We visited Christ Church inside Jaffa Gate on Sunday morning.
We walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel.
A group of Jews ready to enter Temple Mount
Western Wall, where people come to pray.
Mount of Olives. A Jewish cemetery covers much of the slope. There is a Jewish tradition about being first in line for the resurrection.
Southwest corner of Temple Mount. The tumble at the bottom of the wall is from the Roman destruction in 70 AD, left where it fell. Notice where an archway was attached to the wall. A street with shops was inside the arch and a bridge to the temple was on top of it. This corner was the place of the blowing of the shofar, according to an inscription found below.
The men’s section of the Western Wall. The arch in the corner is known as Wilson’s Arch for the archeologist who discovered it. There’s a spacious prayer room inside.
Dome of the rock. Mount Moriah, threshing floor purchased by David, Solomon’s Temple, Second Temple, all here. A holy site for both Jews and Muslims.
Just inside the Eastern Gate, over there…
Muslim family feeding pigeons next to the Dome of the Rock
Some of the stones in the first step may be repurposed from Hezekiah’s temple platform, which was a square 500 cubits by 500 cubits.