Janna's Jerusalem Journies: Old City Adventures (Part 4)

Our final day with Tricia and only one major thing left to see in the Old City. Our main goal was to see the Garden Tomb. This isn’t actually in the Old City, but it’s very close.

After battling with the Israelis (because, I’m not joking when I say everything is a battle with them) to get Tricia a shuttle ticket back to the airport, we walked to the Garden Tomb.

The Garden Tomb is the area thought by Protestants to be where Jesus was crucified and buried. In 1867, after the Sepulchre’s authenticity had been questioned, archeologists unearthed this tomb and determined that it dates back to the first century.

Remember way back from my first and second blogs? I told you about the white stone everywhere? And I told you it was so slippery and it felt treacherous even with tennis shoes? I wasn’t exaggerating. I completely ate it on the way to the Garden Tomb. I was wearing my Keen brand walking shoes even! I stepped on the edge of the step, slid, my foot went backward, and my body went forward. Lucky for me, I have swift cat like reflexes and caught myself….ok, I caught myself on my hands and knees. And it hurt. Bad. Especially the ego. BUT I didn’t land on my face! My purse went flying, my sunglasses went flying, but no blood was drawn, and don’t worry my sunglasses were fine. I have a huge bruise on my knee to show for it, and that’s it. It could have been a lot worse. So…if you’re ever planning to come here, be careful when you walk!

Somehow we missed our turn that would take us directly to the Tomb and ended up in the Muslim neighborhood and took the long way to the Tomb. We finally got there and it was so nice!

It was so different than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It wasn't crowded and when you walk in someone greets you with a friendly smile and you get a pamphlet describing what everything is. We walked into a beautifully manicured garden and followed the path to the first stop: the skull shaped cliff. “The Place of the Skull”, Golgotha! This is where they believe Jesus was crucified, and it can be seen from the main roads to Damascus and Jericho.

Next the path led us to the cistern, the 3^rd largest in Jerusalem that holds 200,000 gallons of rainwater. The cistern is important because it gives evidence that this area used to be a working garden such as an olive grove or vineyard. There is even an old wine press that was excavated in 1924. So this could have possibly been the garden belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.

After the cistern we got to the tomb. It was basically a room cut into a cave. You go in, and it was a small square room separated in half with one side for the tomb, and the other side for the mourners.

Other than a few Asians running around the tiny tomb with their huge ipads taking pictures and videos as if it were Disneyland, this site was AMAZING for me. This was it for me! At least, this was visually it for me. The Sunday school girl inside me was very happy! Even if the Protestants are wrong, and it’s not the exact site, this is probably closer to what it looked like in the Old City at the other church before it was a church. And sure the Asians were obnoxious and didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of it but at least they weren’t rude and pushy like the crowds at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The whole area was peaceful and quiet--the way you would want it to be if you were there to see where Jesus died and was resurrected.

So which is it? Which is the right place? Only God knows. And I suppose I will ask Him when I get to Heaven. Probably after I get judged for my bad attitude. Maybe it's neither spot. Maybe the spot was right here where my apartment is! hahaha!