Tag Archives: Israel

Church of Agony / Church of All Nations

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jeff Block

I thought about entitling this blog entry, “How I wasted an hour of my life in some dingy Catholic ‘church’ on the Mount of Olives”, but I figured that might be a little harsh. Instead, I’ll try make this brief, … Continue reading →

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The Garden of Gethsemane

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jeff Block

The Garden of Gethsemane was not at all what I pictured from reading about it in the Bible. I imagined a vast apple orchard, where Jesus was betrayed in the midst of flowering trees and green meadowy grass. Maybe a … Continue reading →

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Necropole … and some things you might want to know about the Eastern Gate

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jeff Block

I can only assume that we visited the Necropole (wouldn’t “Necropolis” also work?) in order to build suspense before taking us to the Garden of Gethsemane, But whatever his reason, our tour guide took us on a brief detour to … Continue reading →

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Mount of Olives

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jeff Block

After breakfast, the first place we gathered on our first whole day in Jerusalem, was the Mount of Olives. The temple mount (where Solomon’s temple used to sit and the Dome of the Rock sits now) sits atop Mount Moriah … Continue reading →

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Overpriced Olive Wood

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Jeff Block

Both leading up to the trip and once I got there, I heard a lot about the rules of shopping in Israel. Rule #1: Always haggle. If you buy the thing you’re looking at for sticker price, they’ll think you’re … Continue reading →

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Common Era?

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Jeff Block

Jesus Christ was the central figure in history. Everyone knows that time before his birth is marked with the label “BC” for “Before Christ”, and counts down to the year of his appearing on earth. “AD” stands for “After Death” … Continue reading →

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