November 1, 2022 - Tuesday - Ashdod, Israel

This was the first of our 3 days in Ashdod Israel. Our 9-hour tour to Jerusalem left at 7:30. Thankfully the drive was only 1 hour today. The highlights were Mount Olive and the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus, the Church of Gethsemane, The old walled city of Jerusalem including the Wailing Wall. Our first stop, however, was a viewing area that gave us a beautiful panoramic view of Jerusalem from a neighboring mountaintop. Before us was a deep valley with Gethsemane on our side and the Old City on the other side. Directly below us on the mountainside was the largest Jewish cemetery in the world. Adjacent to it was the Garden of Olives and the Church of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations. Across the valley was a Muslim cemetery below the Old City of Jerusalem. Beyond the Old City was modern-day Jerusalem. This stop put in perspective the ruggedness of the terrain and the distances that Jesus and his desciples traveled. 

Panorama with the Jewish cemetery in the foreground

Mosque on the site of the temple where Jesus taught

Praetorium where Jesus was handed over to the Romans

View of the East Wall with Muslim cemetery in the foreground 

The Jewish cemetery 

The Garden of Gethsemane is not very large today. It is next to the Church, and it does include many olive trees. Among them is a tree believed to date back to the time of Jesus. It still produces olives today. The interior of the church is rather dark, but it was still possible to admire the beautiful artwork. It is smaller than I expected, but it does not seem crowded with the large number of tourists passing through.

Tree believed to date to the time of Christ 

Basilica of Gethsemane

Main altar

 Basilica with mosque nearby 

Jerusalem cross includes the wounds of Christ 

Next, we drove alongside the Eastern Wall of the Old City. We then parked outside the southern wall and walked to the entrance to the Western Wall. This led to a large square in front of the Wailing Wall. Men and women used separate lines to enter as is the custom. Inside we made our way to the square. Our guide gave us some time to use the WC and visit the Wailing Wall. Tradition has the men and women separated and approaching the wall at different spots. In the middle, there is a coed/combined area that was much less used.  The traffic in the square was nonstop. When our visit was over we drove into the new city where we had a very nice lunch at a hotel. After lunch Alice and I visited the gift shop in the hotel. It was very pricey. We only purchased the Holy Land Guidebook.

Eastern Wall 

Western/ Wailing Wall

Back on the coach we drove a short way to a souvenir stop. This was another overpriced shop. The selection of jewelry, wood carvings, antique coins, and ram’s horns was extensive. We escaped empty-handed.

Lunch

Souvenirs 

We arrived tired and hungry but grateful for a spiritually moving day.