September 17, 2004
From the Jordan River to Jerusalem
The weekend after getting back from Switzerland, we went to church near the Sea of Galilee as usual. However, our friends the Alsops, Van Ormans and the Spottens all came to church with us. That made about fifty of us, double our normal attendance. They came for the Alsop's son's baptism in the Jordan River after church. It was a beautiful setting, but of course, Tyler was most interested in feeding the fish.
Tyler and Skyler feeding the fish at the Jordan river
Travis Johnson, one of our friends from Hillsboro, came to Israel on a business trip for Intel. On Tuesday, we went out to dinner with him. We went to Isabella's, our favorite Italian restaurant. It was lots of fun to catch up on what our friends are up to back in Hillsboro. Tyler insisted that Travis sit between him and Brooke in the back seat of the car. Fortunately, Travis didn't mind at all and became Tyler's new best friend.
Visit from Travis JohnsonOur friends the Nielsens were about to return to Oregon and they wanted to see Jerusalem before they left, so we tagged along on Friday. We only got lost once on the way there and we only thought we had entered the West Bank. Regardless, we made it to the old city of Jerusalem safely. We even tried to park within the walls, but we weren't able to, so we parked near the Western wall and walked in from there. By the way, it is called the Western wall and not the Wailing wall. It is actually an insult to call it the Wailing wall, because that implies that the people there are wailing and not praying.
Up close at the Western wallWe wandered throughout the old city. For the most part it was fun and interesting, but remember we were pushing stollers and trying to keep tabs on small children. This was especially difficult among the narrow streets of the Arab market and on the stairs in the old city.
Walls of the old city of Jerusalem
We saw a few of the city gates, visited each of the different quarters of Jerusalem (Muslim, Christian, Armenian, Jewish) and bought souvenirs. In the Christian Quarter we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where a Greek Orthodox priest let Brooke pull on his beard. He loved it and showered her with kisses. Brooke loved the attention, but it was a bit much for Tiffany. We bought Tyler a little olive wood camel which he held for the rest of the day.
In the Jewish Quarter, we ate pizza and bought a shofar, a horn that is blown on Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year which is celebrated about the middle of September.
Tiffany and Brooke in front of the Western wall of the Temple mount.
We wanted to visit the Dome of the Rock, but we weren't allowed to because it was Friday, the Muslim holy day. We left Jerusalem mid-afternoon because we were all tired. We plan to go back again to see some of the many things we missed.
More old city Jerusalem wallsTyler-isms:
"Are we sad we put Travis away?" - Tyler didn't like having to say goodbye to Travis.
"I can't have knives." - As he handed his knife to the waitress.
"Not the left" - After Tiffany thanked him for choosing the right.
"Now the car is going though security." - Role playing with his cars after we got home from the airport.
"These sure are nice shorts" - We would call them pants.
"Happy Meal" - This what he calls the toy; he could care less about the food.
"Let the Primary sing." - Tiffany was singing along to the Primary CD in the car and he wanted her to stop.
"Mommy, I'm talking to Tyler by myself." - Tiffany and Scott were talking to each other and Tyler wanted to talk too.