Hotel Gloria to Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and St. Peter in Gallicantu and back to Hotel Gloria

January 16, 2019

Hotel Gloria to Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and St. Peter in Gallicantu and back to Hotel Gloria

Today is our last day in Jerusalem and of our trip to Israel.  We started by being transported to the security area of the Temple Mount entrance ramp.  After going through security we walked up the covered wooden ramp past the Western Wall kotel and through the entrance onto the Temple Mount. 

Ramp to Temple Mount

The Kotel

It is huge flat area called Haram esh-Sharif with trees and two major structures – the Dome of the Rock and El Aqsa Mosque.  

 The El Aqsa Mosque was built 20 years (early 8^th century) after the completion of the Dome of the Rock and has undergo many renovations and changes.  The present structure dates from the early 11^th century CE, but has additions with columns donated by Mussolini and an elaborate ceiling paid for by King Farouk of Egypt.  It dominates the southern end of Temple Mount along with an Islamic art museum.  As we approached the Dome of the Rock, there are eight steps up to the platform of the Dome and these are topped by a qanatir; a freestanding arcade.   

Some of the column capitals were recycled from Roman-era buildings.  There are four such qanatir or the four sides of the platform. 

The Dome of the Rock dominates Temple Mount on the exact site where the Holy of Holies was positioned in the Second Temple and encases the Rock believed where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac and Muhammad left the earth. The Dome of the Rock was built in 688-91 CE by caliph Abd el-Malik to proclaim the superiority of Islam.  It is the focal point of Jerusalem and has become a symbol of the city.  It is more of a shrine than a mosque and blends elements of classical and Byzantine architecture and its dome echoes that of the Holy Sepulcher.  The multicolored tile work that adorns the octagonal exterior is a copy of the original Persian tiles that Suleyman the Magnificent added in 1545 to replace the original mosaics.  The arcade has an inscription that invites Christians to recognize the truth of Islam.  Both the mosque and Dome of the Rock are closed to non-Muslims.

 Standing next to and east of the Dome of the Rock is the Dome of the Chain. 

 The exact purpose of the structure is not known, but it once housed a treasury.  It is supported on 17 columns and has an exquisitely tiled interior.

There were good views of the Mt. of Olives to the east framed by the qanatir on that side of the platform.  

Leaving the platform, we exited adjacent to St. Stephen’s Gate and walked through the gate to continue to the area of the Church of Nations next to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Our first stop was the Tomb of the Virgin, purported to be the tomb of Mary.  But there is another one in Ephesus.  

 There was an orthodox service underway when we visited.   

Leaving Church of the Tomb of the Virgin

From there we walked next door to Cave of Gethsemane or Cave of the Betrayal.  The tomb is decorated with icons and sacred ornaments typical of Orthodox Christian tradition.

We continued walking to the Garden of Gethsemane, which contains some very old olive trees, 

and entered the Church of Nations or Basilica of Agony. 

The 4^th century church built over the rock believed to be where Jesus pray, was destroyed by an earthquake in 747 CE.  The Crusaders built another church that was consecrated in 1170 and it fell into disuse after 1345.  After excavations in the early b20th century the present church was built in 1924 with donations from 12 nations.    The facade is a gilded mosaic depicting the agony.

From here we had a picturesque view of the Golden Gates.

Golden Gates

The bus picked us up and drove us to the top of the Mt. of Olives for excellent views of the Old City, the City of David, and Mt. Zion.  A professional photographer took a group photo, which we received a copy of early in the afternoon. 

The sky was perfectly clear, which gave us great photo opportunities of the Old City.  The wind became quite strong and there is rain forecast for mid-afternoon.

Old City (Temple Mount with Trees)

David's City

We drove to St. Peter in Gallicantu on the eastern side of Mt. Zion overlooking the City of David and the Kidron Valley.  

View of David's City

View into Kidron Valley and to Mr. of Olives

It commemorates the traditional site of St. Peter’s reported denial of Jesus and is built over ancient caves from Herodian times.

St. Peter's Nave

Dome Ceiling

Mosaic of Saints Andrew, James, and Peter

We descended into the caves, which are thought to have been the storage and possible imprisonment area under Caiaphas’ headquarters.  There are numerous excavations in the grounds surround the church and the mosaics from a 5^th to 6^th century Byzantine church/monastery have been unearthed.

Next, we had lunch at a Kibbutz during which time the weather changed to become heavily overcast, which obscured the surrounding area.  There was an opportunity for a small ceremony to thank our driver and guide with monetary gifts.  They have been superb.  After lunch we drove back to near the Jaffe Gate where we left the bus at 2:30 pm and walked along a portion of the Old City wall before walking to the Hotel Gloria.  There were a couple of sites along the way with interesting features and a portion of original steps to Herod’s Palace.  These are now butted against a stone wall from a later time. 

The remainder of the afternoon was free, because the wind increased and it started to sprinkle.  We have to finish packing for our 1:45 am departure, which means we will get up at 12:30 am.  Hopefully we will get some sleep by going to bed very early.  We have more than 27 hrs of travelling ahead of us before we are back to Birmingham tomorrow night.