01.28.06—Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and Via Delorosa




We're off this morning to the Temple Mount. Heidi and Katie have a friend of a friend of a friend who visited the Temple Mount several years ago. When she bent over to remove her shoes, an Arab man caught sight of a glimpse of skin, and men had to hold him back so he couldn't attack her. That story provided enough motivation for us, so we have layer on layer of clothes, which serve two purposes: one is for warmth (it has been pretty chilly here), and the other is to keep such zealous muslims away.

This is probably the day I'm the most nervous about, as far as safety, and the most grateful that Ben is here. We're going to the Mount of Olives after our visit on the Temple Mount We spoke to the concierge about it last night, and asked for any recommendations he may have. He shared that it is "perfectly safe to walk around there, but take a copy of your passport and not the real thing. Oh, and only take the amount of money you can handle to get stolen." Right. You can't bring three friends to the other side of the globe, and not go see the Mount of Olives. So we're going, praying for safety and stellar pictures along the way.




Well, after all that, we had no problems at all on the Mount of Olives. Perhaps because it is not tourist season, or perhaps because we walked confidently, but everyone was helpful as we made our way down the mountain, from the Church of the Ascension, to Pater Noster Church, and on down the Jericho Road.