Day six church of all nations, holocaust museum,Bethlehem
It is Friday and still sunny out. We drove to The top of mount Olives for the panoramic view of Jerusalem. It was the most amazing sight! I didn't cry at the wailing wall or the Via Dolorosa, but tears started falling down my face the sight of the Dome of the Rock in the middle of this gorgeous view. "When He draw near and saw the city He wept over it" Luke 1:26 We could see the Basillica of the Agony or Church of All Nations. It was a really beautiful church. Twelve countries contributed to the construction of the church. It is over the rock Jesus prayed over in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a wrought iron fence around the rock that looks like a crown. We also went to St. john's church where John the Baptist was born.
We went to the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. There is also a really cool model of Jerusalem how it was during the Second Temple period. It was huge model with great details.
We went to Yad Vashem -the memorial and museum to the Holocaust. The children's memorial was amazing. 1.5 million children died. The memorial is in a circle surrounded by mirrors. There are five candles in the center and the lights reflect t endlessly in the mirrors. Entrance to the main museum is along the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations which is lined with plaques with the names of people who put their lives on the line to help Jews. About 23,000 people are honored and Oskar Schindler is one of them.
The museum was in a triangle shape and you go to different eras of the Holocaust. They have artifacts from victims-burned passports and pictures, a pile of shoes. I was torn between just wanting to get out of there and trying to read everything and learn as much as I could. We ate in the cafeteria there. Lots of restaurants here are kosher and I think things are worse because it is Hanukkah. At this particular cafeteria there was one section where you could buy food with dairy in it and one section to buy meat products. If you got food in the meat section and your friend got food in the dairy section, you couldn't eat together.
In the afternoon we drove to Bethlehem. It is easy to get in to the Palestinian territory but you need your passport in case they stop you going out. Meir, our guide had to get off the bus right before the border. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go in. When we get across the border a Palestinian guide gets on the bus. The driver is a Muslim Israeli so he can drive in. Adele, our new guide told us about Bethlehem and took us to Johnnys -a Christian store that specializes in Olive Wood carvings. I was done shopping and needed chocolate so i headed to cross the street to go to a store. adel rushed over to help me cross which cracked me up. I live in Mumbai. I can cross the street better than anyone! There are about 30 percent Christians and 70 percent Muslims in Bethlehem. We got to go to the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born. We had to wait in line for an hour to get into the cave. We got to touch the star that marks the spot where He was born. The church is gorgeous. There is a section run by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (that is where the midnight mass is celebrated. It is right next to Manger Square which is all lit up with Christmas lights.
We headed back out of Bethlehem and saw a santa claus riding a bicycle! Israel soldiers stopped us at the border and just walked through the bus - the only people they said anything to was the Ethiopean family.
We went back to Jerusalem to spend the night.
It is Friday and still sunny out. We drove to The top of mount Olives for the panoramic view of Jerusalem. It was the most amazing sight! I didn't cry at the wailing wall or the Via Dolorosa, but tears started falling down my face the sight of the Dome of the Rock in the middle of this gorgeous view. "When He draw near and saw the city He wept over it" Luke 1:26 We could see the Basillica of the Agony or Church of All Nations. It was a really beautiful church. Twelve countries contributed to the construction of the church. It is over the rock Jesus prayed over in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a wrought iron fence around the rock that looks like a crown. We also went to St. john's church where John the Baptist was born.
We went to the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. There is also a really cool model of Jerusalem how it was during the Second Temple period. It was huge model with great details.
We went to Yad Vashem -the memorial and museum to the Holocaust. The children's memorial was amazing. 1.5 million children died. The memorial is in a circle surrounded by mirrors. There are five candles in the center and the lights reflect t endlessly in the mirrors. Entrance to the main museum is along the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations which is lined with plaques with the names of people who put their lives on the line to help Jews. About 23,000 people are honored and Oskar Schindler is one of them.
The museum was in a triangle shape and you go to different eras of the Holocaust. They have artifacts from victims-burned passports and pictures, a pile of shoes. I was torn between just wanting to get out of there and trying to read everything and learn as much as I could. We ate in the cafeteria there. Lots of restaurants here are kosher and I think things are worse because it is Hanukkah. At this particular cafeteria there was one section where you could buy food with dairy in it and one section to buy meat products. If you got food in the meat section and your friend got food in the dairy section, you couldn't eat together.
In the afternoon we drove to Bethlehem. It is easy to get in to the Palestinian territory but you need your passport in case they stop you going out. Meir, our guide had to get off the bus right before the border. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go in. When we get across the border a Palestinian guide gets on the bus. The driver is a Muslim Israeli so he can drive in. Adele, our new guide told us about Bethlehem and took us to Johnnys -a Christian store that specializes in Olive Wood carvings. I was done shopping and needed chocolate so i headed to cross the street to go to a store. adel rushed over to help me cross which cracked me up. I live in Mumbai. I can cross the street better than anyone! There are about 30 percent Christians and 70 percent Muslims in Bethlehem. We got to go to the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born. We had to wait in line for an hour to get into the cave. We got to touch the star that marks the spot where He was born. The church is gorgeous. There is a section run by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (that is where the midnight mass is celebrated. It is right next to Manger Square which is all lit up with Christmas lights.
We headed back out of Bethlehem and saw a santa claus riding a bicycle! Israel soldiers stopped us at the border and just walked through the bus - the only people they said anything to was the Ethiopean family.
We went back to Jerusalem to spend the night.
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