Today was quite the day. It was our last day with our tour guide, Mike. On day 8 we switched to the “hike” and got a different guide, but retained the same sababa (awesome) driver, Hasim. Hasim has been a driver for 15 years and it shows. Dude is amazing at driving with other maniacs on the road.
We started the day today at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Whoa. It’s up there on my list. It’s impossible to choose a favorite, but wow, this place is powerful. We also walked the streets of Jerusalem along the Via de la Rosa, the way of the Rose. This is the path of Jesus from the Antonia Fortress where He was sentenced to death, all the way to the tomb. We stopped at the pools of Bethesda, went into the basement of the Antonia Fortress which is again, up there on my list. We also made a stop for lunch at the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, and finished up at the Garden Tomb. Even though we finished relatively early, it was still a full day with like 12.000 steps.
Evan went at 4:00am with pastor and some of the other guys to see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher when no one was there. He got some really cool pictures. I was not feeling great and I knew pastor would be walking really fast up a bunch of steps and hills, which I can do when I’m well but not great, and I found out I cannot do at all really when I have a chest cold. So I opted for the extra sleep and rested.
Evan and I also did some laundry this evening…an adventure. This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes…
We brought some Tide in individual packets that was specially formulated for sinks. Two packets in a tub, swish, rinse (very important), and wring and hang for drying. Labor intensive, but part of the experience. I washed and rinsed, Evan was the wringer, and we hung the wet clothes wherever we could find a spot. We gained a new appreciation for washers and dryers.
The money here is NIS, new Israeli shekels. Here’s a picture.
The rooms we have been staying in are very nice. Think nice Holiday Inn. We are all starting to get a little hungry for food from home, though. Someone said bacon cheeseburger and I about had to put a bib on Evan from drooling.
As we walked the Via de la Rosa, Mike stopped and got us some goodies. First he stopped at a bakery and got us a crispy piece of sesame bread, similar to a biscotti kind of. Would have been amazing with a cup of coffee. He also got us each a piece of candy from a candy store along the way. Some got coconut candy, others got sesame seed candy like this.
It was OK, but I prefer candy from the US if I’m going to have some. I’m not much of a candy girl, but it was a very sweet gesture.
OK, on to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher!