A Final Outing with Rachel

Rachel looking a bit wistfully towards Bethlehem

We attended our last LDS services with the Jerusalem branch Saturday morning.  In the afternoon, I took Rachel on a final outing.  She was anxious to go to Shepherds Field to recall the great Christmas experiences we have had there and take a final look at Bethlehem.  On the drive home, we stopped at a few other sites on the south side of the city.

An ancient watch tower

Bethlehem across the valley

This is a setting I will always treasure.  We always bring our students here when we begin studying the New Testament gospels, right after they visit Bethlehem.  I brought my family, including Mom and Lindsay, here Christmas Eve.  And this has also been a favorite destination when friends have visited.  Here we read the Christmas story from Luke 2, sing Christmas carols, and think of the holy night so long ago.

 

The Herodion, an artificial hill, was a fortress and palace of Herod the Great just southeast of Bethlehem

The  split column of the Monument of Tolerance represents the Arab and Jewish peoples.  An olive tree representing peace is springing up in between them.

The UN headquarters here used to be on no-man's land between Israel and Jordan.  Since the 1967 War, the compound is an international island.

 

Rachel at the Haas Promenade, which has a stunning view of the city, old and new, from the south

The three towers on Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives: Hebrew University, Augusta Victoria, and the Russian Tower of the Ascension

St. Savior's and Dormitian Abbey

West Jerusalem, the "new" city