I ate apple pie for brunch!
Bound and I headed back into the Old City for one last wandering around (for me). I couldn't decide for awhile if I wanted to do the touristy thing and walk around on the city walls, or if I just wanted to wander and see the Garden Tomb and Western Wall one last time. I opted for the second option. I'm glad I did. I took a bunch of photos...
In the Christian part of the city, there were signs on the walls in Arabic and in English...
What a blessing to my heart to see this in the middle of the Arab world! Praise God.
Blown glass Christmas ornament bobbles that were just simply spectacular.
As always, I had to wait for tourists to move so that I could take a picture of a pretty door.
As we were wandering around, we stopped to look in the window of one of the jewelry stores that sells the widow's mite. I hadn't planned on buying one (since that first day experience had shocked me at the price of them), but the shop owner encouraged us to come inside and look. Maybe this place would be cheaper than the other?
Mark 12:41-44 tells this story: "And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, [called a 'mite'], which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Archeologists have found plenty of those coins in Dixie, and many have been made into jewelry. My parents and grandparents had sent money for Christmas, so I used some of that to buy myself a necklace pendant. The store I bought mine from had a certificate verifying their authenticity and permission to sell the coins, and the seller gave me my own certificate detailing about my specific widow's mite that I purchased.
It is a copper coin held in a sterling silver pendant. The back has the symbol of an anchor on it.
The front has a symbol of a star.
Some of the mites we saw didn't have the star in the center, or it wasn't as well preserved as others and you could barely see the symbols. Here is a picture from the internet of a really well preserved, easy to see mite. Source: http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/7037.jpg
More wandering in the Old City...
At the Western Wall, if you look just right to the trash can (in the bottom left), you'll see the fountain where the women can do their ritual washing before their prayers.
As we were leaving, Bound pointed out this group of Dixie soldiers...who were all female. Serving in the military is obligatory, for males and females. It's a terrible photo, because I took it over my shoulder using my reverse camera lens. We even saw female soldiers in skirts!
I forget what these are called, but you'll see them everywhere in Dixie. It's a small container with some of the Torah written on it inside, and they are posted outside the doors of homes...and even at the airport! On the ramp from the plane into the building, there was one! In my previous apartment building, my neighbor had one, so I've seen them before. I love the literal obedience to Deuteronomy 6:9, "You shall write them [these commandments] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
We went out the Damascus Gate and I was blown away by the awesome clouds. Wowzah.
Right by the Damascus Gate is a park, and when I saw it filled with Muslim ladies sitting on benches, it made me smile. (That's what they do in France in parks. No matter what time of year it is, if it's not raining, you'll see them gathered outside at parks.)
Back through the market, still loving the awesomeness of the Old City.
On our way home, Bound pointed out this mosaic. It's a map of the world, with J-town at the center.
We went to get felafel for dinner, making sure this time that I got it instead of schwarma. So delicious! My favorite part: the eggplant was fried to make it crispy, almost like a chip. Yum.
The sunset was just spectacular on our way home. How sweet of God to give such a precious parting gift on my final day in Dixie, and for Christmas to boot!
Then, we went to a huge Christmas party. So many people! I hung out in the kitchen with the other introverts and met a really nice girl, the daughter of the family throwing the party. They're friends with Thomas Kincade and have original paintings of his of J-town all over their house. That was cool.
Now, to pack and fly back to France tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
2 comments:
Mezuzah is the word you're looking for. :O)
so amazing. I love the Scripture containers (mezuzas?) :-)...one day when I have a house I want to paint Scripture on the walls. the map is really cool!
Post a Comment