We woke up late, yet still got to breakfast on time. (I really like having breakfast open from 7-8:30. Not quite so early as the Center. Plus, if we sleep in even later, it's ok, as long as we're up there before 8:30, we can still eat.) Then we came back to our room and were crazy lazy or something, because we didn't leave until 1 pm! But all that time was not wasted. we planned out some pictures (I read through a large majority of the chapter headings in the Old Testament, minus obvious chunks in books such as Leviticus), and made a tentative calendar for us. Deciding it was late and we should get some lunch and do something out in the city, we headed off.
We headed off to the Western Wall, but realized there wasn't much food that way, so we stopped literally right before security at a restaurant off to the right and ordered shwarma. It was a rather nice place. Definitely the most expensive shwarma I've ever had, but really, it was worth it. It was really good shwarma. This was the first time I've ever had french fries in shwarma, though I've heard about it from many people. It was rather good.
From there we passed through the Western Wall and went up to the Dome of the Rock. That's the second time I've decided to go and got up first try. I don't know what happened to the groups who had to try 2-3 times. On Temple Mount we wandered and took pictures. Travis decided he wanted a shot of the Mary Magdeline church through an arch that required he stand in the sun and wait for a group of tourists to move, so I decided to go sit in the shade of a little dome where a group of Muslim women were sitting. All was fine and good for awhile. A couple of little kids kept looking over at the giant camera lens I was holding for Travis, so I smiled at them, then ignored them. They decided that wasn't good enough for them, however. So two or three boys came over and started pointing at the lens and saying something I didn't understand. But language aside, I soon understood that he wanted me to give him the lens. Laughing, I told him no. So he pulled out a 20 shekel note. (For those of you non-shekel savvy, that's $5.) Laughing even harder, I stuck by my original 'no' for which I am sure Travis is grateful. Now here's the best part. The boy reached into his pocked, pulled out a half shekel coin (12.5 cents) cradled it in his hand as if it were the last possession he had (we needed him for the Widow's Mite pictures!), then, with a pout on his face, he slowly handed it over towards me. I couldn't help laughing even harder. I again told him no. At this point they became very touchy with the lens and I decided it was time to go find Travis. The first thing that ran through my head was Bro. Merrill saying, "If you see small children, run!" I never thought that phrase would be applicable anywhere outside of Herod's palace. :D haha!
I grabbed my stuff and headed over to Travis who had finally decided to come find me. So the boys (who had now grown in number) started pestering him after seeing the actual camera with the telephoto lens. We humored them for awhile and showed them the camera, but soon realized we needed to get away from them. Tragically, they followed us. Whenever we'd get a break, Travis saw a picture that just had to be taken. [rolls eyes] ... photographers... At this point, the boys were very insistent that we give them the camera. While a few of them were actually grabbing the camera and trying to pull it away, another boy was sneaking behind me and trying to unzip my camelbak. Ahhh!! Who knew you could get so frustrated and feel so unsafe with a handful of pre-teen boys? Luckily (for us), the boys spotted a group of other tourists and took off after them. I enjoyed the respite and watched the boys try their ploys on this other group, feeling remarkably sorry for the group. All while Travis took more pictures. I finally pried him away and we went over to the other side of the temple mount. Finding a tidbit of shade over there, I sat on the ground while Travis took pictures of the Dome, of boys flying kites, and of a security guard standing next to me, apparently staring, probably wondering what I was doing there. (I had no idea that he was there. I had noticed someone standing there, and decided to tactfully ignore him. Apparently Travis saw it and took a picture.)
After we got kicked out of Temple Mount (we didn't do anything wrong... goodness! Jump to pessimistic conclusions, why don't you... it was simply closing time for we infidels.) Back to the Western Wall for us to take pictures. And by 'us' I mean Travis. While he took pictures, I set up a Kotel tunnel tour for the next day. Then we decided to head over to Gethsemane, passing through Absolom's Tomb, and all the other tombs along the way. As we got to the top of the tomb hill, next to Gethsemane, we saw a WC. Knowing my obsession with signs, Travis pointed out the men's sign. Instead of your typical picture of a man, it had a head with a pipe in the mouth. Ha! No worries, I took a picture.
