The Holy City

Ben had to go to Jerusalem last week for work. Lucky dog. I tried my best to tag along, but with flights starting at $5000 we thought it best to wait. He called me Monday to tell me that it he had probably just had the "coolest day of his life". Oh, I wish I could have been there with him. To experience it together. Mount Zion, the City on a Hill, the City of God. How amazing! 

Ben's work group had a tour guide that directed them through the city, but his favorite moments were spent by himself, just taking in the sights at his own pace. Here are some of the pictures he came back with. 

This is the Dome of the Rock (3rd holiest Muslim site). It sits on top of the Temple Mount, the exact location of 1st and 2nd Temples and the Holy of Holies of the time of King David and Solomon. 

Here, Ben is on the Mount of Olives (where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes) and is looking back at the Old City. At the bottom of the picture, is Kidron Valley, burial place of thousands of Jews. On the far right, you can see Eastern Gate, through which Christ will re-enter the city at the Second Coming.

At the bottom of The Mount, the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus and the disciples often prayed and where He was ultimately betrayed by Judas.
This is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the site of Golgotha, where Christ was crucified. In the church, is a blood-stained stone for which is claimed to be Christ's blood. Wether it's true or not, Ben said it was an incredible thought to stand there and think that it could be.

The lower stones of the Western Wall are from the time of King Herod. They made Ben wear a yamaka.