Our last day of sightseeing started with a visit to the
pools of Bethesda, which now is the site of (take a guess…) a Catholic church! However, there is more
evidence that this is actually the historic site. The church is supposed to
have really good acoustics so we sang a couple of songs. We actually sang until
we were asked to leave…
This kitten wanted to get in on our Bible study (and later scratched me when I tried to hold him.)
Our next stop was the Israel Museum, which has two main
exhibits. One is a really large model of Jerusalem during the second temple
period, and the other is the dead sea scrolls. The model was neat to look at,
but I more enjoyed the scroll exhibit, specifically learning about the members
of The Community who penned them. It’s believed that The Community was a Jewish
sect who moved to the area around the Dead Sea to remove themselves from the
impurity of Jerusalem and prepare for the end days.
Our third stop was the Holocaust Memorial, and I wish I could
have spent a whole day there. We had a little over an hour and I only made it
through a fraction of the exhibits and memorials. This in itself is a reason
for me to come back to Jerusalem. What I did see provided a thorough look at
the roots of anti-Semitism, the rise of
the Nazi party, and the beginnings of the implementation of the Final Solution.
I was already late at this point so I missed everything else but what I saw was
incredibly informative.
That was the end of the official tour and we had the choice
to be dropped off near the old city or back at the hotel. Papa and I walked
around about half of the old wall then entered at the Damascus Gate. We walked
through the Muslim neighborhood to try to see the mosque, but they wouldn’t let
us up because they said it was closed. We found our way back to the Dung Gate
(teehee) and got a cab back to the hotel. Papa is going to rest before dinner,
but my plan is just to sleep since we leave for the airport at midnight! Please pray for safe and easy travels for us.
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