Trip To Israel

Well, yesterday we worked hard again, and then showered quick to get ready to go to the Old City of Jerusalem. We went to the Davidson Archeological Park and it was very interesting. Then to the Old City. Well...it was a rushed trip. We went pass the Western Wall (formerly known as the Wailing Wall.) The square was full of people. They have a trough with several water faucets on it so they can wash their hands before praying at the wall. The men have about 3/4 of the wall to pray at, and the women all crowd into a smaller section. Perhaps they think that more men need to praying...

We went on the Via Dolorosa, the walk that Jesus made to the cross. Of course, the street is about 60 feet higher than it would have been in Jesus' day. AND the streets are extremely narrow AND there are vendors on either side and it is very dirty.

Then we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw the Rock on which Jesus was crucified, the stone he was laid on to dress for burial, and his tomb. The church story is really bizarre -- I'll have more to say about that later.

At the end of day we were exhausted. There was a small controversy about whether or not Jesus was NAILED to the cross or HUNG on the cross by his arms being roped around the arms of the cross and hung.

Today we walked around like zombies. I worked on the floor of a water pit and then we strated working on a NEW SITE! YEAH! AND, they are going to let us bring some pottery samples home. They have a huge dump where they keep throwing out all our hard-found pottery pieces. So, I'll have some good pieces to bring back. I'll be sure to show them off!

So, that's about it for today. Gotta run for another meeting!

Shalom.