Israel- Palace of Caiaphas

Our next stop was to the Palace of Caiaphas. This is the supposed location that Jesus Christ was held the night he was 'captured' from the Garden of Gethsemane. A church was built over the site like most other holy sites in Jerusalem. The church had some beautiful stain glass windows. Next to the church are the old roman steps that would have been the steps Christ walked from the Upper Room down to the Garden of Gethsemane and than back up to the Palace of Caiaphas. The Palace of Caiaphas is also where Peter denied the Christ three times, so there is a statue next to the church symbolizing this.

Israel- Upper Room

Monday morning our first stop was to the Upper Room in Jerusalem. It's a big empty room that is a representation of where the last supper would have taken place. We were fortunate enough to have a few minutes to our selves there. That meant that I was able to get a couple pictures without people in them and that we were able to have another devotional there about the last supper.

Israel- Fall Concert

Sunday night we headed back over to the BYU Jerusalem Center for the a concert. Every Sunday night they have a free classical concert. They are highly attended by members of the Jerusalem community. Our concert was the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra's Ensemble. It was two clarinet players, two oboe players, two horn players and two bassoon players. The concert was in the main auditorium at the BYU Center, so that means that the Old City was the scenery for the concert. It was beautiful and the music was really nice to.

Israel- City of David Excavation & South Steps

Our next stop in the Old City was to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park & Davidson Center. It's located at the southern end of the Temple Mount. As part of the archaeological dig they've found structures that date back to the Herodian era. One of the interesting things is that you can see how large the temple stones are. They were huge, it was hard for me to even image how they would have moved all those stones to build the Temple. Part of the excavation has uncovered the an old roman road which would have been part of the market during the time of Christ. Another section of the of the excavation that I really enjoyed was the south steps of the Temple Mount. You can see where the original gate leading from the steps onto the Temple Mount would be located. It was such a peaceful place and really cool to think that these are the steps that Christ would have walked. We also convinced our tour guide Jimmy to take a picture of all of us sitting on the stairs. So this is the fabulous group that I was able to go to Israel with. Some amazing people with amazing stories and lives. It really was a great group!

Israel- Via Dolorosa

Our next stop (or you could call it multiple stops) in the Old City was the Via Dolorosa. It's held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying the cross on the way to his crucifixion. The path follows the 14 stations of the cross, it weaves it's way through the city to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The last five stations of the cross are housed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is huge and crowded. We did our best to shuffle past the last five stations without getting lost. There were so many people in the church it was a little crazy. I actually didn't take many pictures in the church mostly because it was so crowded. I did really like the ceiling in the church.

Israel- Pool of Bethesda

The next stop while we were in the Old City was to the Pools of Bethesda and St Anne's Church. The Pool of Bethesda in the Bible is one of the locations where Christ healed the sick man. All that's left of the pools is ruins. It's a good example of how Jerusalem has been built upon itself. you can look down from the top to see the different layers of the city. Right next to the ruins for the Pool of Bethesda is located St Anne's Church. It's actually on of the lightest churches that we went into. One reason was probably because of how high the ceilings are. It was also the church with the best acoustics. We actually took a few minutes to sing a couple hymns in the church. We sounded amazing, I think I could have continued to sing in that church. When I'm ready to record my first album I know where I want to go to do it.

Israel- Dome of the Rock & Temple Mount

Another stop while we were in the Old City was to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. Currently the Temple Mount is controlled by the Muslim council. They allow non-Muslims to enter the Temple Mount, but not the Dome of the Rock. I didn't realize that the Dome of the Rock was such a colorful building. I knew that the roof was covered in gold, but I didn't realize that the building was covered in blue tiles. It's a very beautiful building with a ton of detail. I can only imagine what the inside looks like. While we were up on the Temple Mount, Jimmy showed us where the Jews believe the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Solomon was located.