Jerusalem Studies Field Trip #1

Hey y'all,

We went with Uncle Randy today on our first Jerusalem Studies class field trip. Randy is a powerwalker, so we had to hurry to keep up, but the good news is he's a down-hill only kind of guy, and stopped to buy us goodies like coffee and ice cream.

We left at 8:00am sharp, and walked most of the day. We went to what used to be the Imperial Hotel, where famous guests of the past favored to stay, one of them being Mark Twain. It now is deserted and blends into the alleyway which now runs through the old courtyard. From there we went to the Christ's Church and visited the Conrad Schick Library. Conrad Shick is a Jerusalem notable, knighted for his intricate model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

When our appointment came we toured the Tower of David, which really has nothing to do with the name - it was built by Herod and would have been visible in the time of Jesus. Inside it is much larger than I would have expected, and it houses an excellent museum covering most of the history of Jerusalem. It was a fascinating building, displaying many styles and periods of architecture due to the various kingdoms that contributed to the structure standing today.

Around 11:30 we went on to see the Cardo and hear more about the walls of the differnt periods - a subject that still confuses me to tears, but I think it's coming. Lunch followed, and then we went to a museum to watch an interesting 3-D video presentation, focusing more on the "spirit of Jerusalem", and not so much on history and fact. Uncle Randy calls is "artsy-fartsy", but I think most of us enjoyed it.

We then went to have "coffee time". I stuck with Coke, because I decide a long time ago that one addiction is enough! We then went past the Western Wall, through the small gate called Tanner's Gate, and on to the City of David. Much of what we saw was a repeat from our Land and Bible walk, but it was a good review of Area G, and the other areas of excavation were pointed out.

The best place we went was what very well could be David and Solomon's Tombs. There is not 100% agreement on this matter, but Randy tends to lean to the positive side. A bunch of us climbed up into it - getting down was a bit trickier for the shorter, less climbing-versed members of the female persuasion. I ended up helping out as a ladder :o)

Just before we saw the tombs we saw an ancient rock quarry and learned about the process of cutting the stones from the rock, which is pretty cool. This was what I noticed about this field trip - it gave us other bits of information, details that fit in to what we've heard on our other walks. Randy did a good job of pointing out the more modern sights and interests as well.

In short that's what we did today. It was fun to be in a smaller group, because it allowed us to get more litte fun stuff done and still go everywhere we needed to. Our bus was late coming back, but Uncle Randy has plenty of stories to tell, so that wasn't such a problem.

The best story he told all day was just before getting on the bus to come back. I didn't catch the name, but apparently there was a monk who never cut his beard, hair, or fingernails. The beard was 32 ft. long! And better yet - it was his only clothing!

Dan