Jerusalem! Monday

On Monday I walked through the more modern Jewish areas of Jerusalem, including the downtown pedestrian shopping areas that look like Europe. From there I headed to the Israel Museum. 

It's a large compound, and I decided to focus my time and attention on the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit and model of ancient Jerusalem.

This is the building that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. It's designed to appear like the top of the clay jar that had contained the scrolls for thousands of years until they were discovered in 1947.

The most exciting and central feature inside is the intact Isaiah scroll. It's the entire book of Isaiah written out by hand on sewn-together pieces of sheepskin seven and a half meters long.
 

The Israel Museum also features an enormous model of Jerusalem from the New Testament period. This is the Temple of Herod on the temple mount.   

There's a great audio guide that takes you through prominent buildings throughout the model. That's why it's easy to spend several hours here.

 

Entryway into the temple. Worshipers would ritually wash themselves here and then start up the long staircase to the temple mount above.
 

The pool of Bethsesda, just north of the temple mount, where Jesus healed a paralyzed man. 
 

 

The city from the South, with the Kidron Valley on the right.
 

I took a bus back to Damascus Gate and wondered whether I had time to see the Pater Noster church atop the Mount of Olives. It had been closed when I was there the day before. Now it was already late afternoon but I decided to risk it. 

I ran-walked through the Old City, down the Via Dolorosa and out Lions' Gate where a street vendor gave me an apple and some delicious grapes for free (and on the way back a whole box of cherries).  Either it was the end of the day and he didn't need them anymore, or I looked tired and hungry!

 

After hustling up the Mount of Olives and being thrilled that my super-glued sandals hadn't torn open, I was so happy that I'd made it to the Pater Noster church with time to spare before closing. 

 

 

 

 

 

                       It was especially pretty and inspiring in the late-afternoon lighting. Being off the beaten path, there were very few tourists here.

Pater Noster is Latin for "Our Father," the first words of the Lord's Prayer. It features the prayer in many languages written on blue ceramic tiles.

The building is part of a Carmelite monastery.