Winter '11 students (81) arrived on 1/5/11 (Wed.) We organized their tours of the JC-- mainly to keep them awake after 14 hours in planes & buses. The next day we helped guide some small groups, orienting them to the city. On 1/10/11 we took our first tour with them, visiting splendid overlooks of Jerusalem. We started at the 7 Arches Hotel, near our JC. The Old City looks very different from the Mt. of Olives south end than from our JC north end. The Temple Mount includes El Aqsa Mosque, left of Dome of the Rock. We also saw adjoining Muslim and Jewish cemeteries -- to the east.
South of the Temple Mt. is the ancient City of David, now being excavated. The stone wall above the terraced hill (far left, down the Kidron Valley) may have supported King David's palace. (See Oct. '10 post, "Jerusalem -- Old City, Hezekiah Tunnel")
East of the Temple Mount and crossing the Kidron Valley is the route Jesus may have taken from Bethany to Jerusalem. (See Dec. '10 post, "Last Days of Jesus.")
In the foreground is the recent Church of Dominus Flevit ("Jesus wept") and Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, with 6 gleaming onion spires.
These views were all seen from the 7 Arches Hotel in East Jerusalem.
Sadly, during this construction the ruins of Saul's palace were completely destroyed, leaving only these few stones--as Dr. Jeff Chadwick explained. Key north-south and east-west routes crossed close to this strategic site.
From here we could see Beth El. There, while fleeing from Esau, Jacob saw into heaven. He also built an altar, as Abraham had done (Gen. 12:8, 31:13, 35:3). Later, Jeroboam made it an idol worship center (1 Kings 12, 2 Kings 10:29). Elijah and Elisha ministered here. Now the rocky hills are filling up with settlements.
In Gibeah, Jonathan and a few men boldly conquered an entire garrison of Philistines. Coming from Gilgal, Saul also won a great battle. But he rashly offered his own sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Later he also failed to destroy all that God had commanded, thus further incurring the prophet's wrath (1 Samuel 13-15).
Gibeon: Joshua had major conquests near Gibeon (vs. Gibea or Gilboa, much further north, where Saul & his sons were slain). After Joshua destroyed Ai but spared the people of Gibeon, five Amorite kings attacked in this valley. Great hailstones killed many enemies -- then the sun stood still all day until Israel prevailed (Joshua 9 & 10).
Nebi Samwil ("Samuel"): On an even higher hill nearby is the supposed Tomb of Samuel, the prophet. Crusaders first viewed Jerusalem from here and built a fortress. Later, Richard the Lion Hearted got no closer than this site. This Islamic mosque and Jewish synagogue are built on ruins of an earlier Byzantine monastery.
We had this view of the site en route to & from taking Svetlana Birliva to church.
Men and women had separate quarters underground for worship and study.
From here we could see Gibeon, "the great high place" where Solomon came to sacrifice "1,000 burnt offerings." The Lord appeared to him and granted his wish for wisdom -- plus great wealth, honor & a long life, which he had not requested (1 Kings 3:3-14).
Dr. Frank Judd admonished the students to desire the best gifts, then to live worthy of what they had asked of the Lord--as Solomon did for much of his life.
The students saw and learned things all day, right where they had happened!
South of the Temple Mt. is the ancient City of David, now being excavated. The stone wall above the terraced hill (far left, down the Kidron Valley) may have supported King David's palace. (See Oct. '10 post, "Jerusalem -- Old City, Hezekiah Tunnel") 
East of the Temple Mount and crossing the Kidron Valley is the route Jesus may have taken from Bethany to Jerusalem. (See Dec. '10 post, "Last Days of Jesus.")
In the foreground is the recent Church of Dominus Flevit ("Jesus wept") and Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, with 6 gleaming onion spires.
These views were all seen from the 7 Arches Hotel in East Jerusalem.
Next we spent an hour at Lutheran Augusta Victoria Church, now 100 years old. (See Dec. post, "Churches of Jerusalem -- Ascension & Hurva.") All this was close to the JC -- but we did need buses for our next stop.
Gibeah of Saul. Five miles north of Jerusalem is the Benjamin Plateau, 2700 ft. above sea level (Jerus. is 2600'). It was the home of Saul, Israel's first king, 3,000 years ago. Just before the Six Day War, King Hussein of Jordan began this summer palace on the very site of Saul's palace. It remained a skeleton but gave us a commanding 360 view of the Hills of Ephraim from its top floor.
Sadly, during this construction the ruins of Saul's palace were completely destroyed, leaving only these few stones--as Dr. Jeff Chadwick explained. Key north-south and east-west routes crossed close to this strategic site.
From here we could see Beth El. There, while fleeing from Esau, Jacob saw into heaven. He also built an altar, as Abraham had done (Gen. 12:8, 31:13, 35:3). Later, Jeroboam made it an idol worship center (1 Kings 12, 2 Kings 10:29). Elijah and Elisha ministered here. Now the rocky hills are filling up with settlements.
In Gibeah, Jonathan and a few men boldly conquered an entire garrison of Philistines. Coming from Gilgal, Saul also won a great battle. But he rashly offered his own sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Later he also failed to destroy all that God had commanded, thus further incurring the prophet's wrath (1 Samuel 13-15).
Gibeon: Joshua had major conquests near Gibeon (vs. Gibea or Gilboa, much further north, where Saul & his sons were slain). After Joshua destroyed Ai but spared the people of Gibeon, five Amorite kings attacked in this valley. Great hailstones killed many enemies -- then the sun stood still all day until Israel prevailed (Joshua 9 & 10).Nebi Samwil ("Samuel"): On an even higher hill nearby is the supposed Tomb of Samuel, the prophet. Crusaders first viewed Jerusalem from here and built a fortress. Later, Richard the Lion Hearted got no closer than this site. This Islamic mosque and Jewish synagogue are built on ruins of an earlier Byzantine monastery.
We had this view of the site en route to & from taking Svetlana Birliva to church.
In a small synagogue there, orthodox Jews prayed and studied.
Men and women had separate quarters underground for worship and study.
Outside were extensive excavations of 10th Century Crusader ruins.
From here we could see Gibeon, "the great high place" where Solomon came to sacrifice "1,000 burnt offerings." The Lord appeared to him and granted his wish for wisdom -- plus great wealth, honor & a long life, which he had not requested (1 Kings 3:3-14). 
Dr. Frank Judd admonished the students to desire the best gifts, then to live worthy of what they had asked of the Lord--as Solomon did for much of his life.
The students saw and learned things all day, right where they had happened!
We finished our day (after my camera was finished) at Hebrew University. It is where the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans camped before attacking the Holy City. It is next to the JC but on the otherside of the "green line" that divided East and West Jerusalem. Their tower is a Mount Scopus landmark. We'll come back later when my camera is alive again.
I just looked up in Wikipaedia the oldest cities in the world, since Jericho has a sign claiming to be the oldest. It may be but Damascus has a better claim to the record. Certainly older than Irvine or Newport Beach.
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