Yesterday Anton was handed a free book by a Muslim, "explaining" about Islam. Upon going through it, Anton found that it mostly pointed out the contradictions from the Bible. Mike used to work in insurance, and he said he used to worry when there were no differences in stories. So some differences by Biblical writers is to be expected. It's different viewpoints on the same event type of thing.
We started our day at the Garden of Gethsame. Rather than fight all the huge crowds, our tour guide had arranged for our group to go into a private area, all to ourselves, where we could do our own quiet contemplation.
Then a very nice walk down the Mt of Olives, through the Kidron Valley, past the Beautiful Gate (which is where Jesus is supposed to return, I wonder where that comes from?), and up Mt Zion. We went to the house of Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned during his trial, and where Peter denied Jesus three times. There was an ancient stone path that Jesus likely walked upon. It's the same path that has been there for thousands of years.
We walked through the Armenian quarter which only has about 1500 people. We visited an Armenian church where a fascinating lady gave us a talk and sang the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. She was extremely insistent on NO pictures, to the point of yelling. She yelled at someone in our group which caused several members of our group to walk out. Under her church is a room where the Last Supper is said to have happened. Even though in the Bible it took place in an "upper room", we had to go down quite a few steps to get to it. That's how much lower the original city was.
Then we visited a place called The Burnt House, which is ruins that were found of an ancient Jewish home. They found the surname Kathros there, which was actually the name of a priestly family. They also found a Roman dagger and the skeleton of a child's arm. They really made the destruction of Jerusalem come alive by showing us a video of what might have happened, while we sat overtop of the ruins. It was quite effective. I wonder how long the Jewish people might have lived peacefully under the Romans if they had not rebelled? Or even outlasted the Romans. Then the temple might still be there today.
Next was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was even busier than the Church of the Nativity. By this time we've all outsmarted the modesty police by coming well prepared. Upstairs in the church was supposed to be the spot where the cross was set into the ground. There were priests from all the denominations going in circles spreading incense from large torches. After a few minutes I couldn't even breathe anymore. Down below were some caves that might have belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. He was the one who gave a brand new tomb from his own garden to bury Jesus. This church seems to have given itself the rights to Jesus' death. It is equally manned by 6 different denominations. There is a ladder on the outside of the building that has been there for some 30 to 40 years because every denomination thinks it is the responsibility of every other denomination to move it. Actually, the ladder was rotting, so they have replaced it with a new version, in the same spot.
Then to another completely different possible location of Jesus' death and burial, a place called the Garden Tomb. It was much more peaceful than the Church of the Sepulchre. There is a rock face there that with great loads of imagination could maybe resemble a skull. Maybe. And they found a tomb there which we were able to enter. Not just a cave like the Church of the Sepulchre, but a tomb with a bed for a body. Again, it doesn't matter where it happened, it just matters that it happened. This place was much more peaceful, far less crowded, and we had a private guide. We also did a group worship and communion service. It was quite interesting to have the Muslim call to prayer happen in the middle of our communion service. Then a group photo.
The official part of the day was done, so we headed back to the Suk. Anton had a belt personally cut and fitted for him. We went back to Sharif for the third day in a row, where he gave me a great deal on some skirts. He considers us friends now, so he told us all about his Ramadan that he is doing right now. It lasts for a month. They are given the call to prayer before daylight begins (3:30 am) so they can eat a hearty breakfast, then no food or drink (including water) until dark, about 7:30. His experince does not seem to be as much about a spiritual aspect as a social one. For him the significance lies in the fact that whether you are rich or poor, you all fast the same, and you all eat at the same time. He likes Ramadan much better when it falls in the winter rather than the summer, because the days are shorter. Every year Ramadan comes 10 days sooner, so it will be quite a few years yet before it comes in the winter.
Tired. So tired. Packing. We'll miss this group a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment