Day 6 Another Brick in the Wall

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After another lovely, nutritious, delicious breakfast (not!) The Road Scholars  day began with a field trip to Mount Zion to visit King David's Tomb. Udi, now the master counter, had everyone pick a non-friend to check on whenever we got on or off the Road Scholar Bus. The supposed Tomb of King David is on Mount Zion.

Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City on its western side. The first stop of the day was the Tomb of King David.

King David's Tomb is in fact it is not even an ancient site! It became associated as a tomb, somehow in the early-medieval (9th-century) period, with the biblical King David. Historians, archaeologists and Jewish religious authorities do not consider the site to be the actual resting place of King David.

Today it occupies the ground floor of a former Christian church, whose upper floor holds the Cenacle or "Upper Room" traditionally identified as the place of Jesus' Last Supper and the original meeting place of the early Christian community of Jerusalem. Bone's suspicion is that the early Christian's that were always trying to tie Jesus to David (through his supposed lineage) stated that the Last Supper was conducted on Davids Tomb, showing the First King of the Jews was the foundation for the new (Jesus) King of the Jews (the Messiah)!

 

The Tomb of King David!

King David's Tomb is in fact it is not even an ancient site! It became associated as a tomb, somehow in the early-medieval (9th-century) period, with the biblical King David. Historians, archaeologists and Jewish religious authorities do not consider the site to be the actual resting place of King David.

 

Mike and Bone in the Tomb of King David?!?

 

Today it occupies the ground floor of a former Christian church, whose upper floor holds the Cenacle or "Upper Room" traditionally identified as the place of Jesus' Last Supper and the original meeting place of the early Christian community of Jerusalem. Bone's suspicion is that the early Christian's that were always trying to tie Jesus to David (through his supposed lineage) stated that the Last Supper was conducted on David's Tomb, showing the First King of the Jews was the foundation for the new (Jesus) King of the Jews (the Messiah)!

After a solemn tour of a burial site that 99.5% most likely did not have King David, the Boys went upstairs to check out the strange restaurant that has chairs only on one side of a table! (So says Leonardo!)

 

No Snacks in the Room of the Last Supper !

Next, Mike and Bone went into Room of the Last Supper or  the “Cenacle” (from the Latin, dining room), which was supposed to be the home or hotel for followers of Jesus on Mount Zion. Clearly the current place is not a first century Jewish home or hotel, but a middle ages Christian Church! Mike and Bone walked around another place that something was supposedly to happen and probably didn’t!

 

Checking out the Vista from Mount Zion!

Udi, then led the Road Scholars to the Dormition Abbey (not Downton Abbey!)

 

Circling the Dormition Abbey!

The Abbey of the Dormition is a Catholic abbey of the Benedictine Order. The Abbey is said to mark the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, died. “Dormition” is the belief that Mary died without suffering, in a state of spiritual peace according to Greek Orthodox tradition. Ironically, Mike and Bone on a prior trip, saw the Roman-era house in Ephesus where Mary supposedly died! The Abbey was built originally as a Byzantine (Roman) basilica Hagia Sion under John II, the Bishop of Jerusalem in the early 5th century.  Udi pointed out the very reclusive Benedictine’s walking around in their fashionable brown sack cloth outfits!

 

Coming into old Town through the Zion Gate

 

 

Udi now prepared the Road Scholars for a trip through the bullet-riddled Zion Gate into the Jewish Quarter with a discussion of how the name ‘Zion’ first appears in the Bible in connection with a Jebusite fort (The true founders of Jerusalem) “David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David” (Samuel II, 5:7). To this day many of the battles for Jerusalem have started in this part of the City.  

 

However, the Zion Gate is not that old (relative to the rest of Jerusalem!), it was built in July 1540, as a direct continuation of Cardo Street, or Street of the Jews. Mike and Bone saw the six sentry towers that were erected in the southern segment of the wall, four of them situated in the Mount Zion section. An interesting fact of the Gate is that when on May 13, 1948, as the British Army withdrew from Jerusalem, a major from the Suffolk Regiment presented Mordechai Weingarten with the key for the Zion Gate ending their occupation and starting many years of war.

 

Mike and Bone, getting their Cardio on the Cardo

As Mike and Bone, along with the other Road Scholars entered the Zion Gate Udi began to relate the story of how Israeli won Jerusalem in the 6 Day War of 1967. The afor-mentioned bullet holes could be seen around the main street of the Jewish Quarter, the Cardo! With very little surprise, Cardo Street was a Roman street! The cities of the Ancient Roman Empire had a special tradition of decorating main roads with spectacular stone columns. These streets were called “Cardo” and Jerusalem, just like any other Roman city, had a Cardo of its own. This ancient street originates at Damascus Gate in the north, running southwards through the Old City, terminating at Zion Gate.

The north side of the Cardo, from Damascus Gate to David Street, was built during the Roman period in Jerusalem. The south side, however, was built in the 6th century, during the times of the Byzantine Empire in Jerusalem, and it extends along the western side of the Jewish Quarter.

Parts of the Cardo were exposed during excavation work between Habbad Street and Hayehudim Street inside the Jewish Quarter. The Cardo consisted of a central open-air passage for animals and carriages, as well as sidewalks for pedestrian use from both sides of the street. A few original stores located on the sidewalks were also found at several sections of the street.

