Thursday, February 20, 2014

Jewish Quarter Visit - Feb. 20

 Today was our first day in Jerusalem and we began with a view of the Old City from Mt Scopus. Neil pointed out a Jewish Burial tomb from over 2000 years ago.  From there we joined other tour buses (it was crowded)  for one of the best views of Jerusalem on Mt. of Olives – where you could see each quarter and more!
Next stop was our Temple Mount Dig.  Aaron Greener , from the Dig, greeted us.  He told Neil and I that he knew people who had been on CAARI. Who?  He said Annette?  Who?  Oh…you mean Nettie and Joni Steinman?  He told us that his wife was a cousin!  Now the connection fit!  So…here’s greetings to you Nettie in Montreal!  We miss you! You should know that Aaron gave us an excellent explanation of where the debris came from and all the details of the Temple Mount and different finds that have been discovered.  CAARI 2014 began their  work and to the surprise of many they found a few interesting objects! After the sifting we made our way to the Kotel(Western Wall) as it was a Thursday when there are many Bar Mitzvah ceremonies and then time for lunch.  We climbed up all those steps ascending to the Jewish Quarter from the Kotel plaza and a little shopping.  Neil gave us a tour of the Cardo and Wide Wall followed by a great tour of the magnificent Hurva Synagogue.  We were little tired, but a good tired, as we walked out of Zion Gate and back to our hotel for dinner it was already dark. 
Love,
CAARI 2014