Four Quarters

The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters, according to religious groups. Although, not equal in size, the four quarters form a rectangular framework.

The Christian Quarter

Located on the northwest side of the Old City, the Christian Quarter includes the major sites relating to Jesus Christ. Many churches, monasteries and shines line the famous Via Dolorosa where Jesus carried His cross to Golgotha. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built over where it’s believed Jesus died and was buried.

Besides the holy sites, hundreds of stores line the narrow streets where you can buy everything from souvenirs to pharmaceutical items. Things were a little pricey but you could bargain some.

The Armenian Quarter

The Armenian Quarter is the center of national, religious, and culture life of Jerusalem's Armenian Orthodox residents. The Armenians make lovely pottery.

The Muslim Quarter

The Muslim Quarter is the home to about 22,000 people. Although it's the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) begins here where pilgrims pray and walk in the footsteps of Jesus as he carried His cross to Golgotha (which is in the Christian Quarter.)

The Dome of the Rock and Temple Mount are also located here. On the east border is the Golden Gate (also known as the Eastern Gate) where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter is on the southeast side of the city. We visited the Wailing Wall (Western Wall) there where faithful Jews come to pray. Men and women go to separate sides where they insert prayer requests in the wall's cracks.

Four more gates

The Lion's Gate (also known as the Sheep Gate):

is located in the east wall. It marks the beginning of the last walk of Jesus from prison to execution, the Via Dolorosa. Near the gate's crest are four figures of lions, two on the left and two on the right. Legend has it that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent placed the figures there because he believed that if he did not construct a wall around Jerusalem he would be killed by lions.

Israeli paratroops came through this gate during the Six-Day War of 1967 and unfurled the Israeli flag above the Temple Mount.

Herod's gate was built between 1538-40 by Suleiman. Also called the Flower Gate, it is called Herod's gate because early pilgrims thought that it was the gate to the former palace of Herod Antipas. They were wrong but the name stuck. At noon on July 15, 1099, the Crusaders breached the wall at this gate to take the city of Jerusalem and proclaim the Latin kingdom.

Jaffa Gate (also known as David's Gate) is so named because it is the portal for Jaffa Road, the precursor to the modern highway to the ancient port of Jaffa and the Mediterranean coastal plain. Inside the gate is a small square between the Christian and Armenian quarters. Running along the high city walls, south of the Jaffa Gate is the Citadel of Jerusalem (also called the Tower of David). The current tower was built by Suleiman the Magnificent (this guy really was a busy guy!) Legend has it that every conquerer of Jerusalem will enter through the Jaffa GAte. So when German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem in 1898, the Suleiman authorities breached the city wall right next to the gate so that he could enter and think he was going through the Jaffa Gate. In 1917, a British general, Edmund Allenby, entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, giving a speech at the Tower of David. He entered on foot in a show of respect for the city and a desire to avoid comparison with the Kaiser's entry in 1898. The British demolished other buildings adjoining the city wall in 1944 in an attempt to preserve Jerusalem's historic vistas.

During Israel's War of Independence, Israeli forces fought hard to connect the Jewish Quarter of the Old City with Israeli-held western Jerusalem by controlling the Jaffa Gate. With a Jordanian victory in 1948, Israeli forces were not able to gain control of the gate until the Six Day War in 1967.

This is the Dung Gate. It is on the south eastern side of the Old City. The gate leads straight to the Western Wall. The Gate is named for the debris from each consecutive destruction of Jerusalem that was dumped out into the valley below. The walls of Jerusalem's Old City stretch for approximately 2.8 miles and rise to a height of 16-49 feet, with a thickness of 10 feet. Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 11 gates, seven of which are presently open.

The Garden of Gethsemane

Gethsemane was the garden where, according to the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples retreated to pray after the Last Supper, the night before he was crucified. According to Luke 22:43-44, Jesus' anguish in Gethsemane was so deep that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Gethsemane was also where Christ was betrayed by the disciple Judas Iscariot. (And in case you didn't know - Orthodox tradition holds that Gethsemane is the place where the apostles buried the Virgin Mary.

The garden of Gethsemane is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, now within the city of Jerusalem in the Kidron valley. Located by the garden is the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony. It is believed that this church was built directly over the spot where Jesus' knelt to pray and sweat drops of blood.

It's a peaceful garden among a grove of ancient olive trees. looking back at the eastern wall of the Old City. Behind an iron fence, eight old olive trees attract one's attention as he enters the garden. There has been much discussion about their age. There can be no doubt that these olive trees, with their hollow, gnarled trunks date back considerably. Whether or not they were the "silent witnesses" of our Lord in prayer - only He knows!

