Israel - Day Seven

Today was our first day to begin our tour of Jerusalem. I must warn you ahead of time the amount of pictures you are about to see. I came home with a little over 700 photos and Jerusalem is really a feast for the eyes.
Top left and working clockwise, is the House of Caiaphas. The House of Caiaphas is the place where Peter denied Jesus 3 times. The church is built over the dungeon where Jesus possibly spent his last night.
Located opposite Temple mount are thousands upon thousands of graves. Since Temple Mount is the place judgement day will occur, people want their remains buried there in hopes that when the dead ascend to heaven they will be among the first to arrive.

Next photo, is the upper room. It is here Jesus and his disciple took part in the last supper.

The stairs you see above are the actual steps Jesus would have walked from the Upper room to possibly the Garden of Gethsemane.

So starting from top left and working clockwise is The Tower of David. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the city and houses a museum dedicated to the history of Jerusalem. We attended an evening light show here that displayed a history of light effects that danced on the ancient palace walls.

Probably the most famous sight in Jerusalem is Temple Mount also known as Dome of the Rock. It is the gold domed building as seen above. The present dome of the Rock was erected in A.D. 691 by Abd el-Malik to compete with the mosque at Mecca. When the crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they thought the structure was Solomons temple and churches were fashioned after it all over Europe. In 1187, the Crusader rule came to an end. The shrine once again returned to being a Muslim sanctuary and still is to this day. Temple Mount is the spot where on Judgement Day the gates of heaven will open. There is much contraversy on this sacred spot. This spot is of great importance to the Jewish people and they long to establish the temple back into their hands.

Before the modern day growth of Jerusalem, the city was protected within a wall around the city. There are 8 gates with which to enter the city and each gate has a significant place in history. Now a days the the Old City is divided into 4 quarters- Christian, Jewish, Moslem, and Armenian. Each boasts its own sights and sounds, but all preserve the time honored tradition of the market. The market is filled with a tapestry of color. Goods from all over the world find their way into the narrow, winding alleys of the Old City. Like most markets, it is filled with hustle and bustled and with people haggling over the price. For me it was a fun place to shop even with the agressive feel from vendors. I came home with a few treasures.

The views you see above would be directly opposite Temple Mount, House of Caiaphas, and the Upper room. The trees you see are located in the Garden of Gethsemane in the Kindron Valley and are said to be 2000 years old. Jesus came to the Garden after the Last Supper with his twelve disciples. It was here that Judas betrayed him after which he was led away. From here you can see more of graves that line the Mount of Olives.