It was a tomb like the ones in Kidron and Dominus Flevit. There were two Indian ladies burning incense and praying. I took a discrete photo then I left.

Further round to the right was a much larger staircase leading down to the correct level. This was a large area with an alter and large icons and suspended oil lamps, however, to the right another set of steps appear to lead to yet another altar and a shrine to the crucifixion to the right. I am still confused. Behind that an iron gate and more stairs, however a padlock prevented passage to yet another crypt - the one I was looking for.

Time was moving on, and an hour had passed. I left the church and took my well worn route to the Jafa Gate. The previous night, I had put a marker in my GPS where I thought the house / church of St. Mark should be. I ended up in the Jewish Quarter, and a return route back in Ararat Street failed to find the church. Time was ticking so I returned to the Hostel as quickly as one could (up hill!). The Web link and map with a picture is below. http://www.seetheholyland.net/st-marks-church This hard-to-find Syriac Orthodox church is in the north-eastern corner of the Old City’s Armenian Quarter, on Ararat Street which branches off St Mark’s Street.



Back at the Hostel, I spoke to the two people on the counter about checking out and booking a Shurut. The young lady kindly said she would book it for 11am. Everything had been packed the night before, apart from the camera equipment, so I returned to reception with my case and backpack ready to be picked up in 20 minutes. The young lady called me over and apologised but the Shurut would not be available until 12pm, an hour later. That was no problem as I had budgeted a safety margin, and that was another hour of reading time for me, plus lunch. I was picked up at 12:20pm but still plenty of time. The Shurut was wasting no time, and set off at great speed and was doing 80MPH (120km / hr) on Highway 1 most of the way. We arrived at Ben Gurion airport just after 1:30pm at terminal three. The terminal was well signed and I was able to relax and read until it was time to go to the departure lounge. No bus this time, we went straight though the connection into the plane. Another window seat, meant I could look briefly back as we flew over Tel Aviv and Yafo, over the Mediterranean within minutes. Arrival at Heathrow Terminal 5 was in good time. The passengers had to take an underground train two stops to the Arrivals / Baggage area. All went well, and my case was soon collected. I called the taxi company in Eastcote giving my exact location (so I thought). I forgot that a lot had changed in twenty six years. There was only three terminals then. I waiting outside the exit. Taxi's and busses came and went. The wait should be about 30 minutes. Around that time I got a call from the Taxi driver. I was waiting at stop 22. That's was strange, he was also at stop 22 but could not see me. So began a frustrating 20 minutes of phone calls, running and more phone calls. What neither of us realised was that I was on floor 1 and he was on floor 5 above me. Eventually he realised my mistake, and got me to take the lift up to floor 5. Bingo, there he was. I had been calling him Abdul all this time, but it turned out to be Mohamed, but he was not bothered - I must be stupid! Upon arrival at Whitby Road, as relieved mother was waiting with a hot drink and cake - what could be better. There was limited time to relate al the stories.

Sunday 26/04/15 On Sunday morning at 10:30, I was welcomed by my brothers and sisters at St. Andrews Lutheran Church. Thank you to Doreen Rosser, who always greets me as one of the family. I did not realise I had arrived on a 'Special Sunday' when Pastor VanFossen's wife was over from Denver, Colorado. The church was pleased to have her back if only for a week. Thanks also to Pastor Didzis for yet another challenging sermon and communion. Now the work of collating stories, photographs and video footage begins, and I expect several months to produce something that can be used to 'build up God's people'. Thank you to all those who have already invited me to speak, and who have prayed for and supported me through a physically and spiritually challenging week. See the Appendix for additional correspondence and actions.

Travel

Jerusalem 2015 journal rev d