Israel: The Final Day

On our last day in Israel, we explored the Old City of Jerusalem and walked down the famous Via Dolorosa (the path that Jesus walked as He was led out of the city to be crucified).

Streets of the Old City

Beginning of the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering

One of the spots where Jesus fell on the way to the cross

Church of the Holy Sepulchre — according to Catholic tradition, this is the spot where Jesus was crucified. And of course, they’ve built a huge shrine to worship the spot. For pictures inside the church, check out my Israel photo albums.

Our next stop was the Mount of Olives where Jesus would go with His disciples to pray. This is the view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. The short trees in the foreground are all olive trees.

A bit farther down on the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane — also full of olive trees. This one is over 400 years old.

Across the valley from the Mount of Olives is the field that Judas bought after betraying Judas. On the hill where we were standing was also the location of Caiphus’ palace and the cells where Jesus was held when He was imprisoned. After visiting these locations, we ended our tour with lunch at a local restaurant. Since Gary and I were sick of the awful food they feed to the tour groups, we ditched the group and headed back to the Old City for a decent meal.

A restaurant in the armenian quarter of the Old City…cheeseburgers and french fries…yum!

After lunch, we went shopping in the old city and met up with others from our group to do more exploring and shopping.

It was our last night in Jerusalem, so we headed to Ben Yeduda Street for our final meal. We had dinner at a little Italian food restaurant, and then walked back to our hotel to pack. Our bus was departing at 1:00 am for the airport. We would spend the better part of Sunday on the plane traveling back to Dallas. Even though the ride was long, it was completely worth it. If you ever have the chance to experience Israel, take it. You won’t regret it!