Wednesday December 9: Arrival in Jerusalem and the Dan Panorama Hotel

We arrived in Jerusalem mid-afternoon and went to the Mount of Olives for a view of the city.

This photo of the Temple Mount and surrounding area was taken before we reached the Mount of Olives.  This view is from the northeast and you can see the eastern wall and the northern wall of the Temple Mount.

This is the Kidron Valley running between the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount.  From this location it was very easy to picture Jesus traveling from the Mount of Olives, crossing the Kidron Valley, and entering the city on Palm Sunday.  After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples left the upper room and crossed the valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is located behind where this photograph was made. 

The Jewish cemetery in the foreground has been in continuous use since the first century.

This view is toward the southwest and shows the depth of the Kidron Valley at this point.  The Temple Mount is on the right side of the photo and the ancient City of David is on the hill left center.

The golden domes of a Greek Orthodox Church located at the base of the Mount of Olives.

Man walking in the Jewish cemetery.  The writing on the crypts is similar to our tombstones as to biographical information.  Much of the writing is scripture.

More people in the cemetery.

Many of the crypts had openings where the family could place burning candles that would be protected from the wind and rain.

This is a section of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount.  The former Golden Gate has been blocked up by the Muslims and there is a Muslim cemetery immediately outside the wall.  Since the Messiah is to come (or return according to Christians) from the east, the Mount of Olives, and enter through the Golden Gate, the Muslims believe boarding up the gate and having the cemetery here will prevent the Messiah from fulfilling the prophecy.

All minarets at Muslim mosques have green neon lights so they can be seen at night.

Sunset over the City of Jerusalem.

After leaving the Mount of Olives we made our way to the Dan Panorama Hotel.

The Dan Panorama.  All buildings in Jerusalem must be made of limestone.  Present day building costs have increased significantly, so many new buildings are concrete with a limestone facade.

And here’s the mezuzah on our hotel room door frame.

Several of us walked to dinner tonight and after a couple of wrong turns we found a wonderful restaurant.

The Masaryk was managed by a man who told us if we didn’t like our dinner, we didn’t have to pay.  He had traveled in the U.S. and was a fan of Dolly Parton.

While we were wandering around looking for our restaurant, we thought we might have to eat at this fruit stand, which would have been OK.