This is the second of two posts for our second day in the Old City of Jerusalem. We pick up from the last post, and after lunch we head to the Wailing Wall.
The term ‘Wailing Wall’ isn’t used by Jews, but rather by Christians, and refers to the mourning of the Jews over the loss of the Temple. There is an area along the wall for men to pray, and another area for women. Traditionally, a pilgrim will write his prayers on a piece of paper, and after praying, put the paper in the cracks between the stones of the wall. Twice a year, ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Passover, the Jewish leaders remove the papers and bury them on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, because they have a holy status of letters to God (see here for details).
I included two videos of Bar Mitzvahs in this post. One is from the Wailing Wall, and the other is from the Davidson Center.
After we left the Wailing Wall we had free time. The tour bus took our group back to the hotel. Mary Ann and I decided to stay in the Old City and walk back to the hotel later. Kevin recommended that we go to Ecce Homo, so that was our first stop. It is thought to be the site where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate. Ecce Homo means “Behold the man”, which is what Pontius Pilate said when Jesus was presented in a purple robe, after being tortured with scourging and the crown of thorns. The people responded with “Crucify him!” (see John 19:5). The Ecce Homo Pilgrim House is owned by the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion. The convent is built above ruins that were discovered during the building of a school at the site in 1857. There is a water source within the ruins called the Struthion Pool (Struthion is Greek for ‘sparrow’, which indicates the size of the pool). Also, a paved stone courtyard was discovered, including markings on the floor that were made by the Roman legionnaires for playing games such as the “Basilieus” or the King’s Game. It is believed that this courtyard is where Jesus started carrying His cross. You can find information about Ecce Homo here or here or here.
Since Ecce Homo was near the Church of St. Anne, we decided to make another visit there. On the way, we passed the Church of the Flagellation, which we visited again.
We tried to visit the Church of St. Anne, but it was closed due to the late hour. We discovered that the Church of St. Anne consists of a large compound which is surrounded by a wall. The compound encompasses the Bethesda Pool excavations, the church itself, and some smaller churches. We walked through the neighborhood all the way around it, and couldn’t find a way in. We found doors to the Greek Catholic Seminary, and the Greek Catholic ‘Birth Place of the Virgin Mary’, which are in the compound, but they were locked. We also passed a private residence where they were raising peacocks, and got a picture.
We walked back to the Dan Boutique Hotel. What a busy day! The next post will be for Day 9, our final day of the trip.
Before the photo gallery, here are two very short videos. The first is from a Bar Mitzvah celebration in the Davidson Center:
The second is from a Bar Mitzvah celebration at the Wailing Wall. They are carrying the scroll that the young man will read from:
Here are the pictures (the captions give locations and details):