 

The Crusader’s Bazzar, which was built in the 12th century, is now renovated with modern stores selling ancient history. Udi, took the group through this very Roman architecture in the Jewish Quarter. Above, Udi, showed the Road Scholars an ancient Roman Grist Mill for grinding wheat for bread. Them Romans were always trying to make a little dough, which resonated with the Meeechigan Pizza Men!

 

A Broad View of the Broad Wall!

 

 

Walking further in the Jewish Sector, Udi pointed out the Broad Wall, which is an ancient Jewish defensive wall, located in the Jewish Quarter. The wall was unearthed in the 1970s by Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad and dated to the reign of King Hezekiah (late eighth century BCE). It is a massive defensive structure, over 21 feet thick. The unbroken length of wall uncovered by Avigad's dig runs 71 yards long and is preserved in places to a height of 12 feet high. Today is was a “view only monument, since it was fenced off, but served to show one of the oldest Jewish structures in Jerusalem.  Next, Udi took the Road Scholars to an overview of Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.

 

"All in all, just another Note in the Wall" !?!

(Pink Floyd?)

 

 

 

Udi then took the Boys back to the holiest Jewish site. The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall is a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people. It is the only remains of the retaining wall the Temple of Herod the Great. It also was the site of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem, held to be uniquely holy by the ancient Jews. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587–586 BCE, and the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. As it was seen by Mike and Bone today, the Western Wall measures about 160 feet long and about 60 feet high. Jewish devotions at the wall date from the early Byzantine period and reaffirm the rabbinic belief that “the divine Presence never departs from the Western Wall.” Whats up with the crying? Jews lament the destruction of the Temple and pray for its restoration, and it has long been a custom to push slips of paper with wishes or prayers on them into the wall’s cracks. Such terms as Wailing Wall were coined by European travelers who witnessed the mournful vigils of pious Jews before the relic.

 

A Dude, Weeping Uncontrollably!

 

A Wail the Victors!!!

Having been there a few nights ago, Mike and Bone decided to pay tribute the best way they could, a Wail to the Victors Valiant with a hearty round of " Lets Go Blue!!" three times in unison with the weeping guy to the left of Bone. Look, Christians have the Father, Christ, and Holy Ghost, Bone has Bo, Crisler, and Fielding Yost ! Feeling better about life after the chant, Mike and Bone headed back, forgetting to return their Yarmulke's and followed Udi through the ancient City of David to the Bus for their next activity. Leaving the Old City, to see the Old City!?!

 

The Caves of Kind David's City !

Next Udi took the Road Scholars to see a recreation of the Ancient City of Jerusalem. The Second Temple Jerusalem Model recreates the city of 66 CE at the height of its glory; the eve of the great revolt of the Jews against the Romans. The city then stretched over some 450 acres.

 

A Recreation of the Second Temple 66 AD!

The model, measuring over 3,000 square feet, was created by Professor Avi-Yonah, a leading scholar specializing in ancient Jerusalem. Avi-Yona's reconstruction is based on descriptions from Jewish sources, particularly the Mishnah, and the writings of the contemporary historian Flavius Josephus. He also relied on archaeological finds from Jerusalem and from other Roman cities.

At the heart of this impressive city stands the Temple Mount. Kings who built the city, notably the Hasmoneans and their successors, and King Herod and his descendants, were greatly influenced by the Greco-Roman culture. This is clearly reflected in the style of the buildings, and in the layout of the streets; in the holy precinct at the top of the hill; the public water facilities, and other dedicatory monumental buildings as well as in the sports and entertainment facilities.

A closer look reveals the uniquely Jewish character of Jerusalem. First, there is only one sacred precinct - the Temple Mount - with a single temple, to one God. Second, the city has no sculptures, or reliefs depicting human figures and animals, in accordance with the second of the Ten Commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

The city as it replicated in the model did not last for long. In 66 CE the Great Revolt against the Romans broke out, and in 70 CE, after five years of fighting, the city was destroyed and the Temple burnt down. It really was an amazing recreation, Mike and Bone wandered around it in the now fading sunlight of evening till Udi counted off the Road Scholars back on the Bus for dinner and for a lecture titled, "Contemporary Palestinian Society: Its Hopes and Challenges" by a leading Arab scholar.

 

A Perplexing Palestinian Perspective

After and increasingly boring and repetitive buffet dinner, Mike and Bone, along with the Road Scholars had the opportunity to listen to a Palestinian Tour Guides  perspective of the trials and tribulations of living in East Jerusalem. This polite, circumspect, and intelligent dude, shared what was like living as a second class citizen in his own country. He, his German Wife, a Children live in a house built by his family long ago. Recently the Israelis put up a wall in front of his house and it now takes an hour to walk across the street. He had bee waiting for 10 years for a Passport so they could visit his In-Laws in Germany. He was thoughtful, eloquent and clearly frustrated. It was easy to see why there is such anger in the community. Interestingly he was completely against the violence since it really never amounts to anything positive for the Palestinians and simply makes matters worse. His talk was very impactful on the Boys as they hit the hay that evening.