One significant thing I learned about the olive tree - even if you cut the trunk down, if you leave the roots, it will grow again! Roots are important!

The Mount of Olives and the Golden Gate

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem. It is named for the olive groves on its slopes. At the foot of the mountain lies the Garden of Gethsemane. In the book of Zechariah, the Mount of Olives is cited as the place where the dead will be resurrected in the days of the Messiah. For this reason, Jews have always wanted to be buried there, and from biblical times until today, the mountain has been used as a Jewish cemetery. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including the tomb of Zechariah. Many important rabbis are buried there as well as Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.

There were many interesting things about this particular site. Scattered throughout the MANY gravestones were the most beautiful red poppies! On top of the graves were rocks. These are placed there instead of flowers because they are cheaper and more abundant.

One can clearly see the Golden Gate of the Old City from the Mount of Olives. The Golden Gate (also called the Gate of Mercy) is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah glory of God used to appear through this gate, and will appear again when the Messiah comes. The gate is located in the middle of the eastern side of the Temple Mount. The portal in this position was believed to have been used for ritual purposes in biblical times.

In Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed off the Golden gate in 1541 to prevent the Messiah's entrance (like that would stop Him!). The Muslims also built a cemetery in front of the gate, in the belief that Jesus would not walk through a Muslim cemetery! Ha! The Golden Gate is one of the few sealed gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls, along with the Huldah Gate.

One can see the Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives, but more on that later!

The Damascus Gate

Because we couldn't eat at the hotel, we all gathered together and began walking towards the Old City...just a few blocks from our hotel. The wall that encloses the present-day Old City of Jerusalem was built in the sixteenth century by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent. Originally it had seven gates; an eighth, named the New Gate, was added in the late nineteenth century in the walls' northwest sector. We entered the Old City through the Damascus Gate. Called the Shechem Gate by the Jews, it is the largest and most splendid gate. Located on the wall's northern side is adjacent to ruins attesting that this has been teh site of the city's main entrance since ancient times. The gate's defenses include slits for firing at attackers, thick doors, and an opening from which boiling oil could be spilled on assailants below.

We meandered our way through the narrow streets until we found a restaurant. Yummy! Schwarmas, hummus, as well as several other things that I couldn't identify but sure tasted good.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a place of new ministry called the Jerusalem House. It will eventually be a place where people can come and pray. Several volunteer groups have been coming and helping the folks there renovate the building and landscape the grounds. It is a beautiful piece of property once owned by Horatio Spafford (penned the words of the hymn - It is Well With My Soul). While taking a tour of the building I met a volunteer group there from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Would you believe that the pastor of their church was Rev. Wayne Marshall - a friend of mine from college? Small world!

The cleansing ritual

Coming to Jerusalem during Holy Week (Passover) was quite an experience in itself. We stayed at the Grand Court Hotel and arrived with all of our luggage and met our team there. However, our hotel rooms were not quite ready.

I don't know if you realize it or not but the most significant observance related to Passover involves the removal of chametz (leaven) from the homes (and the hotels!) This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing pride from the soul.

Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with water. Traditional Jews also avoid rice,corn, peanuts, and beans as if they were chametz. All of these items have been used to make bread, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion. All chametz including utensils used to cook chametz must either be disposed of or sold to a non-Jew.

The process of cleaning the home (or hotel) of all chametz in preparation for Passover is an enormous task. To do it right, you must spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick and a Q-tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with foil or plastic wrap. After the cleaning is completed, the morning beore the seder, a formal search of the house (or hotel) for chametz is undertaken and any remaining chametz is burned.

Our hotel was in that process. Everything in the kitchen and in the dining room was wrapped in plastic wrap. No food was being served that day because of the preparation. Undoubtedly, this hotel does a lot of Jewish business and had to be made "kosher" for the Passover meal.

WOW! Talk about living UNDER THE LAW!

Stay tuned...

Sunday, April 12

My first trip to Israel! What a new adventure and one that will be written on my heart for eternity! Over the course of the next few days I will be sharing with you about our eight days in the Holy Land and all that we experienced. I hope to share pictures with you of our trip as well, so hold on tight. It will be quite a ride!

Our "ride" to Israel started with a two hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand. In all of our "flight history" we have never experienced such service as on Thai Airlines. The staff was so cordial and the seats were fantastic. It's a good thing because the next leg of the flight would prove to be more difficult! We flew from Bangkok to Tel Aviv on an eleven hour flight - probably one of the most uncomfortable seats have ever been in (I was by the window and Rick was in the middle by the "stranger"). The interesting thing was that although we had our own little television sets in front of us - at 1am all of them were turned off and everyone was just "expected" to go to sleep! I DON'T sleep on planes so you can only imagine the next few hours for me. They finally turned the sets back on about two hours before we landed - while we were having breakfast.

