When I stepped outside our apartment this morning, I smelled the distinctive aroma of roasting coffee. Sure enough, a small coffee shop. We ordered a cappuccino and a filtered coffee, and were on our way.
We walked toward Old City, of course, entering through Jaffa Gate. We wanted to explore the Old City on our way to the Temple Mount Sifting Project.
We walked through the market area. We exited through Damascus Gate. This is the abbreviated version, maybe I can share more about the gates later.
We visited Zedekiah’s Cave, also known as Solomon’s quarry. Maybe the stones of the first temple came from here.
Following the city wall, we went by Herod’s Gate.
The next stop was Lion’s Gate. We got some pomegranate and orange juice for lunch.
We visited Eastern Gate, also known as Golden Gate, and Mercy Gate. This one is closed to ensure the Messiah cannot enter Temple Mount through it, in an attempt to thwart the prophecy in Ezekiel 40.
It was around 1:00, and we had some walking to do to get to the sifting site on Mount Scopus. So we walked down into the Kidron Valley and up towards the mountain. Mount Olives was to our right. We picked some olives on the way, but had to drink some water to get the taste out our mouths. Hot and bitter might describe them.
At the sifting project, our tour guide gave us some background and instructions. The material came from some illegal excavation that was done back in 1988. Now they’re going through it and finding a bunch of good stuff, including a half shekel coin used to pay the temple tax.
From there we walked over to Mount Olives. The view of Temple Mount in the deepening dusk was awe inspiring.
We walked back to Lion’s Gate and into the city. We found some good hummus and shawarma. Then back out through Jaffa Gate and to our apartment.
All in all, it was a full day, with a lot of walking. We thoroughly enjoyed every step!
