JERUSALEM: MODERN CTY Monday, September 16. We had an earlier start today, breakfast at 6:30, bus departure at 7:30. The weather was a little cooler, the first break since our arrival in Israel. The bus dropped us at Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, before it opened at 8:30.
The Holocaust History Museum had ten galleries covering the Holocaust in chronological order
through videos, artifacts and displays. Jane and Darrell had visited Dacau and Auschwitz-Birkenau, as well as various Holocaust memorials around the world, so they were quite familiar
with the history. Nevertheless, it was a very moving experience.
Our bus left Yad Vashem at 10:30 and drove us around the city. We saw the Knesset (Parliament) Building and the Prime Minister’s residence. At 12:20 we arrived at the Friends of Zion museum where we had a one-hour tour. This museum honors gentiles who saved Jewish lives. Robots of the more prominent honorees told their own stories.
From there our bus dropped us off near Yel. Moshe Solomon Street, which features a thousand colorful umbrellas suspended overhead. We walked down that to Ben Yehuda, a popular pedestrian street lined with souvenir and Judaica shops and sidewalk cafes. This was our only real “lunch on your own” of the trip. We shared a pizza at a sidewalk café, then explored the area until 2:30 when we met our group at Zion Square.
Our bus picked us up there and drove us to the Garden Tomb, and we spent an hour there. This
rock-cut tomb was unearthed in 1867. Some Christians consider it to be the burial site of Jesus,
though the archeological evidence seems to contradict the claim. Even the organization that maintains the
tomb refrains from making that claim. However, it does suggest that the peaceful surroundings
and excellent condition of this tomb make it more evocative of the events described in the Gospels
than the one at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It cerainly is a very peaceful
site. Our group held a service with prayer, song and
communion before walking to the tomb. The bus picked us up and had us back to our hotel at 4:45. Out farewell dinner was at 7;00. We started saying our good-byes there, although we would be together on the bus and at the airport tomorrow. Back in our room, we finished packing for the trip home. | ||||||||||
