The Past few days...

So midterms are out of the way....phew! I survived and did well which was a relief. On Thursday after the tests I went to the Church of the Ascension which they believe to be the place that they believed Christ ascended to heaven. It was a little sanctuary area with beautiful gardens and a really cool cemetery. All the graves were crumbling and it had skulls and crossbones all over them.
On friday after the classes we went out into the city to celebrate a few birthdays. We found this amazing gelato place that was really cheap so we went a little all out...

Afterwards we walked into the Old city and came across the coolest cathedrals and monasteries that I never knew existed.  The first was a Greek Orthodox Cathedral that was built in the 1800s. We got this tour and the lady allowed our group to go to the underground church that was built in the 3rd century. It was downstairs, there was no artwork but it was all stones. The reason that they built the church was because they claim that they found St. Johns skull.

The next stop was at a random Ethiopian monastery, the doors were closed but the locals told us to knock loudly and they would come and give us a tour. An Ethiopian man came and opened the door and gave us a tour. It was a very small monastery but he showed us this Bible that they have that was made in the 1700's. It was made on parchment and the language was called Geez, the biblical language of Ethiopians.  It had paintings on it, the four of us sat in awe for awhile admiring this Bible. I had never seen anything quite like this.

This morning I went to the Garden Tomb and it was  a great experience. I could not believe that I had been here fro a month and not been to the Garden Tomb. I am so glad that I went. This past week I went to the Kotel Tunnels, it is tunnels that go along the Western wall underneath the city. It is also the closest point that you van get to Solomon's original temple and the Holy of Holies. There were many people praying and worshiping alongside the tunnels. It also became a cistern for the citizens and now it is just a tourist location.

Well I hope you guys have a great weekend! Tomorrow I go and heard sheep so wish me luck.