Warning - this post has A LOT of pictures, but consider that I had over 400 to choose from. Hopefully you will get a feel for the amazing experience we had in Israel - or as it's called in this part of the world, The Occupied Territory of Palestine. After leaving Jordan - on some back roads through the fields, we crossed the King Hussain Bridge, that became the Allenby Bridge, that isn't really a bridge, and were in Israel. We were met by our driver Raed, who took us to Jericho, where the walls came tumbling down. We walked up a mountain and looked at some ruins - not nearly on the scale of Jerash, and it was pretty hot, so we didn't stay long. Then we took a cool cable car ride up the mountain and saw a monastery that was built into the side of the hill. Will was accosted by a few school girls who wanted to hold him and hug him and photograph him. It was a pretty narrow ledgeish thing we were on, and despite the safety fencing, we decided to deny their requests. Will was not upset at our choice...
At the bottom of the hill, Will had an opportunity to ride his first camel, but when it started growling - yep, camels growl, and baring its teeth, he wouldn't get close. So we found some water, and some lunch, and watched the ducks - his favorite part of the day - and then headed up into the mountains to Jerusalem. Jericho is near the Dead Sea, and several hundred meters below sea level, and Jerusalem is really a city set on a hillside. 
Raed took us to the Mount of Olives for a spectacular view of the Old City, the Dome of the Rock, and a couple of other churches near the Garden of Gethsamane. It had cooled off considerably, and we felt our first raindrops as we took in the view. Will had finally crashed, and actually had a great nap both in the car, then in our hotel once we got there, so we got one too which was great.
We stayed just outside the Old City in the Scottish Guesthouse. Our room was just below the tower, and our balcony had an amazing view of the city. The room itself was pretty sparse, but the ambience and view made up for it. Plus they had their own cat and some small bronze lion statues, so there was something for everyone. No surprise - Will loved all the stray cats, and started using his first sentences - Byebye Meow and Byebye Baaaa. 
Despite my best efforts, the pictures are slightly out of order, but after our nap, we walked to the Jaffa Gate, which was about 15 minutes away, up and down a couple of hills. We didn't get too far into the city because it is not really stroller friendly, but we were able to get a feel for it, and find some dinner - pizza:)
The shepard's cave in Bethlehem - pretty cool. This was part of our guided tour on our second day - and like most of the other sites, now has a church both in the cave, and a small cathedral right outside. Will's favorite part of this section was the fountain set on the backs of stone rams. Our guide, David, and driver Raed, had their patience tested with Will's toddler-ness, diaper changes in the backseat, and his talking over David's information. 
We borrowed this great kiddie pack for our walking tour of the Old City, and finally had to find a hat to keep Will warm - the pouring rain stopped for most of the afternoon, but the temperatures stayed pretty chilly. He finally gave in and fell asleep in the backpack, and did get enough to perk him up for awhile.
The city at night - beautiful.
The Garden of Gethsemane - one of the first places we stopped on our touring day, and where I first started to realize that what I had imagined for many of the sights was about two thousand years old. Unrealistically, I had pictured us having a few quiet moments in these sacred places to ponder and feel the spirit. Realistically, the pouring rain and crowds of people some of whom probably had the same idea, kept us on the move and the spirit far away. (Note to self: denim jackets really offer no actual protection from weather - especially rain... I literally had water dripping down my neck most of the morning and poor Will was pretty confused about why we kept taking him out into that freezing miserable weather. We did check the weather and brought jackets, but should have packed our winter parkas!)
In Bethlehem, we also saw the Church of the Nativity, and this fireplace looking thing is supposedly the cave that was the stable where Jesus was born. It's a bit blurry because we were rushed down to see it in about 30 seconds before the Fransiscan Monks came through singing their alms at noon... Since this region is such a historic place for so many religions, I shouldn't have been surprised that there is a cathedral built over almost all of the supposed sites. Most of those churches were built, destroyed, rebuilt, redestroyed, and rebuilt by various conquerors over the centuries.
