· Morning:
o
Knesset Tour (option; 8:30AM English tour; arrive 8AM with passport)
§ If you take this option then
you would join the rest of the group at the Israel Museum.
o
Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial)
o
Israel Museum
§ Model of 1st
Century Jerusalem
§ Shrine of the Book
· Afternoon:
o St. Peter in Galicantu
o City of David
o Hezekiah’s Tunnel
o
Tunnels tour: 4:20PM appointment
· Dinner: Azzaras (Plestinian)
Today was a bit of hassle as far as the “guide” was concerned. And it was a bit disappointing for the group in the midst of continuing blessings.
It started with two men going to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) for the 8:30AM tour while the rest went to Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Memorial). We only gave about an hour and a half. But that was sufficient for most of them to get the message of that amazing place.
While they were at Yad Vashem I had to go back to the hotel to get my local cell phone which I had forgotten. Then we got on a bus for the Israeli Museum (and to meet up with the two who had gone to the Knesset which is pretty much across the street). When we got on the bus we discovered that on the Jewish bus system they don’t take money or credit cards; you have to have the local “Rav” card (unlike the Arab bus we had used the other day that takes your money). So the driver, who spoke little English, took us disappointed people to the Israeli Museum (thank you).
At the museum there were two things to see: the model city of Jerusalem in the Roman time and the Shrine of the Book, the depository of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We did the first part and then I left the group with Cindy to get them into the Shrine (which is self-explanatory) and to get them lunch at the cafeteria while I went to take care of the Rav Card issue.
When we returned we got on a bus right there at the museum. He took us to Central Bus Station and told us that the same stop where he deposited us was where we would get Bus #1 for the City of David (so we could do Hezekiah’s Tunnel). There is a digital reader board for the busses that are scheduled to show up at the spot. Bus #1 was 9 min away but never showed. Then again, Bus #1 was about 7 min away but never showed. Again Bus #1 showed up on the board and finally arrived. By now the bus stop was pretty crowded so the ride was hard in that way. Further it was not into the afternoon where the traffic all over was slow. Point is we got to City of David too late for the tunnel as we had a 4:20 apt with the Western Wall Tunnels. So we hung around the Western Wall for a while, getting pictures and “people watching” until that time.
The tunnel tour was quite interesting; we were glad we did that. But the major disappointment was the realization that we will not be able to get up on the Temple Mount. It is only open at certain times and it was closed when we arrived, will be closed Friday for Muslim holy day and Saturday as well because it is Jewish Shabbat. It is a fact of life around here, the weekly holy days, and we have had to work hard on both weeks to deal with what ends up being closed and what is open.
We are showing signs of wearing down which is to be expected on Day 13. But tomorrow we hope to make it through Hezekiah’s Tunnel first thing and are hoping we can get busses in the morning before they shut down for Shabbat. Then it will be a combination of taxis and walking I suspect.
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