We went with the students on the field trip to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
We walked through the lower gate and the forbidden neighborhood to Dung Gate.
The Wohl Museum has remains of a wealthy Sadducee family. Earnings from the Temple supported the Sadducees. This is a ritual bath in the home.
Mosaic floor
Painted wall. Much of the decoration style was adopted from the Romans.
Model of the home
The excavated home.
Robinson's Arch, below the windows, is named after the English archaeologist who identified it from Herod's Temple.
The apostle James, half brother of Jesus, was pushed off this temple pinnacle for not denying Christ. Tradition holds that he was alive after he hit the ground and was clubbed to death.
Ritual bath outside the stairs leading up to the temple mount.
Pinnacle of the temple with Robinson's Arch on the left
Each of the blocks is recessed a fraction of an inch to shift the weight off the foundation blocks.
You can see the blocks recessed a bit at each level.
Silwan neighborhood from Al Aqsa
An original stone where Jesus would have walked to go to the temple
Original stone stair and a double arch entry onto the temple mount. The building to the left was constructed later by Muslims. It blocked the double arch entrance onto Al Aqsa.
Linda is standing on some of the original stairs leading up to Herod's temple. The stairs were not uniform. Some believe the uneven stairs prevented people from hurrying up the stairs. It made it a more thoughtful process to go up to the temple.
Triple gate entrance or exit to Herod's temple. The exact purpose of the triple gates is unknown.
Original doorpost in the triple gate entrance to Herod's temple.
We left the Jewish Quarter through Zion's Gate to see the windmill in Montefiore's Village. This sign commemorates a pilgrim watering station built in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificient.
Montefiore wanted Jews to realize they could safely live outside the city walls, so he built a windmill for grinding grain and some houses. The long house he built is now used by artists and dignitaries.
The quaint village has been restored at great expense and controversy.
Montefiore's windmill didn't work well with the grain in Palestine. Steam power became a better way to grind grain and Montefiore's windmill was not successful.
Dormition Abbey from Montefiore's village. After our walk today, Linda ran out of gas so I said I would walk back to the Jerusalem Center for a car. After walking a short distance, I asked a Jewish man for directions to New Gate. I knew the way from New Gate. He began explaining, then told me just to get in the car and he would drive me there. It's always nice to come across good people.
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