what are we doing, rashad?!

Today was really our first day in Jerusalem. We stayed here last night but it was our first time to see the city.

We started out this morning going to the Mount of Olives. We got a pretty good view of the city from up there. It was kind of weird to see some of the old city mixed in with the newer parts.

One of the best parts of the trip up to this point was going to the Garden Tomb. It as really nice because it was a private area that you had to make an appointment to get into so there weren't a lot of crowds. They also give you a guide so Waleed didn't get to guide us, but some awesome British guy named Peter did. It was also good because they made a strong case for their site being the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus but also acknowledged that it is impossible to know for sure.

We also visited sites like Gethsemane, Bethlehem, and the Mount of Ascension. It's a little frustrating going to places like these to see the beautiful orthodox churches that have been built over them. It's even more frustrating to see the gift shops inside of the churches. It brings to mind a little table-turning incident I heard about once.

it's interesting to note that Waleed could not legally guide us while we were in Bethlehem because it is a Palestinian area and the Israelis do not allow Israeli guides in Palestine. We acted like Tim was our guide when we went in and then we had to stop at a gift shop on the way out so Waleed could be "smuggled" out by a friend. Walled the citizen is allowed. Waleed the guide is not.