APR. 22nd -- ASHDOD (JERUSALEM), ISRAEL

We arrive in Israel at 6:00 AM and we are up bright and early.  We watch the entry into our port and see the sun rise.
Beautiful.

Our views approaching the dock in Ashdod

A beautiful sunrise -- this is for you, Laurie!

Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel and it is its Capital.  Jerusalem is the only city in the world that is sacred to three religious faiths.  The "Old City" is surrounded by a wall and divided into four quarters... the Jewish, the Armenian, the Christian and the Muslim.  This is where we are headed this morning.  Our excursion is called "Jerusalem Old City" which starts at about 7:00 this morning and is an 8-hour tour.

FYI -- Temperature is:  66°F/19°C 🌦🌦
We layer on clothes today...we aren't used to these temperatures anymore.

We all have to go through a face-to-face with Israel immigration today and it throws everything off schedule.  Barry & I don't actually get on our bus until 8:00 AM, so everything is about an hour behind.  Also, we find out, that today is a very holy day all around as it is the Christian Easter Monday, Passover has just started for the Jews (and most take the whole week off work) and it is the beginning of Holy Week for the Greek Orthodox as their Palm Sunday was yesterday.  Yikes!  The city is going to be crazy.

We arrive in the Old City and are given the ear-bud system -- "whispering" -- to hear our tour guide.  We are told to stay in a group because it is really easy to get lost in the crowds.  He gives us his cell phone number, in case we do get lost, so we can call him.
BTW -- as we get off the bus, it starts to drizzle.

Our first stop is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  This church is believed to have been built over the site where Jesus was crucified and buried.  There are 3 churches inside this structure -- the Franciscans, Greeks and Armenians.

I just liked the look of this couple.

The outside & courtyard of the Church

This is the Christian church

This is the Greek Orthodox church

Both of these churches are on the sight of the crucifixion of Jesus.  As it is such a holy day, both churches were filled to capacity.  All I could get a picture of were the ceilings.  Sigh!

This was a mosaic...absolutely gorgeous & huge.

Kissing the marble slab that replicates the one Jesus was laid on.

The mosaic depicts Jesus being taken from the cross...the middle part is Him being laid our on a marble slab and being cleaned & wrapped in clean clothes in the Jewish fashion and the final section (I couldn't get it all...sorry!) is of Him being buried.  There are some people who come and kiss the marble slab or rub oil on it, clean it or pray by it ... situated in front of the mosaic, in homage.

The site of Jesus' burial spot...the building is built over the site.

A tomb similar to the one Jesus was buried in.

Line-up to see the burial site...2-hour wait.

 From the Church we went up to a rooftop for a view over the Old City.

Panoramic view of Old City

We then go to the Western Wall in the Jewish quarter or the Wailing Wall.  We can hardly believe the number of people that are here!  When we get to the Wailing Wall and look down we figure there has to be 10,000 people at the wall.  No kidding.  This is the most sacred of sites for Jews.  The wall forms part of the retaining support structure for the Temple Mount and contains several tunnels.

Trying to show the numbers at the Wailing Wall

Everyone was praying.

This is the Wall

Everyone was praying and I tried to get the numbers of people actually at the wall but couldn't get close enough.  They are all over on the other side of the fence.

Then, from there we went to Via Dolorosa.  This is a narrow path in the heart of the Old City that was the route Jesus walked, carrying his cross, to Moet Calvary and is marked by the 14 stations of the Cross.  It is also known as the Road of Sorrow.

Via Dolorosa

5th Station of the Cross -- Simon carries cross for Jesus

Then we had lunch.  It was another buffet...very nice...the usual fare for this area...chicken, brisket, rice, potatoes, tons of salads and tons of desserts.  They also offered water, wine, juices, sodas, coffee and tea.

We went to a souvenir shop next and after that we were all on the bus again.
We are now headed to Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the city.

Taken from the Mount of Olives

Panoramic view of Jerusalem

The Garden of Gethsemane

There is a small church built on the garden (Garden of Gethsemane) where it is believed Jesus was arrested prior to his crucifixion.

From here we head back to the ship.  It is about an hours drive.
Great excursion.

We change clothes, once we are back in our cabin...still in our jeans but put on a sweatshirt.  Chilly!  Then head out to the Pool Bar and have a beer and talk about our wonderful adventure.  Mark & Sandi come out and join us.  We have one more drink and go back to our cabin.  We open a bottle of wine and sit out on our balcony, talk and listen to music & watch the sun set

Mr. Happy-pants

Also for you, Laurie.

....we decide to eat in our room tonight.

We have an early night.
We walked for 3 1/2 hours in the Old City, up & down hills, cobblestones, etc., and our legs are really tired.
Tomorrow is another early excursion.