And there were all these dead people and religion...

Finally some adventure again! Poor Paul had to work...again, those Fulbright folks expect so much. Oh yeah, that's why we're here. We were on our way to Tel Aviv for the day when Paul called to let us know it was pouring there, at least Jerusalem had some blue sky poking through the clouds.
 We bailed on TA.

Off to the old city yet again, we head back to East Jerusalem (Muslim part of Jerusalem) to see if we could find access to  the "GOLDEN GATE"    (See photo with me Noa and Ellen)
For those of you who don't know what the Golden Gate is, here's a quick primer:  The Golden Gate has long interested many Muslims, most Jews and Christians as the place of the Last Judgment. Historically, judgments were rendered in the gates of the city (Gen. 19:1, 23:10, for instance). Since the Messiah was to come from the East (Matthew 24:27), it was concluded that his judgment would be at the eastern gate. This is one reason for the many Muslim, Christian, and Jewish graves on the Eastern slopes of the Temple Mount, in the Kidron Valley, and on the Western slopes of the Mount of Olives.  The Golden Gate was walled up by the Arabs in the year 810. It  has remained closed now for nearly 12 centuries. (Photo above is Arab cemetery adjacent to Golden Gate).

Because of the Messianic association with the Golden Gate - which clearly symbolizes both judgment and mercy because of the Arabic names attached to the gate - adherents to all three faiths have wanted to be buried as close as possible to the Golden Gate. The assumption was that the dead in the immediate vicinity would be the first to be raised. In the Middle Ages the Jews were forbidden to bury on Mount Moriah. Instead they buried their dead opposite the gate and to the South on the Mount of Olives. This Jewish cemetery is the oldest in continuous use anywhere in the world. A burial plot, it is said, if it were available there, could cost $50,000 or more. The Christian cemetery lies in the bottom of the Kidron Valley (in sad condition) while the Muslim burial area covers the eastern Temple Mount hillside up to and surrounding the Golden Gate. Thank you to Mr. L. Dolphin who's website I lifted this from:-) 
 

 When we were on the Temple Mount a few weeks ago we came close to the Golden Gates from inside the old city we were YELLED at and told to "GET OUT" by the Muslim security person.  Getting to the gate was a no brainer from outside the old city. We walked the Kidron Valley (Vale of Jehoshaphat which contained the Tomb of Absalom and the Tomb of Zechariah, which are believed to be part of a 1st Century necropolis that encircled Jerusalem and served wealthy citizens and/or nobles of the Herodian court.

 We then crossed the street to the east and were on the mount of Olives the Jewish cemetery side. The gravestones were lined up perfectly and all faced the Golden Gate (waiting for the Messiah). This is a photo of a funeral I was able to shoot with a good zoom (I am using a point and shoot camera).

We walked about 15 miles today as we couldn't stop, each step (all uphill of course) was more and more interesting. On the way down we walked through the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed; the olive trees (I think 8 of them are said to be over 2000 years old and is said that it was from one of these trees that Judas hung himself).  Continuing on we walked into a small church which just happened to hold Mary's tomb. (mother of Jesus).  It is so strange to wander into places and History happened there.

My least favorite part of the day was when we were walking up Jericho Road and I spied the photo of the bombed bus carcass:-( 

Well it is late here and I need to sleep so I can walk and discover more tomorrow.