Tour 3 - Jerusalem
Monastery of the Cross - Israel Museum - Shrine of the Book - Model of Jerusalem - Living Museum - Ein Kerem - Tombs of the Sanhedrin - Tomb of Queen Helena - Tomb of Lazarus - Tomb of Herod - Mea Shearim
From now on it is not really feasible to give explicit directions — too much of the book would be taken up with instructions to turn right or left — so use the map of New Jerusalem which you picked up from the tourist office at the Jaffa Gate. Nothing in Israeli New Jerusalem opens until civilised hours, between 9.00 and 9.30 or possibly even later (consult the tourist office) so you can have an extra hour's sleep.
Your first visit should be to the Monastery of the Cross, which is on the very spot where the tree grew which was cut down to make the cross. (It opens at 9.00.) The first church on the site was probably built by Justinian, destroyed by the Persians, rebuilt and given to the Georgians, destroyed by Caliph el-Hakim, rebuilt again and finally taken over by the Greek Orthodox church as a theological seminary.
Nothing in the monastery is very old; the wall paintings are 18th century, while the oldest icons date back to the 1600s. Notice the thickness of the walls and the low entrance. In former times this monastery was well outside the city and was subject to attack by wild beduin bandits, hence the formidable defences.
Unfortunately the stump of the tree is no longer open to visitors, since a group of Orthodox Jews got in and spread human excrement — their own — around the place. Be sure to leave a donation for the single monk who looks after the church; when I was there he was an American Greek Orthodox monk.
Next stop is the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book. The Dead Sea Scrolls purchased by Israel are kept here in the Shrine, which is shaped like the lid of a scroll jar. The jewel of the collection is the great Isaiah scroll, all 24 feet of it, which is too precious to put on display. A reproduction of it is wrapped around the central plinth, on which stands a larger than life reproduction of one of the scroll jars. The display area has been constructed so that if danger should threaten the whole room sinks down into a bomb-proof cellar.
Look out also for the Bar Kokhba letters, including the title deeds to land which one of his followers took with her when she fled from Engedi. These, before they were opened, had the peculiar form of scrolls half rolled up, written within and on the back-side sealed with a number of seals, one for each witness.
Unfortunately all the scrolls are kept in very low lighting in case light makes them fade. Photography is not permitted and the museum shop does not sell slides, postcards or other pictures of the scrolls. Fortunately some are available on the Internet.
For some strange reason photography is not permitted in the Israel Museum either and you would be quite justified in boycotting the wretched place. The scrolls could be damaged by repeated exposure to flashguns, but how the museum people think such bursts of light will damage the old pots and lumps of stone they keep there in full daylight is beyond me. If they are worried about copyright they could charge a reasonable fee for photography, as other museums around the world do. If you do go in, be sure to protest about the no photography rule.
Look for the little pomegranate from the First Temple period (now thought to be a fake) and the anthropomorphic clay coffins from Gizeh, which are the only things that stick in my memory. Other objects on display include the cover from the tomb of King Uzziah, the lists of priestly courses found at Caesarea (the only non-Biblical mention of Nazareth), an ossuary inscribed with the name of Caiaphas and a tomb inscription from Lachish that says "Yahweh, the God of the whole earth, the God of Jerusalem," a moving testimony from someone who had seen Lachish destroyed by the Assyrians. There is a horned altar from Megiddo, a model of the impressive gateway at Dan, the "seat of Moses" from a synagoge, and a cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar, which is written in the first person (like Daniel 4). Of course the place is full of broken pots and roughly carved stones but if they didn't mean much to me, my guess is that they won't mean much to you either.
Make sure you don't miss the model of Jerusalem which used to be in the grounds of the Holy Lands Hotel. The famous 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem as it was in the time of Christ is in the grounds of the museum just up from the Shrine of the Book. A telephoto lens allows you to pretend you are taking aerial shots of the city and cut out all the distracting tourists and full-size scenery. Look out for the temple, Herod's palace and gymnasium, the crucifixion (near the Jaffa Gate), the Antonia fortress, Bethesda, Siloam, the tomb of Huldah the prophetess, the palace of the high priests and just general views.
