Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - Zedekiah's Cave

Today I had decided to spend some time at the Tomb of Jesus, just to read and pray, because it's so peaceful there, but I got sidetracked by Zedekiah's Cave, which is also known as Solomon's Quarries – come to find out that this place is a five-acre underground limestone quarry that runs the length of five city blocks under the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. It was carved over a period of several thousand years and is a remnant of the biggest quarry in Jerusalem, having once stretched all the way from Jeremiah's Grotto and the Garden Tomb, which is where I was originally headed.

As I walked in, it was completely silent and no one was inside the entire time, and there was a nasty smell of incense that the door guy was burning. I smelled it through the entire cavern. The cave slopes down into a vast 300-foot-long auditorium-like chamber. Drops of water, known as “Zedekiah's tears”, trickle through the ceiling.








Here's a little history about the cave. . . .

Only the mouth of Zedekiah's Cave is a natural phenomenon. The interior of the cavern was carved by slaves and laborers over a period of several thousand years; precisely when quarrying began is impossible to determine.
Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC) certainly used the main quarry at Zedekiah's Cave for building blocks in the renovation of the Temple and its retaining walls, including what is known today as the Western (Wailing) Wall. Stone from the quarry may also have been utilized for the building projects of Herod Agrippa I (10 BC - 44 AD). The subterranean quarry would have been usable in all seasons and any weather.
When the Roman Jewish writer Flavius Josephus (37 - 100 AD) mentions the "Royal Caverns" of the Old City, it is thought that he is probably referring to Zedekiah's Cave.
The Freemasons of Israel hold an annual ceremony in Zedekiah's Cave, and consider it one of the most revered sites in their history. (Masonic ritual claims that King Solomon was their first Grand Master — and some Freemasons feel that the cave is definitely Solomon's quarry.) The head of the Israeli Freemasons has said, "Since the 1860s we have been holding ceremonies in the cave".


The site was lost to history for over 300 years until, in 1854, the American missionary James Turner Barclay was walking his dog one day. According to the story, the dog, following a fox’s scent, dug through dirt near the Old City wall and suddenly disappeared through an opening. After nightfall, Barclay and his two sons, dressed in Arab garb and carrying candles, slithered through the newly opened crack to discover the vast cavern as well as the skeletons of previous visitors.



As I walked through the cave, there wasn't a soul to be seen, and I kind of liked the privacy. Also it was nice and cool which was a good break. I just kept looking around and wondered how in the world did they cut out this cave and to think that right above it was the Old City.

Random Shots

So I left the cave and headed past Damascus gate, this is primarily the Arab section of the Old City and there always seems to be more security in this area.
















I wasn't quite sure what this guy was doing, then I realized he is a portable 'hookah" guy, or 'shisha' as they say in Arabic. I thought this guy would make a fortune if he hung around college campuses.
















Then I realized that I was very close to the Garden Tomb, which was my original destination, but this was from a different vantage point. I didn't enter into the Garden, this was a view of the Skull or Golgatha, where Jesus was crucified, according to Evangelical Christians. There's a mosque built right next to it, and on top of the hill you can see a TV antenna and what looks like a burial place, of what I'm not sure.







And here is a better view of the Skull.











Afterwards I walked around to David's Court, next to Jaffa Gate, because I wanted to walk on top of the Old City Ramparts, or wall, and look out onto the Old City and Jerusalem.

Walking the Ramparts

So I climbed up the steps and entered onto the ramparts. I kept thinking of all the wars that had taken place here throughout the centuries, and how many soldiers had been on these walls defending the City.
















Especially when you see the vantage point that being on top gives you. This view is looking West onto Jerusalem, towards the area that I am staying.











This is a view of the Benedictine abbey on Mt. Zion just outside the walls near the Zion Gate.
It was formerly known as the Abbey of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, but the name was changed in 1998 in reference to the church of Hagia Sion that formerly stood on this spot.

According to local tradition, it was on this spot, near the site of the Last Supper, that the Virgin Mary passed into eternity. This gave the original monastery its name, the Basilica of the Assumption (or Dormition).


I walked all along the west side until I came to the area of the Jewish Quarter, which is where the Western Wall is located. There were some really great views like this one. But it was really hot today, so I walked back the same way I had come and decided to head home to cool down a bit.







