{"id":555,"date":"2015-10-04T11:52:56","date_gmt":"2015-10-04T16:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/?p=555"},"modified":"2015-10-04T13:00:59","modified_gmt":"2015-10-04T18:00:59","slug":"last-day-in-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/?p=555","title":{"rendered":"Last Day in Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"

So we are definitely learning to be FLEXIBLE on this trip.<\/p>\n

It was yet another day of not getting on the Temple Mount, as most of the Old City is on ‘lock down’. \u00a0(you may have seen this in the news?) \u00a0There is a HUGE police presence at all the gates entering the city and many entrances, streets and all attractions were shut down. \u00a0We are about an 8-minute walk from the Christian Quarter of the city, relatively far from the violence\u00a0which seems to always happen in or near the Muslim Quarter. \u00a0While we were\u00a0on the Mount of Olives today we heard shots being fired somewhere by the walls (about a quarter mile from where we were). \u00a0In talking with some of the ‘locals’, this is common stuff and they just roll with it. \u00a0And as far as we can tell it is pretty easy to stay out of the fray if you just don’t go in certain spots.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry, we’re safe. \u00a0But please do pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

We did get to stroll around the Garden of Gethsemane today and it was really beautiful, though most of what we saw on the rest of the Mount of Olives left something to be desired.<\/p>\n

\"1004gardenhug\"<\/a>
I didn’t even have to coach them into this pose!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"1004gardenverse\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1004<\/a>
Really old olive trees, some even propped up by stone walls!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We then headed to the Jordan River where we baptised each other. \u00a0The river itself is really muddy, but the experience was great. \u00a0Chris told me to count to ten before letting him up. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"1004jordanriver\"<\/a>
Hard to believe that this 15 foot wide strip of water is the border between two countries!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"1004baptismfam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1004baptismE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1004baptismM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1004baptismKC\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were literally about 5 feet from the Jordan border as that country starts on the opposite river bank.<\/p>\n

\"1004jordan\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Very interesting approaching this site, as it was an active military location and there were caution sign to stay on the road or you might hit a land mine. \u00a0This was one of the ‘cautions’ Chris actually heeded on this trip!<\/p>\n

\"1004mines\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We stopped for lunch<\/p>\n

\"1004lunch\"<\/a>
Chicken with dates & citrus, yummy spices and a vegetable rice and a salad served on flatbread<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

and got to meet this handsome fella…<\/p>\n

\"1004camel\"<\/a>
The camel’s pretty cute too!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In heading back to the city, we realized we were going to miss the window of opportunity to walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnels, and planned to do that tomorrow… before learning that tomorrow is a ‘double shabbat’, one of 4 that happen all year – we have hit so many holidays… unintentionally. \u00a0If we had known, we probably could have planned better… live & learn.<\/p>\n

Chris & I headed to the Jaffa Gate to grab a few gifts & some pizza to bring back for dinner while the girls “chilled” at the apartment – it was peaceful inside the walls there.<\/p>\n

So, we have learned a lot. \u00a0We have enjoyed most of it, but all agree it is going to be good to get home.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow we are packing up and heading to a beach south of Tel Aviv where we’ll spend some time (and hopefully find a good shower) before boarding our plane at about 11PM. \u00a0We will fly through the night, land in Philadelphia & then on to Wilmington. \u00a0If we’re able, we’ll post again…. don’t know what kind of signal there’ll be at the airport or what kind of time we’ll have after getting through customs.<\/p>\n

Thanks again for journeying with us… it’s been great having you along with your comments and especially your prayers. \u00a0We look forward to hugging you soon –<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So we are definitely learning to be FLEXIBLE on this trip. It was yet another day of not getting on the Temple Mount, as most of the Old City is on ‘lock down’. \u00a0(you may have seen this in the news?) \u00a0There is a HUGE police presence at all the gates entering the city and … Continue reading Last Day in Jerusalem<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=555"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":577,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israel.naef.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}