Day 3 Continued

1st Century Street, likely Jesus would have walked here, new excavation not open to public but our guide had a connection.

Location of Upper Room, not the original Upper Room though.

Western Wall Excavations, largest stone in Temple Mount about 50 feet long, they estimate 577 tons, 3rd largest stone in the world, only one not touching the ground.

So here is the actual rundown of Day 3. We started by going to the Temple Mount. I felt very uneasy the entire time there. Something about the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque being on top of the Temple Mount seemed terribly wrong, that and street cleaners cleaning it, the paving over of gates and removal of part of the Mount. It just seemed wrong for place that the Temple of the Lord stood. I also felt wierd because had the Temple been there I would not have been able to go to the places I went because I am a Gentile. Although that thought comes in conflict with Jesus' death removing the need of the Temple.
Next we went to the City of David, the original Jerusalem that David would have encountered when he took it over from the Jebusites. We went through Hezekiel's tunnel which took water from the Gihoam Spring to the western side of the City of David. It was about a third of a mile walk through a foot and half of water, barely enough room for shoulders to pass by, and rarely a ceiling of more than six feet. Nevertheless it was very cool, if I can get a faster internet connection I will try to post a video I took while in the tunnel. The tunnel lead us to the Pool of Shiloam where the blind man went to wash his eyes that Jesus covered with mud in John 9. Also we got to see a 1st Century road that most tour groups don't see because it is a newer excavation, however our tour guide knew the archiologists so they showed us. They also sold me a Roman coin from Jesus' time for about 15 dollars. From there we went to another archeological site that showed a support structure possibly for David's Palace, along with a 1st Century house among other things.
After the City of David we had lunch and then went to see the supposed Tomb of David although it is not the tomb because it is in the wrong location Biblically. Just by chance this tomb is on the first floor and the traditional Upper Room location is on the second floor. The room dates to the Middle Ages but it is built in the lovation that is historically understood as the Upper Room. This site is more likely, while not hard fact. I personally can accept it from the proof we have.
After this stop we went to the Western hill and saw excavations of homes from the Herodian Period. Even though they were just the basement floor they were impressive. After dinner we came back to the same area and went to the Western Wall excavations which give a tour of the tunnels under a Muslim neighborhood of excavations of the entire Western Wall of the Temple Mount. It was fascinating to see well preserved portions of the wall, which showed the amount of work done to build the Mount. There was also a prayer area at the point in the wall which is closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been.