Kind of like this guy, he has the idea, just chill out and relax in whatever makes you happy!

Monday May 19, 2008 - Off to Bethleham and Hebron

I was reading yesterday and came across this Scripture, Genesis 22:17-18“So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre--both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field--was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.” And I realized that this cave was in Hebron which is not too far from Jerusalem. And as I read on in the Bible I saw that not only was this Cave the burial place for Abraham and Sarah, but also for Isaac, Rebekkah, Jacob and Leah (not Rachel, she is buried in Bethleham) and so I had to go visit the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, otherwise known as the Cave of Machpelah.
I took an Arab shuttle to Bethleham kind of haphazardly not knowing how I was going to get around, but then I realized that Bethleham and Hebron are in the West Bank, occupied by Palestinians. From this picture, you can see that Israel is enclosing these areas with huge border walls, not only here but all along the West Bank, Gaza, and eventually parts of the Golan. What a task! So the security was very tight and I didn't realize it would be like entering into another country, but it was. I eventually got through all of the security checks and stumbled down to a myriad of taxi drivers, beckoning my call and although I just wanted to walk around I realized there was no place to walk to, so I bargained with this guy,

Khalid, mainly because he was very persistent, and ultimately I realized I would be needing a taxi driver and a guide today, I had no idea where I was going. So Khalid was great! His english was very good, which is always helpful

We drove out of Bethleham and decided to go about 25 miles to Hebron first. This is a view of that area, which I had just read about yesterday, the land of Canaan, the promised land to Abraham. The place that God led Abram to from around Turkey, or the Ur of Chaldees, to here.




We arrived to the Old City area and Khalid was a maniac through these narrow alley ways.









So we parked and walked around the market area. I realized right away that there were no tourists in this area and that many of the shops were closed. Khalid had told me that the area is very depressed and it's very difficult living standards. I could see why. Hebron has always been a tense area. In 1994 a Jewish guy named Baruch Goldstein took a sub machine gun into the enclosure and killed 29 Palestinian Muslims who had been at prayer, as well as injuring 125 others, before being bludgeoned to death by survivors. The resulting riots left an additional 26 Palestinians and 9 Israelis dead, and the incident provoked national and international condemnation of Goldstein's actions.

Hebron-The Cave of the Patriarchs

Khalid showed me around the Market area and I could easily detect how depressed this area is. Again I couldn't help but notice the difference in the spirit of this place. It was a heavy, oppressive and burdensome area and I'm learning that it is directly related to the religion and the people, Islam and Arabs. However, Hebron is the second most holiest city for Jews because of the tombs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But it is also holy for the Muslims, for they consider the Patriarchs of Judaism, major prophets of Islam as well.








Some people were friendly, like this guy, who insisted on being in a picture with me, but he was certainly the exception.











We passed this little shoe repair shop, and I thought this looked like something out of the 19th Century, so old fashioned and archaic, but this is the life in Hebron.











We finally made it to the Cave of the Patriarchs, and I found out that it is divided into two sections, the Muslim quarters and the Jewish quarters.
Khalid wanted to show me the Muslim quarters first, so in we went.

Cave of Machpelah - Muslim Quarters

We were turned away the first time we came to the security check point, because it was midday prayer time, but we returned in a half an hour and we could enter and the place was virtually empty.
This complex is called by Muslims, the "Ibrahimi Mosque" or 'Sanctuary of Abraham'.

















Keep in mind that the actual burial tombs are in a cave underneath this mosque, which is not accessible, however, this structure houses the monuments, or cenotaphs, they're called of four biblical couples: (1) Adam and Eve (2) Abraham and Sarah; (3) Isaac and Rebekah; (4) Jacob and Leah, though some Christians maintain a tradition that the skull of Adam, at least, is buried under Golgotha. According to Midrashic sources the Cave of Patriarchs also contains the head of Esau, and to Islamic sources, is also the tomb of Joseph. However Joseph's tomb is allegedly in Nablus, Israel on the West Bank.










Because all of the tombs really all look alike I decided to just post Abraham's monument. The cenotaphs all have a distinctive red and white horizontal striped pattern to their stonework, but are usually covered by decorative green cloth.