Recap:
6:30 AM: Breakfast.
7:45 AM: Walk from Hotel through Old City Jerusalem to the Jewish Quarter.
First destination was the Dome of the Rock - on the former Temple Mount - or - as it is now referred - Haram esh-Sharif "Noble Sanctuary."
Originally the site of Solomon's Temple. Following it became the site of the Second Temple (which stood during the time of Christ as the center of all Jewish worship). At the time of Christ it was enlarged by Herod the Great. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
In AD 691 in became the site of the Islamic Shrine - the Dome of the Rock. It is considered the third most important religious site for Muslims.
RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE: The Rock - which is housed below the gold-plated Dome - is believed to be where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac (Gen 22); where Muhammad left the Earth on his Night Journey; and the site of the Holy of Holies of Herod's Temple.
11 AM: The Western Wall.
RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE: The Western Wall is a massive wall built of huge stone blocks. It is Judaism's holiest site - and is a permanent place of worship. It is part of the retaining wall - built by Herod the Great - of the Temple Mount of the Second Temple. Many Jewish-worshippers visit the wall daily to recited the entire Book of Psalms.
ETIQUETTE: Any non-Jew can approach the wall, provided they cover their heads.
We also had a tour along the length of the Western Wall which has been excavated underground.
12:15 PM: Lunch.
2 PM: The Hall of the Last Supper - or Coenaculum. No longer a place of Christian Worship.
3 PM: Holy Mass at nearby Franciscan Chapel that commemorates the place and event of the Last Supper.
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