John Bridge's Travelogue: Day 1

Jerusalem. The Holy Land. Epicenter of the three Abrahamic religions, a/k/a the Religions of the Book: Judiaism (since 7th century BCE), Christianity (since 1st century CE), and Islam (since 7th century CE). Here, Solomon built the First Temple, in which God resided. Here, Christ was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven. Here, Muhammad left on his night journey to heaven to talk with God. More than half of the people in the world adhere to one of these three religions. Yet this area where they began is tiny. I am with a wonderful group of people who are mostly parishioners of Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, and the rest of whom are friends and family. It will be a fascinating several days!

Most of our crew 

St. George’s Cathedral (Anglican), Jerusalem. Built by the British from 1891 to 1898 and named for the patron saint of England, who actually was a Palestinian Christian conscript in the Roman army who was martyred in 303 CE. The congregation today consists of indigenous Palestinian Anglicans and expatriate British Anglicans. Our home base for most of the trip. 

In the courtyard of St. George's.

Tower of the Rockefeller Museum, built in 1927. One of the most important museums in the Middle East.

Herod’s Gate in the Old City Walls. These city walls are not the original Jewish walls, which were destroyed when the Romans razed Jerusalem in 70 CE. These walls were built in the 16th Century CE by the Ottoman Turkish sultan, Suleyman the Magnificent.

The Old City Walls. On the inside of these walls is the Muslim Quarter. Inside the walls elsewhere are also the Jewish Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter.

Old City Walls

The Damascus Gate in the Old City Walls. 

A Palestinian neighborhood near the Old City. 

A Palestinian market street. We ate lunch at a Palestinian restaurant, Alshoula Restaurant, and it was delicious!