Settling In / Special Tours

We are starting to feel at home in our new apartment here in the Jerusalem Center.  The Center has 8 floors. You can see from the picture above that each floor extends out form the floor above as the building follows the contour of the hill it is built on.  It is a beautiful building.  One thing about the design, there cannot be an elevator between all the floors.  There is one elevator between 5-6 and another elevator between 6-8.  The organ and tours begin on floor 8.  That means lots of stairs.  There is a series of stairways that go right down the middle of the building.  Rooms are located on two corridors on each side of the central stairs on all of the floors.  Faculty and students live on floors 1-5.  Our room is on floor 4.  There is a foot gate to the street on floor 1 and a car entrance to an underground lot that enters the building on floor 7.  Security is good at the Center.  There is a guard at the entrance gate 24/7 and the walking gate requires a badge to open and is monitored by camera.

This is the entrance to our apartment.

It is small, but very comfortable.

Stairs, on floor 6 looking down to floor 1

The interior of the building is very beautiful.  Below is a You Tube video that explains more about the Center and shows the beauty.  This video is how we start every tour.  It is a little dated and a new presentation is being filmed and should be out by the end of the year.

We were very lucky to go on a tour with the students to the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque on temple mount (Mount Moriah).  Through a relationship developed at the Center, we were actually able to enter both buildings.  Several years ago, this was possible, but lately you need to be Muslim to enter both buildings.  The Muslims believe that the Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven from a rock at this site around 640 AD.  The Jewish people recognize temple mount as the site Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac and the site of Solomon's Temple.

The Dome of the Rock

The rock

Other interior pictures

The mosque is the place where the Muslims are called to prayer from very loud outside speakers on top of each building five times each day, including one around 4 am.

The Al Aqsa Mosque

Inside the Mosque

Last week, we were able to take a day trip to Ein Kerem.  This is a small town about 30 miles from the Old City.  It is the location where John the Baptist was born.  Mary visited this town to visit her cousin Elizabeth while she was pregnant before the birth of Jesus.

We went with the other Service Couples we are serving with.  Mark and Mary Ellen Rosen are on the left.  Mark is the doctor at the Center.  They accompany all of the students on their out of Center major trips.  On the right, are Ted and Julie Lloyd.  They are in charge of Humanitarian projects and also live in Utah.  We are the music couple which means that Leah is the organist here.  We share with the Lloyds the assignment to guide the tours three days a week we are open to the public.

Even though Ein Karem is close to the city, it is a very beautiful mountain town with many trees.

We have been able to walk in the Old City a few times and visit a local market area.  Here are some photos of some of the very interesting items available to purchase.

The students from this semester are leaving next week.  We will really miss them.  They are the energy that drives the Center and are an amazing group of kids.  After a two-week break, we will welcome 90 new students for the 15 week Fall Semester ending on December 20th.