Basilica of the Agony N Gethemane

23/12/08
Further walking allowed us to proceed to the Church of All Nations also known as the Basilica of the Agony. Sixteen Nations contributed to the construction of the Basilica and I noticed the many domes this church has on it's roof. Part of the tradional Rock of Agony lies in front of the main altar inside this church (Matthew 26:36-46). This was where Jesus sweated blood the night before his arrest.

And then we entered Gethsemane. This word means olive-press in Aramaic. The pictures below show the garden which has eight ancient olive trees dating back 2000 years ago ... Jesus time .. ... and it was here that Jesus came to pray with his disciples.

Palm Sunday Route to Church of Dominus Flevit

23/12/08
We continued walking on the traditional Palm Sunday route and reached the Church of the Dominus Flevit. This place commemorated "the Lord wept" (Luke 19: 41-44). The church itself has a tear shaped dome.
During the walk I could see the various places of the dead (cemeteries) situated in huge plots of land. It is said that these are prime plots of burial land for the dead to wait for the coming of Christ.

From the surroundings of the church grounds this magnificent view of the old city of Jerusalem is feast for the eyes. Most of the ancient city walls and several city gates are visible from here.
From here the most prominent feature is the golden Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, which is the third Holy Shrine for the Moslems. Facing this magnificent view, one can only imagine how Jesus lamented over the impending doom and judgement of it's people
(Matthew 24:1-3).

Pater Noster Grotto

23/12/08
We walked down the slopes of the mount and visited the grotto of the Pater Noster Church. It was here that Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer to his disciples (Luke 11: 1-4). In the couryard of the church, we could see the many beautiful ceramic panels displaying the full text of the Lord's Prayer in many languages.

Mt.Olives N Site of the Ascension

Tuesday 23/12/08
After breakfast we drove to the top of Mt. of Olives and visited the site of the Ascension.
The Bible tells us how Jesus took his disciples to a mount called Olivet and after blessing them, ascended into heaven (Acts 1: 9-12).
The present chapel on the site was built by the crusaders but is now occupied by the Moslems.
We went on inside and saw the legendary footprints which Christ made when he ascended into heaven. Many pilgrims touched the foot prints in the hope of getting blessed.

Bethleham and Jericho

22/12/08
Finally in the afternoon we entered the walled city of Bethleham and went on to shop for souvenirs at The Three Arches.

In the late afternoon, we headed to Jericho and checked into Jericho Intercontinental which would be our base for the next 4 days while we visited Bethleham and Jerusalem.
We were supposed to stay in another hotel in Bethleham but due to security reasons we were booked into this hotel. (On this day the truce on the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas ended).

Jaffa or Joppa

22/12/08
Having passed Caesarea we continued our drive to the oldest sea port in the world (3,500 yrs. old) and that is Jaffa also called Joppa. It was here that Peter raised Tabitha to life (Acts 9:36-43) and he stayed on for a considerable amount of time in the house of Simon, the tanner
(Acts 9:43).

Here we had photo moments of St. Peter's Church. We reached it too late and it was closed for the day.

Haifa

Monday 22/12/08
We checked out of Hotel King Solomon and began our drive to Haifa to visit the Carmelite Monastery of St. Elijah on Mt. Carmel. Here we saw the beautiful Stella Maris Church built over the cave where the Prophet Elijah once lived. And it was here that the Prophet Elijah convinced the people that the God of Israel is the true God (1 Kings 18:17-40)

From here we continued our way to Caesarea. On the way we stopped by the ruins of the Herod's Aqueduct. This structure was to supply fresh water to Herod's new city.