On the other side of the road from the Israel Museum is another private museum, called The Bible Lands Museum. It contains a collection of disparate objects collected over the years by a chap called Elie Borowski. It all started in 1943 when Elie bought a cylinder seal on which was inscribed the name of "Shallum", one of the Hebrew kings. This sparked his interest in ancient objects and he has ended up with 1,400 seals and 3,000 other objects! Batya, Elie's wife, is no doubt glad to have all that out from under her feet at last.
Look out for the seal impression of Menahem, a calcite bowl belonging to Naram-Sin, king of Akkad, Ninurta fighting a seven-headed dragon, a stele belonging to a Rabshakeh — the word means "Chief cupbearer" — and the earliest known woman's seal.
Some distance down the valley below the museum and on the opposite side is a spot of greenery. The valley is the Valley of Rephaim and the greenery is the restored settlement of Ein Yael. Various Diggings teams were involved in excavating this site and the editor is very friendly with Gershom Edelstein, who was in charge of the dig.
Gershom's dream has been to reconstruct ancient life and after many difficulties he has found the money to turn Ein Yael into a "Living Museum". If you have the time and wish to see how people lived in first century Palestine, pop across. You will often find volunteers living and working in the restored part of the settlement, using reconstructed tools, wearing reconstructed clothes and carrying on primitive crafts. Look out particularly for the carpenter's shop.
Head NE to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum and Memorial, which is rather larger and better displayed than the one on Mount Zion. The fountain is supposed to drip tears in memory of the slaughtered Jews. At one end of the museum there is a railway wagon (Jews, for the transporting of) on rails that jut out over a cliff - presumably highly artistic and significant. Immediately below is the little village of Ein Kerem.
Ein Kerem, the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist, is only a short distance down the road running beside the forest. The inevitable church is in the middle of the village.
The slope above Ein Kerem is crowned by half the Hadassah hospital. If you follow the road past the hospital downhill for about two miles, you will come to a small monastery called "St John in the Wilderness". This is the traditional site of John‘s upbringing and in my opinion entirely fictitious. I think it much more likely that John was brought up by the Essenes at Qumran.
Return to the Old City and head north to the suburb of Sanhedriyya, to the tombs of the Sanhedrin, situated in a pleasant wooded park. Unfortunately, thanks to the disgusting habits of the locals, nowadays they would be better named the Toilets of the Sanhedrin, so although they are interesting to explore, as far as possible avoid going inside and watch where you are putting your feet if you do. Being turned into a dunghill was an ancient curse supposed to indicate divine displeasure. Christians will hardly be surprised at this fate befalling the body which condemned Christ to death, but it is curious that the Jews have not taken greater care of these special tombs.
Return back towards the Old City and, in the Arab section outside the city just north of Herod‘s Gate, visit the Tombs of the Kings, in reality the tomb of Queen Helena of Adiabene, a Jewish proselyte of the first century AD. Notice the rolling stone that closed the entrance. It is cemented firmly in place now but when I was here in 1958 the stone rolled freely and I managed to lock my parents in the tomb for a short while. They were not at all amused. You will need a good torch if you want to explore the interior of the tomb.
Tombs of this period consisted of one or more rooms, in the side walls of which were kokhim, small slots just big enough to take a body. (How they managed to excavate these kokhim I can‘t imagine. I sure wouldn't like to have been the guy down the end with a hammer and chisel. Talk about feeling intimations of mortality!) Compare this feature with the lay-out in the Garden Tomb (and the Holy Sepulchre) and draw your own conclusions. The tomb of the queen herself is entered by a secret stairway, hidden beneath the floor of one of the kokhim.
