FPEB: Change of Schedule

Today was a day of changes. We had planned to have a guide take us up to the Temple Mount. But a few days ago a Palestinian protester was shot and killed there and the site remains closed to non-Moslems. So our guide took us to a few other places, including a place I have always wanted to visit, but never have-Hebron.

Gen 13:18 "So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD."

Basically, this is the place this happened. There is a 1st century building built over the cave Abrahan and Sarah are buried in, and then this building - a church then a mosque - was added to it.

The cave has an opening that is covered with a dome and a covering.

And on the way back we saw this....look close...yes, it really is what you think it is.

After that, we went to Herod's fortress south of Jerusalem and east of Bethlehem. An amazing place.

Then we visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

I might add that Bethlehem has all the things a person might want.

We stopped at a place that might be (and to be honest, I'm not convinced) the house of the High Priest Caiphias and the place Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin. The view of the old City of David is great.

The proported jail cell of Jesus...actually a cistern.

By the way, we had an absolutely fantastic meal at the place in Bethlehem that didn’t even look like a restaurant. The grandmother raises chickens, gets whole wheat flour and bakes fresh bread, and they made all their “mezes” (dipping sauces like hummus) from scratch. The food was out of this world. They even brought out hot, fresh date pastry cookies for dessert. A meal I will long remember.