This is part of Golgotha, the place of the skull, where some believe Christ was crucified. The Church of the Sepulchre has been built over the small rise that is Golgotha, and what remains of the tomb. It has been overtaken by various orthodox groups and decorated according to their rather gaudy taste. We only took a couple of pictures inside that church, and as David was telling us all the reasons this was the place of the crucifixion, both Nate and I were feeling "no it's not". There was no emotion there, just crowds, and a lot of golden chandeliers and flickering candles.
We requested that the Garden Tomb be added to our tour, so we ended our day there, and it made everything else worth it. It was calm, quiet, peaceful and our guide explained some of the reasons that this could have been the place of His Resurrection, but allowed for everyone to believe as they wished. We got to have our quiet moment of contemplation, and felt the presence of our Savior. Will got to splash in the puddles to his heart's content, and we all went back to the guesthouse cold and wet, but happy.
Our other days in Jerusalem we were on our own, and that was really great - we kind of got lost trying to find King David's Tomb and the Last Supper room, but happened onto it through a back entrance. We got rained on again, and finally broke down and bought an umbrella as we walked through the Jewish Quarter of the city. We went into the Tower of David Museum, and it was one of our favorite spots. Unfortunately the cool light show was cancelled due to the rain and wind, but it was well worth the entrance fee. Before heading back to Jordan, we got to see BYU Jerusalem - called the Mormon University- and heard a short organ recital and met some other Mormons touring the area.
We borrowed this great kiddie pack for our walking tour of the Old City, and finally had to find a hat to keep Will warm - the pouring rain stopped for most of the afternoon, but the temperatures stayed pretty chilly. He finally gave in and fell asleep in the backpack, and did get enough to perk him up for awhile.
The city at night - beautiful.
The Garden of Gethsemane - one of the first places we stopped on our touring day, and where I first started to realize that what I had imagined for many of the sights was about two thousand years old. Unrealistically, I had pictured us having a few quiet moments in these sacred places to ponder and feel the spirit. Realistically, the pouring rain and crowds of people some of whom probably had the same idea, kept us on the move and the spirit far away. (Note to self: denim jackets really offer no actual protection from weather - especially rain... I literally had water dripping down my neck most of the morning and poor Will was pretty confused about why we kept taking him out into that freezing miserable weather. We did check the weather and brought jackets, but should have packed our winter parkas!)
In Bethlehem, we also saw the Church of the Nativity, and this fireplace looking thing is supposedly the cave that was the stable where Jesus was born. It's a bit blurry because we were rushed down to see it in about 30 seconds before the Fransiscan Monks came through singing their alms at noon... Since this region is such a historic place for so many religions, I shouldn't have been surprised that there is a cathedral built over almost all of the supposed sites. Most of those churches were built, destroyed, rebuilt, redestroyed, and rebuilt by various conquerors over the centuries.
This is part of Golgotha, the place of the skull, where some believe Christ was crucified. The Church of the Sepulchre has been built over the small rise that is Golgotha, and what remains of the tomb. It has been overtaken by various orthodox groups and decorated according to their rather gaudy taste. We only took a couple of pictures inside that church, and as David was telling us all the reasons this was the place of the crucifixion, both Nate and I were feeling "no it's not". There was no emotion there, just crowds, and a lot of golden chandeliers and flickering candles. 
We requested that the Garden Tomb be added to our tour, so we ended our day there, and it made everything else worth it. It was calm, quiet, peaceful and our guide explained some of the reasons that this could have been the place of His Resurrection, but allowed for everyone to believe as they wished. We got to have our quiet moment of contemplation, and felt the presence of our Savior. Will got to splash in the puddles to his heart's content, and we all went back to the guesthouse cold and wet, but happy.
Our other days in Jerusalem we were on our own, and that was really great - we kind of got lost trying to find King David's Tomb and the Last Supper room, but happened onto it through a back entrance. We got rained on again, and finally broke down and bought an umbrella as we walked through the Jewish Quarter of the city. We went into the Tower of David Museum, and it was one of our favorite spots. Unfortunately the cool light show was cancelled due to the rain and wind, but it was well worth the entrance fee. Before heading back to Jordan, we got to see BYU Jerusalem - called the Mormon University- and heard a short organ recital and met some other Mormons touring the area. 
All in all, our trip to Jerusalem was completely different than what I expected, but it was amazing and we loved it!
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