Go past the Church of All Nations and continue along the old Jericho road around the end of the Mount of Offence for about three miles. On your left, as you go round a sweeping right-hand bend, you will see a large church set back a bit from the road with a lane running up on its right. This is Bethany. Leave your car on the main road and walk up the lane, keeping the church on your left. The next building beyond the church is the so-called tomb of Lazarus. The church is built over Lazarus' house and both are frauds. The "tomb" is more likely to have been a Crusader wine cellar or something. (See the above remarks about kokhim.)
The previous paragraph describes a site which it is no longer possible to visit since the Israelis built the wall which is supposed to provide security against suicide bombers - a claim which would be more credible if the wall didn't just happen to cut every spring and source of water off from the Arab villages which depend on them.
Finally visit the tomb of Herod, or more accurately, of his Hasmonean family, which is in the park just behind the King David hotel. Turn down Paul Emile Botta Street and go through the gates at the end, then turn right. Until recently this tomb too could be explored, though the rolling stone has always been too heavy to move. Inside it consists of four rooms surrounding a central room, with numerous kokhim. For some reason the doorway was filled with gravel, completely blocking all access. I am glad to say that this has now been removed but instead the doorway is fitted with a stout metal door and an even stouter padlock.
Down in the Hinnom Valley there is a narrow road off the main road that will take you down into the village of Silwan. On your right as you go down the road are the remains of various Crusader structures, including what was claimed to be Aceldama, the "Field of Blood" purchased with Judas' thirty pieces of silver. It is suggested that this was a charnel house into which the bodies of poor pilgrims were tipped and left to rot.
Further down the valley, just opposite the road from Silwan which comes in from the left, is a much ruined tomb, now used as a stable by a local Arab, where in 1991 a number of ossuaries were discovered, one of which may have contained the bones of the Biblical Caiaphas. This has aroused tremendous interest, so much so that there are plans to renovate the tomb and replace the ossuaries. Unfortunately the tomb chamber is in very poor condition, with real danger that more of the roof may fall in, so at the moment the authorities are talking about digging a replica tomb next door. This plan, however, appears to be on hold, both because interest in the Caiaphas ossuary has waned and because of the security situation so close to Silwan.
Other places to visit are the Biblical Zoo, which supposedly has all the animals mentioned in the Bible, and Mea Shearim, which is the Orthodox suburb just to the north of the Old City. Be warned that the inhabitants are likely to stone you if you try to photograph them. You will see people just as quaint wandering around the Old City where you can use your camera freely (subject to the usual constraints of courtesy).
If you are in Jerusalem over Sabbath you may think it worth driving down to photograph the police barriers shutting off Mea Shearim. This is to prevent more stone throwing. The ignition system in a car lights fires on the Sabbath, so those who drive in one are guilty of breaking the Sabbath several thousand times per minute.
Another activity, perhaps more in keeping with the character of the day, is to visit a synagogue. There are, of course, many synagogues in Jerusalem, but the one we always go to is the Heikal Shlomo (or Temple of Solomon) not far from the YMCA. As this is the chief synagogue in the city, the congregation are used to visitors. You will be checked by a security guard at the front door, where you must leave all bags and cameras and men will be issued with a skullcap. I'm not sure whether women are provided with shawls, so be warned that bare arms are not acceptable.
Go up the stairs at the back of the entrance hall; men enter the first-floor, women must climb higher to the second floor. Take a seat and then just copy what those around you do. The cantor has a beautiful voice and his singing should really be one of the recognised sights of Jerusalem. Things to look out for are the reading by a young boy (one who has just celebrated his bar mitzveh and whose parents dont' mind paying for the privilege; and the blessing of the priests, when anyone with the name of "Cohen" (Hebrew for "priest") goes up the front, pulls his prayer shawl over his head and sways and swings while intoning a blessing. As they all appear to recite their own version - or the same version but at different speeds - the result is, well, interesting.
I have no idea how long the service continues for, but as others are coming and going throughout the service, no one minds if you pick a suitable moment to slip out when you have had enough.
