We started the day with a bus trip to the summit of the Mount of Olives. It was a scenic overlook with the ancient Silwan Necropolis below us, the Kidron Valley below that, and the City of Jerusalem rising in the distance.
We followed the centuries-old path, walking on asphalt, but we found outcroppings of the ancient bedrock that would have been part of the original path in Jesus' time.
We stopped at Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) where we viewed first century-era ossuaries in a necropolis under the church. One such bone box is inscribed "Simon Bar-Yonah" (Simon, son of Jonah), but we would know him as Peter.
We took a side trip at the Church of Nations, through what I understood was a part of the original Garden of Gethsemane. The trees are old, but not from the time of Jesus.
We continued down to the Kidron Valley, and passed by huge grave monuments thousands of years old. This is where Dr. Tabor talked about Jesus comparing certain scribes and Pharisees to "whitewashed tombs" that appear beautiful on the outside, but are full of dead men's bones.
Then we began the long climb up the other side, toward the old city. If I remember correctly, today's route was following the path Jesus would have taken on a certain donkey. The stone steps went on and on as we ascended up to the city.
We reached the summit, and came to the archaeological dig where Dr. Tabor has been excavating an ancient house. He and the other experts believe this is the likely residence of whoever was high priest each year in the time of Jesus. It has a feature that is quite rare for the period: a bathtub (one of only three such sites), and not just any bathtub. It's the largest one found in the old city.
From the dig site we went on to the Zion Gate of the old city. It was lunch time.
In an open area with several small cafes around, there were quite a few soldiers in uniform. An old rabbi was "preaching" to them, and there was a lot of energy in the air. Then a singer with a guitar started a large group of the soldiers singing, and a flag appeared. I don't know the song or any meaning behind what was happening, but it was enjoyable, and attracted a crowd.
We then were led by Dr. Tabor on a walk through an underground excavation below the Jewish Quarter, where they have uncovered part of the Herodian city.
We got a glimpse of the Western Wall before moving on the the Upper Room. We learned that the building that housed the Upper Room has been destroyed and rebuilt in Crusader times, but one section of stones in a corner is original from the first century. We did walk through the building, and Dr, Tabor told us that even though the building is not really original, we could "jump up above the floor in the upper room and be in the same space."
We exited through a nearby gate, and walked to a recent excavation (done by Shimon Gibson) that has uncovered a "hidden wall" and "Pilate's Judgment Seat" where Pilate pronounced judgment on Jesus. A weed grows here, and no one in our group is aware of anywhere else, that dries into a circular thorn "crown" reminiscent of the history of this place. We were told that the thorns of this weed raised welts on one person who tried it on.
