Day One

Hi everyone - Emily here! We've had a busy first day...after breakfast at the Albright, we walked into the Old City and headed straight for the Western Wall and Archaeological Park, which is located near the Temple Mount and displays the ruins from the Roman and Byzantine periods. You can see the street that ran along the Western Wall of the temple, as well as some of the staircases leading into the temple area. Very cool!

We were making great time, so we decided to begin the first two stations of the Via Dolorosa, the path that Jesus walked on his way to his crucifixion. After visiting the Chapels of the Flagellation and the Condemnation, we headed to Ecce Homo, whose name is taken from Pontius Pilate's presentation of Jesus: "Behold the Man." Andrew, having met a few Daughters of Zion sisters, had a VIP tour lined up for us. Sr. Bernadette took us to the rooftop terrace of Ecce Homo, which afforded us a breathtaking view of the Old City. In this picture, the two domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are to the right of Andrew's head:

Here is a picture of me on the terrace - the tower behind me is part of the Antonia Fortress, which was built by Herod the Great and named for his patron, Mark Anthony:
After a delicious lunch of falafel sandwiches and a brief tour of Andrew's office at Hebrew Union College, we picked up our rental car -- a Daihatsu Sirion. Andrew said it was not the muscle car he was hoping for, but it gets the job done:
After picking up our wheels, we drove over to the Mount of Olives. It's amazing how having a rental car instantly stamps you as a tourist - we had lots of vendors seriously pestering us to buy maps, postcards, etc. At one point, a taxi pulled up to us (while we were in our car) and offered us a ride to Bethlehem. We said, "We already have a car, thanks!" He said, "I know. You leave your car here, and I'll take you to there for a good price." No thanks, buddy! Anyway...check out the view of the Old City from the Mount of Olives. The gold dome is the Dome of the Rock, which is the first major Muslim sanctuary ever built and the site where Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is also the third holiest Muslim site (Mecca and Medina being numbers 1 and 2):The following picture is especially for our niece, Dimney, who told me before I left, "I hope you see lots of camels in Jerusalem!"Our first two stops at the Mount of Olives were the Chapel of the Ascension and a tear-shaped church named Dominus Flevit ("The Lord Wept"), which is the site where Jesus was supposed to have wept over Jerusalem. This picture of the Dominus Flevit altar (facing out to the Old City) is one of our favorites so far:
Then it was on to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations, and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. Here's a shot of Gethsemane:
All in all, a very busy and fun day of sightseeing!