Wednesday, August 11, 2010

This evening the Jensens are leaving. But before they left, we went to the town of Bethany which is the site of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Right around the site is a Catholic Church, a Mosque and a Greek Orthodox Church.  One of the problems getting there is that it is now separated from Jerusalem by the Wall. There are 2 Catholic sites in Bethany, one site is Lazarus' tomb and the other one is Martha's House.  But they are now separated by the wall. You have to go around the outskirts of Jerusalem and come back through the Palestinian Area to get to Lazarus' Tomb.  There is also a big checkpoint when you come back. The young Arab women and men have to get off the bus and have their papers checked.  The older ones and tourists from other countries can stay on the bus but you have to show and have your passports checked as the armed soldiers come through the bus.  They detained one person who had a mild handicap because he didn't get off the bus when he should have. We didn't have time to go to the Bethany on the Jerusalem side today.  Then we went to the top of Mount of Olives and walked to Bethpage where Jesus began his Palm Sunday Ride into Jerusalem and walked his path to the Kidron Valley.  We went to the Tomb of Mary and Gethsemane today because they were closed for repairs the day when we were there before. So thus ended a good day.