Jerusalem: Temple Mount

The view from our rooftop hostel. Good morning Jerusalem!

Home Sweet Rooftop. We slept under the stars on this hostel rooftop along with people from around the world. 

The religious tension is so thick within the walls of the Old City.   I have never been anywhere like it.  There are so many different kinds of people with such strong religious beliefs.

The Western Wailing Wall.  Jewish people come here to pray because it is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the ancient Jewish temple.

We kinda broke the law according to the Chief Rabbi and the Torah. 

This is inside the temple mount.  Some left over pillars from some ancient time period. 

Can you imagine the time it would take to chisel this?

Dome of the Rock!

No touching on the temple mount! You will get yelled at.  See, you can clearly fit a Quran between us. 

Can you tell I was keeping my distance?
 The middle guy is someone we know from church and randomly saw him and his friend here.  

The Pool of Bethesda.  This was one of my favorite parts of Jerusalem because it was so easy for me to picture Christ here.  This site is believed to be the place Jesus healed the lame man who had waited so long to be healed.  It was believed then that an angel would come down and trouble the water and whoever was first in the water after it was troubled would be healed of whatever ailment they had.  

John 5: 2-9

2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.