a Palestinian.... Dog?

      We were out walking and this caught our eye.... Kind of looks like the sign... don't you think?

 Many Christians believe with the Catholic Church that the crucifixion site is now in the north-west corner of the old city.  Outside the present walls however is another site maintained first by Armenians and now by a British Protestant group and is called appropriately, "The Garden Tomb".  Who knows if it is the right place, but at least it is not gaudy and covered with gold and incense and has an air of reverence. This is called Skull Hill and can be seen from the garden.   This is the view of the tomb coming from Skull Hill.  Things look pretty spartan in the winter.

The Garden Tomb - 2 Feb 2012

can you find Jared?

One of Jeremiah's Prisons - 2 Feb 2012

 In ancient Jerusalem water was collected in huge cisterns.  The prophet Jeremiah was held in this cistern according to legend.  It is winter and there has been a lot of rain so this cistern is nearly full.  He would have had to have been held in the summer when the water level was low.

interestingly this is less than 100 feet from the Garden tomb.  It is almost certain that Jeremiah was a type and shadow of Christ as he was held in the belly of the earth and so near to the place where the Savior of the world was laid.  

Jeremiah had to be let down and brought up by a rope, so the cistern is very deep and this hole is the only way out.

St. George's Cathedral - 2 Feb 2012

 St. George is a patron saint for the British.  It is a cathedral, school and hostel for pilgrims.  Lane and I stayed a couple of nights here on our first trip to Israel in 2000, when Lane was in Kuwait in a UN peace keeping mission for a year.  We met in Jerusalem on that trip.  This is the entry to the complex, except the school which is across the street.  To the right is the hostel.

 This is the interior.  All the seat cushions are embroidered with various cities, counties and British family names.  It was fun to wander around and see the diversity of England represented in the seat cushions

 This is the main console of the pipe organ.  There were more pipes tucked around the chapel.

 We were surprised to find this baptismal font which looks to be deep enough to do baptisms by immersion...

Nice picture of Jeremy and Jeremy taking a photo of the organ.

David's Citadel at Jaffa Gate - 30 Jan 2012

 I've shown you some of the inside exhibits, but thought you might like to see the actual citadel.  These particular walls are 500 years old and were built by Suliman

 This is a rendition of how it might have looked during the crusader times

 This, of course is the interior courtyard.  I have never figured out why the exterior walls are so much more durable than the interior structures.  They are all of solid stone.  Surprisingly the arches nearly always remain.

 The stage is for a sound and light show they do when the weather warms up.  We hope to be able to see it before we leave.

One more view of the courtyard from the opposite end of the complex.  The displays are in rooms all around the perimeter and the displays cover the Caananite period to the Halocaust.