Day 6 - Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Day 6 - Tuesday, March 14, 2023 - Jerusalem

March 14, 2023

After an early breakfast, we left the hotel in Tel Aviv for Jerusalem. It was raining which can cause massive delays but it wasn't that bad (compared with backups in US cities). Along the way we passed vineyards and agricultural fields although I don't know what would be growing.

Our first stop was the Mount of Olives east of the Old City. From here there is an exceptional view of the Temple Mount and the city. Below we can see the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested before his crucifixion.

From there we drove to the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. We were greeted by Dothan who gave us a tour of the kibbutz - he was quite a character and looks it from the photo below. One of the principles of the kibbutz is "From each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs". He kept emphasizing how rich they are and have no money. Almost everything is provided by the kibbutz: housing, food, health care, education. Each family gets 5,000 shekels a month allowance, about $1,300. For many years he was the agricultural leader and succeeded in making the kibbutz the largest producer of organic cherries in Israel and a large exporter worldwide. They are also a leader in cherry knowledge and share this with the world. His perspective is that we all need to work together for world peace. A major income source for the kibbutz is a beautiful modern 183 bed hotel. It is so popular that many people return.

The kibbutz was the site of intense fighting between the Israeli and Egyptian forces in 1948, changing hands several times before ending up in Israeli territory. The kibbutz fighters were often short of staff, arms and ammunition but fought valiantly.

We had a delicious buffet lunch in the hotel dining room. There was an incredible assortment of fish, chicken and meat dishes, vegetables and many different salads. The desserts are out of this world - it is hard to imagine how they make desserts that look and taste like mousse and whipped cream but which are non-dairy.

After lunch we took the bus to Mt. Zion where we visited the upper room of the Last Supper and King David's tomb, although the building actually dates from the 11th or 12th centuries. Not to be cynical, but many of the holy sites were designated by Queen Helen, Emperor Constantine's mother in the 4th century and don't have any historical or archeological confirmation. It isn't clear why the Jews decided this was King David's tomb as his palace was some distance away. The room of the Last Supper is interesting as it was originally a Christian church which was then taken over as an Islamic facility so it has aspects of both.

Another bus ride took us to the Zion Gate of Old Jerusalem. This was the location of the Jewish surrender to the Trans-Jordanian forces in 1948. The "green" line which separated Old Jerusalem and the Jewish territory was just outside this gate. All Jews were forced from the city until it was reacquired by Israel during the 1967 war.

We walked through the Zion Gate into Old Jerusalem and to the Roman Cardo, the main north-south road through the city. The Cardo would have been lined with shops and artisans at the time - this is now lined by shops selling souvenirs, jewelry and religious items. Parts of this have been excavated and one can see the pillars from the first centuries CE. There are other excavations which exposed parts of the walls from the first and second second temple eras, including a wall reinforced by King Hezekia to defend Jerusalem from the Assyrians..

From there we went to the Western Walls, one of the most sacred sites of Judaism. It is separated into sections for men and women where they can pray and place slips of paper with prayers into spaces between the huge stones forming the walls. We were able to see where the base of the wall was, at least 20' below the current ground level.

Then to the Prima Kings Hotel. We have a nice room although it is on the first floor right on the main street so it is a bit noisy.

We were lucky today as we only had light sprinkles while we were out as heavy rain had been forecast - the only heavy rain was during our lunchtime.