Hope Echoes: Tuesday Afternoon in Jerusalem

As we drove to get lunch it seemed that we went to the other side of Jerusalem. I was glad to be able to get such a nice shot of the windmill.

Our guide told us that a rich man had paid to have the windmill erected in the early days of Israel so that settlers of the new land could have a cheap way of grinding grain. Unfortunately, wind direction was not considered and the sails do not pick up the wind. Several years ago some politician thought that the windmill should spin and put a motor in it. So, if it is ever spinning, a motor is doing it. Not an efficient use of energy. But the windmill is a landmark as you drive around Jerusalem because it is built on a high hill

Then we went past a patch of ground in the city with nothing on it. Our guide told us this land is owned by the US to build an embassy in Jerusalem.

It is an large as a park. The guide suggested that either the embassy would be built there or the land would be sold and the proceeds would be used to build the embassy.

Then it almost seemed that we were going out into the countryside. We were going to a kibbutz for lunch. In kibbutz the trees were covered to keep them from getting sunburned or dry. We went past lots of banana plantations, but I think this was something else.

These trees were across the road. The bus was either slowing down or had stopped because we reached the kibbutz.

The kibbutz where we ate lunch was the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. I think there was a conference center and hotel. We ate in the cafeteria like dining room and shopped in the extensive gift shop.

From the kibbutz we could see Jerusalem old city in the distance.

The ever present light poles to remind us that it wasn't a thousand years ago. It was cloudy and rainy in the afternoon.

And so we looked back toward Jerusalem while our leaders decided what to do with us for the rest of the day.

We drove to the Haas Promenade which is on a hill looking over the city.

It is easy to forget all the overlapping Bible history. That the Temple Mount was the same Mount Moriah where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him. The hill where the Haas Promenade stands is thought to be where Abraham stood looking up to the hill with Isaac.

There are hills and valleys all over Jerusalem. For a very modern city, it looks so old from a distance.

The display has a map showing where all the valleys are.

Some of it was in English.

Then we got into rush hour traffic and headed toward the Garden Tomb.

The Garden Tomb was not far from our hotel. It was near we were told but not permitted to see the church marking the place where St. Stephen was martyred.

The Garden Tomb is one of the few places not run by a Catholic or Orthodox religious community.

This is at least partially because this is not a traditional site that has been marked for more than a thousand years. It is fairly modern. The garden is well kept and there was a nice gift shop.

A man who lived there dug around the hillside and found ancient tombs. Some things I read have said that these tombs predate Jesus, but regardless, it was a beautiful site. By seeing how they have constructed their theory of Christ's Crucifixion and burial it is easier to understand what the site under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre might have looked like before they built a church around all of it and dug out parts to accommodate that.

Cyclamens blooming outside in January.

Our guide explained to us how the theory was that Golgotha was the limestone hill by the parking lot.

There were photos from many years ago showing the "skull" shape of the rocks.

I could sort of see it. I could see how limestone formations look like that.

The garden was walled around in limestone.

As I may have mentioned, it was cold and spitting rain.

Eventually we wound around the garden to the tombs.

The empty tomb we went into was two rooms carved in the rock on the side of the hill.

It was winter and there weren't a lot of people there, but there was still a little line.

As we waited. It feels different to be in line to see a tomb. Our guide and the guides of that site were very enthusiastic that this may really have been the pace where Jesus died and rose. Later at Mass our priest pointed out that the best way we know about these things is that the sites have been venerated for over a thousand years because the Christians in Jerusalem would have known where these events happened and would have reverenced the places. This place was not one of those.

There was no sign that a church had been built over the site. There was no mention that St Stephen was martyred near the place Jesus was crucified.

But, on the other hand, this was a way to imagine how it would have looked without a huge church built over it. It was interesting, and moving in its own way.