But we finally arrived and found the airport in Tel Aviv to be very nice. In spite of prior trips that Rick has made with long waiting lines at security, we made it out to our taxi in about an hour. He was surprised. We also met up with another family from our team so we all piled in a bus (taxi) together and headed UP to Jerusalem for the week of Passover! (Will try to get my photos uploaded today.)

John 2:13 says, " When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem." (NIV)

I've been threaded!

Yesterday, my friend and I set out for a new adventure. She had a received a "1 + 1" coupon (buy one get on free) at Browhaus for some eyebrow architecture. Okay, so she knows I'm up for anything and Chelsea has been telling me I really need to have my eyebrows plucked. So why not? Let me preface this story by saying I have NEVER had my eyebrows plucked. Once, when I was in college a lady plucked ONE hair out of my eyebrows and I nearly fainted. So I knew this was going to take some courage on my part to actually go through with it!

We arrived at Browhaus and "signed it". The only problem was that the girl who did the eyebrow plucking was at lunch and the only appointments "open" were with the girl who did "threading". (Huh? - that was my reaction.) We agree (half-heartedly, I might add.)

Threading is a traditional Indian form of hair removal. It involves pulling out a row of hairs from the follicle by twisting the hairs into a cotton thread. The therapist holds one end of the thread in her mouth and the other end in one of her hands. She uses her free hand to grab the middle of the thread to form a loop that traps the unwanted row of hairs. Then the specialist pulls the hairs from the skin, leaving a smooth finish.

Threading vs Waxing or Tweezers
• Threading just pulls the facial hair, unlike waxing, which pulls the skin. Over time, waxing loosen the skin and develops premature wrinkles.

• Threading does not have the unpleasant side effects of rashes and irritation caused by the "stripping off" of the top layer of dead skin in waxing.

• Threading lifts the complete hair from the follicle while maintaining a larger coverage area, unlike tweezing, which is more time consuming.

• Threading gives perfect lines, creating the right form under the eyebrow instead of the arch that wax or tweezers do.

• Threading remove the hair from the roots while tweezers cut the hair, resulting in thicker and faster growing hair. Ingrown hairs (black points) may occasionally develop.

• Threading does not only remove facial hair, it exfoliates too

Does it hurt?
It may sound painful, however threading is a lot less painful than waxing (or so they tell me), which often burns or peels the top layer of the skin.

The sensation felt during threading is akin to the hair being plucked using tweezers, but unlike tweezing, threading removes many hairs at once. Since the hair is pulled out from the root, the hair that does grow back is usually finer and sparser. Frequent threading makes the hair regeneration time longer as they become thinner.

Eyebrow threading is a practice of shaping the eyebrows using a thread.
Benefits of Eyebrow Threading

• Eyebrow threading is the best method to shape your eyebrows in comparison with other methods as it gives perfect lines, creating the right form under the eyebrow instead of the arch that wax or tweezers do.

• Eyebrow threading is less expensive compared to other methods.

• Eyebrow threading is less painful than using tweezers.

Okay, so if you still can't picture it, I found a video of it on you tube. Go there and watch and be amazed. Just run your cursor over this link and copy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIeHYNt-rl4

Lost in Malaysia

Well, most of you know that I am directionally challenged, to be sure. That was proven AGAIN this week when a friend of mine and I headed out to the China Outlet Store here in Singapore. She had printed out directions from a kind of "mapquest" site and we got there fine even though it was raining VERY hard.

The place was fascinating. It is an outlet store for China (I'm talking about dish patterns) that have slight imperfections. Of course, I couldn't see the imperfections but the patterns were absolutely beautiful. There must have been hundreds. Since Rick and I are still waiting on our shipment from West Africa, and since we have been eating on paper plates since September, and SINCE a whole 16 piece setting of china was less than $25 - I just had to buy some. So I did.

Now, comes the hard part. Getting to some place in Singapore is easy enough with directions. But getting back home is an entirely different story. Have you ever tried to read directions backwards. I guess we should have known something would go wrong when my friend handed me the map and told me to give her the "bearings!" Ha! Needless to say, we drove and drove and drove and finally looked up and WOW - we were in Malalysia! (I know I've been lost before but I have managed to at least stay in the same country!)

We finally got turned around and headed back into Singapore! (You must have been praying!) We were no worse for the wear but certainly had a tale to tell Rick when we got home. (I'm not sure he believed me at first but then remembered my sense of direction and laughed that my friend would put me in charge of the map!