Holy Land Tour - Day 2am

St. Stephen's Gate on northeast portion of walled city - so named because it is believed first Christian martyr was stoned outside this gate - also called Lions' Gate.

Entrance to the Church of St. Anne
- originally built in the twelfth century & dedicated to Anne, the mother of Mary.

Next to the Church of St Anne is the site of the Bethesda Pools. The waters of these pools were long believed to have healing powers.

Venturing down to check out the water in one of the pools mentioned in one of the stories of the miracles performed by Jesus.

Street scene within the walls of the old city of Jerusalem.

Heading toward the Temple Mount area in the southeast portion of the old city.

We enter the Temple Mount area that goes by many names, "Noble Sanctuary" & "Mount Moriah" being two.

We start to explore the mostly open area believed to be the site of the first temple built by King Solomon.

Here we get our first views of the repair work on the holy Dome of the Rock, one of the best known landmarks of Jerusalem.

Our group goes up the steps & through the arches to the area closer to the sacred dome.

Another view of the vast empty spaces the temple grounds.

The famous Dome of the Rock undergoing repairs. This site is revered by Islam, Christianity & Judaism & therefore one of the most contested religious sites in the world.

The beautiful & colorful Arabic script & designs can be seen in this close-up.

The arches at the eastern edge of this most holy place frames the Mount of Olives in the background.

A view to the south from this southeast corner of the Temple area & corner of the walled city.

The young guard at the bullet riddled doorway that leads down to the Stables of King Solomon. This is at the very southeast corner of the city wall.

Coming up from the Stables we look west to the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque , which is just south of the Dome of the Rock.

Our group walks down the narrow winding streets just west of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

We soon come to the sacred Wailing Wall at the southwest side of the Temple Mount.

This ancient section of wall is considered the most holy place in the world accessible to Jewish people.

After the Wailing Wall, we start our long walk through the market streets of the Moslem Quarter of the Old City.

Here our guide points out an inn that is over 1,000 years old & is of similar construction to inns in existence in Jesus' time.

A side courtyard where animals are kept.

Here the streets are wider & the Palestinian flag is proudly flown.

A narrower & more crowded street, and no breeze here for this flag.

Usually no autos in these narrow lanes, so people power moves most cargo.

We exit the Old City through St. Stephen's Gate - the one through which we entered hours earlier.

1960 Holy Land Tour - Day 2 AM - Thurs., Aug. 11