Jewish Quarter Field Trip

We visited a bunch of sites in the Jewish Quarter for this field trip!

Wohl Museum and Burnt House

So this was pretty cool. These were uncovered sites within a museum built over the sites. Inception? Yes. So this museum preserves six priestly houses built in the "Upper City" of ancient Jerusalem. 

So here's the Wohl museum! This epic sign greeted us as we walked in. Wow, how much more dramatic can we get? :)

Ancient remnants of some rich person's house. They had like, two floors and stuff.

Ancient mosaics. I'm not sure if I've ever posted pictures of mosaics before, EVER, but here are some for you to look at.

Okay, this actually is cool. This is the earliest depiction of the seven-branched menorah EVER discovered in Jerusalem! It also showed a depiction of the square-shaped altar and shewbread table from Herod's Temple. Archaeologists think that this is a super accurate depiction because it was the house of a priest, so he totes for legits know what it would look like!

A reconstruction of what they thought this mansion house would look like. WOW! So neat!

This is called the Chadwick mosiac, after Jeffery R. Chadwick of the BYU Faculty. Brother Judd told us that he is the WORLD'S LEADING EXPERT ON THE HOLY LAND. What?!?!? I took a class form him!! I could never stay awake....wow, talk about not taking advantage of an incredible privilege there :)

So I'm sorry that this quote is disgusting and I'm posting it, but it TOTALLY reminded me of a quote from Zelda! When you're in the Shadow Temple (or maybe it's the bottom of the well? Or the Graveyard? Somewhere in Kakariko Village) and you can read the inscriptions about the history of Hyrule? Yeah, there is a quote really similar to this. I remember being scared of it when I was little. :)

Look, Dan, they made rings a couple thousand years ago, too :) But yours are better :)

I found a dead cockaroach in the museum. Eeewww :)

Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark

We went to the Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark (not in the Jewish Quarter Field Trip, but we went anyway to save time on our Christian Quarter Field Trip)! The Syriac people keep the language of Aramaic alive, which is the language that Jesus spoke. This church has a claim to hosting the Last Supper and the place where the 12 apostles received the Holy Ghost. They also think that it is the home of Mary, the mother of Mark. We met with a wonderful sister there, who told us about the many miracles that had happened in her church. She was so filled with faith and happiness. I do believe that the Lord works miracles in the lives of people who are not Latter-day saints. He is no respecter of persons, and He loves all of His children. He will not abandon those who seek Him. I love this about our Lord! He worked miracles two thousand years ago, and He worked them before that time, and He works them still today!

This is part of the broad wall around Jerusalem during the period of Hezekiah and the Assyrian attacks. It's called the broad wall because it is extraordinarily thick. Because Jerusalem was facing an attack by the Assyrians, Hezekiah prepared by building up the walls and preparing a new water system (Hezekiah's tunnel). The story of the attack is really neat--I had to write a giant paper on it a few weeks ago. The story can be found in 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 22.

Davidson Archaeological Park

We went to the Davidson Archaeological Park, which had a lot of the remains of the Temple Mount area. A little history on the Temple is in order, because it was an incredible and beautiful place, and we know how important temples are.

Herod the Great completely renovated Jerusalem's Temple Mount complex, and it was the crowning achievement of all of his extensive building projects. The First Temple (Solomon's) had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's army in 586 BC. After 540 BC, some Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem  where they built a modest "second temple" (Zerubbabel's). Although Herod's temple is understood to be a part of the "Second Temple Period" (540 BC--70 AD), it was a completely new structure.

To support a new temple and other buildings, Herod's engineers needed a much larger platform. The new platform rested on four retaining walls erected around a natural hill. Because the elevation of the hill dropped so steeply on its southern slope, huge piers, arches, and vaults supported the platform at the southern end. The Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70, but the platform supporting arches, vaults, and retaining walls survived. On this field trip, we saw the public entry and exit to the Temple Mount that is located on the southern side. This entry/exit was likely the setting for many of Jesus' various entries/exits from the Temple.

According to the Mishnah, temple-goers would enter the Temple through the eastern Triple Gate and exit through the western Double Gate. It is almost certain that the Savior walked on these stairs, entering through the Triple Gate and exiting through the Double Gate.

This is a painting of what the cardo would have looked like back in the Herodian period (the time of Christ). The cardo was a street along the outside of the Temple Mount where people sold the animals for temple sacrifices, exchanged money, and sold general goods. Sound familiar? Yep, these shopkeepers decided they weren't getting enough business down away from the temple, so they moved shop up onto the Temple Mount. That's where Jesus cast them out when He cleansed the temple. 

You can see the piles and piles of rocks that were thrown down by the Roman soldiers as they destroyed the temple. The archaeologists uncovered all of these.  Also, you can see some scaffolding up there. It was put up there to help facilitate fixing something or other, but it hasn't been taken down in years. Why? Because the rivalry and conflict between all the different denominations of religions here prevents anything from being done. Nobody can decide who gets to take down the scaffolding. The Jordanians were the ones who put it up in the first place! And now everybody and nobody wants to take it down. I don't understand why there is so much conflict between everybody here, but this place is filled with strife in every form.

This is a picture of the road that went all along the base of the temple. The stones have been reconstructed, but the pathway is the same. Jesus very probably very likely walked on this road in His travels throughout the city!

Near the southwest corner, archaeologists discovered a stone bearing a Hebrew inscription that included the phrase "trumpeting place." They concluded that the shofar (ram's horn) was blown from the southwest "pinnacle" of the Temple Mount. This is THAT STONE!! Also, when Jesus stood on the "pinnacle of the temple" and Satan came and tempted Him, it is very possible that this is the corner on which He stood! How neat to be able to stand there and touch that stone! The bottom picture is where the trumpeting stone would have been placed, right at the edge of the Court of the Gentiles. 

