DAY SIX in Israel FIRST FULL DAY in JERUSALEM (Feb. 12th)

I was anxious to start exploring Jerusalem, but that was not part of todays plans.  First thing, we headed of to OLD SHILOH.  It was the capital of Israel before the first Temple was built in Jerusalem.The word SHILOH comes from a word meaning "to send something".

This sign tells us that the tabernacle was erected at Shiloh and the land was divided among the tribes.   Here is where Hannah prayed and the prophet  Samuel ministered.  Archaeological excavations have shown that the place was already settled from about 1750 BCE

The first place we went into was a partially reconstructed basilica from the Byzantine period.  Here are a couple of pictures taken inside. 

 

Some of the ancient remnants  we saw at Shiloh were "The Mosque of the Orphan"

warehouses

and a section of the Canaanite Wall.  But the highlight was seeing the Site of the Tabernacle.  Visitors can stand at the exact place on Tel Shiloh where some scholars believe the Tabernacle stood. This would also be the spot where Hannah came to pray for a son. Later, she dedicated that son, Samuel, to serve in the Tabernacle. It was from Shiloh that the Ark was taken into battle and temporarily lost to the Philistines.

We got to spend a few minutes in Migdal Ha Roeh Tower at Tel Shiloh which is kind of a museum.

and when we walked back to the bus, we were allowed to stop and pick through piles of excavations

and take pieces of 3,000 year old pottery!!!    THREE THOUSAND YEARS OLD!!!!!   These are some of the pieces I took.  You should have heard me holler joyfully when I found the whole handle on the left.

We had a few minutes to check out the gift shop before heading out to the LIFT YOUR EYES OBSERVATION TOWER.  

 it was raining lightly (but very chilly rain)

 I cannot recall the significance of this, which is on  the floor in the middle of the top of the tower.

another view

I took these two pictures during the bus ride back to Jerusalem

When we were back in Jerusalem we were given the good news that we had a couple of hours togo on our own to the OPEN AIR MARKET.  (Mahane Yehuda Market often referred to as "The Shuk")  This was a great experience!  SO COLORFUL AD Interesting!!!!!   Here are some pictures: 

 many places offer free samples (a few times I saw customers picking something out of a bin and sampling items 

 there are a LOT of murals.

Many in our group had lunch but Peggy, David and I did not want to use up our time
doing that.  I bought a donut, two cashmere scarves and a tiny Jewish symbol charm.
We walked through the surrounding neighborhood

My complete set of market pics are here  https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/sets/72157679361394472

We had been instructed to be back at this building (Clal Building)

so we could go to THE JERUSALEM PRAYER TOWER on the 14th floor.   Their website says this:The Jerusalem Prayer Tower is a Messiah-centered sanctuary, of Spirit-led worship and prayer called to reveal the light of Yeshua to Israel and the Nations.  We had a brief worship service

and then the bus took u back to

our hotel.  We had some extra time before supper and David and Peggy and I decided tthat we had to find at least one geocache in Israel and that this might be our last chance.  Here is my geocaching log which tells the story. zThr nsmr og the geocache is Jerusaems Gate" Jaffa Gate 

PeggyN and PeggysPuppy and I were in Jerusalem with a group on a tour and on this particular evening, we had a bit of free time, so we got a ride from a Bedouin fellow named Ishmael, who worked for our hotel. He insisted on taking us to a shop near the geocache (perhaps owned by a friend or relative of his) and may have been upset when we ignored the shop and headed for the coords!!! Thanks for a quick and easy find, which made our Israel trip better! We could have called Ishmael and requested a ride back to the hotel, but we were not so sure how he was feeling about our behavior, so we walked back to our hotel, which only added to this unique experience!   Here is a picture of Ishmael

He said he worked

for our hotel, but I am not sure that is the truth.  He solicited our business and kept lowering the price until he finally suggested we just give him a tip. 

After we found the cache (I was SO excited) we went to a souvenir shop (Golden Gate Souvenirs)

I purchased a wooden camel (small) and a gorgeous pillow cover. Peg bought some anointing oil.
We walked back to the hotel, which was a bit of an experience involving

walking through a park after dark and stopping at a convenience store for directions. 

We arrived back at the hotel in time for supper.  Suppers at DAN PANORAMA JERUSALEM

were not all that great in my opinion, but I managed to find sufficient items that I could eat.  It was a wonderful and totally exhausting day!!!!!

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