Jerusalem and Olive Oil

This is the view from the overlook at the Mount of Olives that we saw yesterday. It provides a great view of the Temple Mount. Down at the bottom is a large cemetery. If you can see it well, you will see stones on the tops of some of the tombs - these are placed on the tomb as an indication that someone has come to the tomb to honor the person.  Rocks are used for many things over here!

We could see the wall around the Temple Mount. This, of course, is a new one since Jesus stood here, but in some areas, we can see some stones placed by Herod. They are identified by an extra outline on the blocks.

The gold dome is the Muslim temple, located on the traditional site of the original Solomonic temple. The temple is magnificent, with detailed mosaic walls on the outside. Building it on or very near to the site of Solomon's temple is seen as many as a slap to the faces of Jews. There is a great desire to build a new Jewish temple, and that is seen as a fulfillment of prophecy by Jews and Christians alike.

The group went touring today, visiting Masada, Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found), and the Dead Sea. There was a lot of walking and climbing involved, so John and I chose to stay home. We've seen these sites before, but having to admit we shouldn't (or couldn't) do it doesn't rest easy on either of us.

Instead, we went out to lunch with two others who stayed behind and then visited the Trappist Monastery of Latroun, which is near Newe Shalom. It was closed today so we couldn't go in, which was a disappointment, but the grounds were beautiful, and the gift shop had their world-famous olive oil to buy, so we were happy.

It has been a much-needed day of rest, and we feel all ready to tackle digging, sifting, and registering tomorrow. It has been frustrating to wait to get started, but all involved want it to be safe and the best environment for bringing up what is on the bottom of the cistern.

I suspect it will be worth waiting for!