Herod's gate. Herod's gate is the smallest of all seven gates. (Damascus Gate is the largest. Sorry no pictures of that gate yet.)
This is a semi-underground chapel called Ecce Homo (Behold the Man). The arch in the picture is part of a triple arch that goes across the street to another building. The tour guide said that the arch was build in 132 CE by Emperor Hadrian.
After mass, we had a tour of the convent. The convent contains artifacts of early common era Jerusalem. Above is part of a moat used by the Antonia Fortress and storage area used by the market. These are structures dates back to at least 132 CE.
This is the courtyard that laid in front of Antonia Fortress. It was at Antonia Fortress where Jesus was scourged and prepared for the carrying the cross. The convent is located on the via dolorosa.
This is Saint Ann Church. This church is named after Mary's mother. The church is also know as the church of echoes. It is said that a quiet whisper can be carried and heard across the church. This was a crusade church built in during the first or second crusade. The interesting fact was that it was not destroyed by Saladin. It was made into a school to teach the Koran until the Ottoman's took over Jerusalem and give the church to France to keep and maintain.
These young men were signing Gregorian chant. Phenomenal!
Inside the church.
This are the Pools of Bethesda. This was the water source used by the Jewish people to prepare their sacrifice for the temple. At that time, these pools were believed to have special healing powers. There were many infirmed individuals waiting to enter the pools in the hopes of been healed.
These are the steps used to enter the pool. In the Gospel of John chapter 5, Jesus heals a paralytic at these pools.
I will stop here with this post. I will post about the afternoon in a few minutes.
Location:Old City
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