Israel 2014 #1

#1 … Saturday, April 26^th & Sunday - April 27^th   [Arrival in Jerusalem, Israel]

After a delayed flight from Detroit to New York and then a 10+ hour flight to Tel Aviv (capital of Israel and the only international airport) which we were very fortunate to catch – We arrived on Saturday night.  After clearing immigration and customs, we’ll work our way up to Jerusalem as the Sabbath comes to an end.  There we will check into our hotel and the tour group will walk around the streets of modern Jerusalem and get a feel of the Jewish celebration as the Sabbath ends.  We will spend our first night staying just inside the Jaffa Gate of the “Old City of Jerusalem” and hopefully get a good night’s sleep.  (Picture is just below)

The official study tour of Israel begins Sunday morning with an 8am meeting … which will be 1am Sunday morning for everyone back home.

Our day starts with a nice walk around the city walls of Jerusalem so we can get our bearings of the city.  The walls are magnificent and were built between 1535 and 1538, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, by the order of Suleiman I.  The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.4966 miles), their average height is 12 meters (39.37 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet).  The walls contain 34 watchtowers and 8 gates.

Then we head to the Mount of Olives to chart the history of Jerusalem.  We’ll be looking at the Golden Dome (Muslim) that sits on top of the Jewish Temple Mount (it’s just not as nice as the Golden Dome at Notre Dame) and helping all of the new people gain a panoramic view of the area.

Then we’ll view the scale model of Jerusalem at time of Christ, which is an incredible sight for anyone who wants to know what the city looked like in the first century.

This 50:1 scale model, covering nearly one acre, evokes ancient Jerusalem at its peak, meticulously recreating its topography and architectural character in 66 CE, the year in which the Great Revolt against the Romans broke out, leading to the destruction of the Temple and the city in the year 70 CE.

The model, a Jerusalem cultural landmark, was originally built at the initiative of Holyland Hotel owner Hans Kroch in memory of his son Jacob, who fell in Israel's War of Independence. Kroch argued that Israel in general, and in particular its capital Jerusalem – which was cut off from the Old City at the time – lacked a historical monument that could compare with the antiquities of Athens and Rome.

In 1962, Kroch approached Michael Avi-Yonah, professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, commissioning Avi-Yonah to create the Model and provide its topographic and archaeological basis and architectural design. The model was opened to the general public in 1966, immediately becoming a popular attraction and educational site for Israelis and tourists alike.

In 2006 the Second Temple Model was transferred to the Israel Museum campus, where it offers a concrete illustration of the period documented in the Dead Sea Scrolls, when Rabbinic Judaism took shape and Christianity was born.

Providing a vivid context for the Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls and for many contemporaneous archaeological artifacts displayed throughout the Museum, the Model Illustrates one of the most formative periods in the history of the Jewish people, and bears a deep connection to the symbols of modern statehood that surround the Museum campus.

Then we’ll visit the Israel Museum and take in some of the current exhibits. 

The day will end with a tour of the 1,500 foot Western Wall tunnel.  This is a tunnel that goes under the housing that is built right next to the remains of the foundation of the temple that existed during the time of Jesus.  Part of the way into the tunnel is a small synagogue called “The Cave” – near Warren’s Gate.  It is thought to be the closet point a Jew can get to the former location of the Holy of Holies.  The biggest stone in the Western Wall ranks as one of the heaviest objects ever lifted by human beings without powered machinery.  The stone has a length of 13.6 meters and an estimated width of between 3.5 and 4.5 meters; weighing in the neighborhood of 570 tons!