Interesting fact: When they built up the walls for the temple, they actually placed the stones a few centimeters back every time they put a new one one. So the walls actually tilt in a little bit, but they look exactly straight. If they were stacked directly on top of each other, the walls would have looked like they were leaning out. NEAT, HUH! You learn something new every day, I guess :)


So I can't remember what the decoration is actually called, but when you see a rock that has its edges cut in a little (as shown here),  you know that it's from the Herodian era! Super cool :)

While in the Whol and Burnt house, we watched a really cheesy  dramatic movie illustrating the destruction of the second temple (70 AD) and the political unrest during that time. Despite the terrible acting and costumes, it really hit me. There were divisions within families that tore them apart. And the people kept saying "There's no way the Romans would ever destroy the temple. It's too sacred, too holy. It's the most beautiful building in the world, there's no way they would destroy it." And then in one super dramatic scene, the temple was destroyed. It really ripped at my heartstrings! It even made me tear up, which was embarrassing, because the movie was SO cheesy. I can't imagine the horror and shock and pain that the destruction of the temple would cause. The center of religion, the most sacred thing in the world, going up in flames before your eyes. AAaahh, it was awful. 

Why say this? Because I love the temple, and it would be so horrible to have our precious temples destroyed because of our unrighteousness. I was kind of in a somber and contemplative spirit as we approached this spot. This is outside where the Double Gate would have been, which means that Jesus almost certainly walked on this very stone.

 Neil Armstrong (the guy who walked on the moon) came on a tour to Jerusalem, and as he stood on those steps, he said that it meant more to him to stand where Jesus stood than to stand on the moon. And I agree. I haven't felt the spirit at a lot of sites, although I've really appreciated every one of them. But I felt the spirit in a very quiet way as I was standing there on the temple steps today. I think that the temple is such a holy place that the spirit resides there still, even in the ruins of the outer walls.  I sat on the stones for a while and read my scriptures. I love the temple, and those few minutes on the steps were some of my favorite in Jerusalem.




Jesus spent a lot of his time in the Temple. Only of the few times it is mentioned in the Gospels include:


Luke 2:21-38--Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the Temple; Simeon and Anna blessed Him.
Luke 2:41-50 -- At age 12, Jesus discoursed with the sages in the Temple.
Matt 4:5-7 Jesus was tempted on the pinnacle of the Temple.
Matt 21:12-16, John 2:13-17--Jesus cleansed the Temple of money-changers and animal-sellers
Matt 21-23, John 7-8 -- The Temple was the setting for some of His teachings at the end of Jesus' ministry.
Matt 24--Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

We can follow the example of the Savior and attend the temple often. There is no place where we can be closer to the Spirit, understand the mysteries of God more clearly, or love more fully. I love the temple, and I have a testimony of its holiness and purpose! :)

Visiting all the places that are shown in the back of the scriptures :)

With my buddies, Erica and Michelle!

The oldest piece of writing they have found in Jerusalem!!! WOOOOWWW!!! It's cuneiform! The chicken-scratch writing :) Did you know that that writing is an alphabet that can be used to write any language? Supa cool :)

Old City adventures!

Look at this. They sell whole fishies. SICK.

Look at this. They sell whole chopped up animals. SICK.

This is some Arab dessert. WOW, it sure was interesting! It was warm cheese on the bottom, and then orange bread crumbs, all soaked in this strange sweet sauce with green things on top. It was interesting :) Tasted like sweet Mac & Cheese. I'll take what I can get :)

We were exploring and we found the Church of St. George!!! Ooh da lally, it was so neat! Emily said that this was built in the Gothic style...even cooler! Look at that tower :)

We explored the little garden as we were searching for the entrance of the church. Isn't this pretty? A saint just watching over the grass, making sure that it grows straight and tall :)

Looks like the kodama in Princess Mononoke!! I'm right, right? :)

This is the Disney font! So neat! :) We saw it as we were walking around to the front entrance of the church.

This was a poster inside the church. I think it's really neat to see things from that perspective. Good advice!

I'm not really sure how this is a religious picture, but I think it's really pretty! Lots of colors and sunshine :)

There were some really beautiful paintings in this church! I love seeing how the Savior is surrounded by children! He loved them the mostest out of everyone, I think :)

For Dan: "I know I have things to work on...I just really need to learn to love small children."

I found this hymn in the hymnbooks at the church! I think it is absolutely beautiful. The words really touched my heart and taught me a lesson. 

The organ at the church was absolutely beautiful. 

I  I saw a store that was named Heifetz!! Reminded me of Jascha Heifetz, the amazing and incredible violinist This land births the most incredible of musicians!!

We went to a little Primary Program at the Garden Tomb to celebrate Easter with the kids. They sang some primary songs and we had a little lesson on Jesus Christ. It may have been the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I love the primary kids in our ward!! They are unbelievably adorable. Oh my stars, I want to hug each one of them :)

These are some of the cutest little boys I've ever seen. They are so unbelievably chunky. How much cuter can you ask for?! I hope my babies are chunky :)

This is one of my favorite little primary kids. She looks like a baby hobbit!! I hope that my little girls have curly hair and fair skin :) So so cute! :)

Our Primary's version of a "silly picture" :) I love little kids! They are so ADORABLE!! :)

My bruise from giving blood! It doesn't show up very well in this picture, but it is HUGE!! So dark that people on the street ask me what happened! No pain, no game, I guess :)