Israel 2009 Pilgrimage

Central Israel

Rather than simply take pictures of the sites we visited and describe the scenes, the photos here indicate the places we visited, in approximate chronological order. If you want more details, you can look up the sites on-line! There is simply too much to present here, but you can see from the photos what our tour was like; the weather, the crowds, and the people. Only a few photos are shown that really give any details of the religious or archaeological importance of the sites.

The entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a small entrance to prevent armies from pillaging the church.

More devotions in a grotto in Bethlehem.

The Garden of Gesthemane just outside the old city walls of Jerusalem has some olive trees more than 2000 years old.

The church of St. Peter in Gallicantu has some crosses engraved in the opening by 5th century Christians.

The Garden Tomb just outside of the old city walls is probably not the original Tomb site, but is a good representation in a nice setting, ideal for our communion service.

The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is near the golden Mosque, and has an entrance security area.

Click on the picture above for a short movie of some ultra-orthodox Jews praying at the Western Wall.

Our tour group went though a long tunnel parallel to the Western Wall, exiting at the Via Dolorosa.

Along the Via Dolorosa.

Markets outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

A large number of Nigerian pilgrims were seen in and around Jerusalem. We were told that their government sends them on these trips, including spending money, to win over their support.

Lots of pilgrims placed candles or other objects on the stone table inside the church.

A large model of ancient Jerusalem at the Israeli Museum gave a nice perspective view.

We also toured the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

On our free day, Carol is shown at the large farmer's market in Jerusalem.

Unusual vegetables for sale - some kind of onion?

The decoration on the skullcap doesn't have to be religious - everything from sports to cartoon characters are available!

At 11:30 am on a Monday, this Burger King was deserted - something you will never see in Europe, where huge crowds are the norm at any time of night or day. The McDonalds had only a few people.

The rampart walk on top of the old city walls gave very nice views outside the city. The inside views were distinctly less interesting.

The walls of the old city, looking toward the Citadel.

The path between the walls are wide enough to accommodate a large army!

In the market in the old city, spices are available in bulk. Not sure what some of them were.