So, turns out I've never seen the front of the Church of All Nations inside Gethsemane. We kept seeing it, and Travis would ask what it was, but I had no idea. Which shocked us both because it was gorgeous mosaic and we all know how much I love mosaics. So, as we got closer, I realized what it was and felt really silly. But, in my defense, you can't see the front of the roof when you're inside and we always went to it from the back.
On the ceiling of the Church of All Nations are (I think) twelve mosaics for twelve different nations. Having no idea which were which, Travis started pointing some out to me. America was easy to pick out, with the American Eagle holding the Olive Leaf. Then we saw one that befuddled us... it looked like they put the Kirtland (or St. George... take your pick) temple right in the middle! Craziness. Turns out to be England. Not sure what it's really supposed to be...
Travis and I finally figured out who we needed to talk to for permission to get into the side garden at night—Father Raphael. (He's the one that let me out the day I was locked in the Garden.) We chased him down for awhile (he was giving a tour), then finally talked to him. We had been told by the security guy that our chances were slim, but Father Raphael was very helpful and agreed to let us come that night!
After leaving, we went up to Orson Hyde park and Travis picked out a few good sites to photograph in, then we went back to our hospice, then over to Aladdin's (who have finally figured out who we are and now recognize us. hehehe), then found a cheap little place to eat pizza for only 8-10 shekels. (depending on what kind you get... even though he advertises for 7 shekels per slice.) Pretty sure he just took the pizza that was sitting out on display and covered it with new toppings. hehehe. It had the reminiscent taste of cardboard, plus, we noticed that three slices were missing from the display pizza. :) Still, it wasn't bad. Especially for the price. Pretty sure that fresh, it would have been delicious.
Then we caught a taxi and went back up to Gethsemane for our appointment with Father Raphael. Being about 10-15 mins early, Travis decided to change out his film before we rang the bell. So, sitting on the side of this mostly deserted road, we sat, Travis with his changing room (which looks like a plastic/material kind of box) on his lap, with his hands inside, changing film. To the unknowing eye, it had to look suspicious. Especially in a country such as this one. In fact, at one point, a cop car drove by slowly, looking at Travis, then turned around and left. hehehe... close call. :) Right on 7:45, Father Raphael opened the door, afraid that he hadn't heard the bell, and was shocked to see us sitting across the street. Silly Americans. :) So, he let us in the other garden. (I got to hold the key and actually unlock the gate that previously I had been locked into! Haha!)
Travis and I were then alone to photograph to his heart's content. We had gotten there right after sunset so that there would be light left to set up his camera, then we got down to business. Now, this was my first experience using the 4x5 camera. Travis gave me a little lesson, because we figured his hands would be more appropriate than mine in a Gethsemane picture. I'm fairly certain this has to be the hardest picture we will take this entire trip. Not because it was hard to set up or anything like that, but just the nature of the picture. In order to make it look like we wanted, Travis had to basically lay face-down on the ground, then reach in front and above his head to grasp a rock. Now, that's not bad for a point-and-shoot picture. But Travis is not a point-and-shoot kind of guy. Nope. No flash for him! Instead, he requires long exposures. And by long, I mean the first picture was 3 minutes long... then 4... then 7!! That position is far from comfortable. After the second one, I literally had to help him lift his hands off the rock. But, he was willing to endure the pain for the sake of a picture. However, with each picture, his insistence on many shots waned, and he decided to trust himself and hope for the best outcome. (We are all praying that they turn out the way he wants, if not better! We're also praying that I counted out the minutes correctly.) I'll be honest, it was hard to watch him go through that. It was a learning experience, that's for sure, more-so for him than me, I'm certain. But to go through that kind of pain in the garden of Gethsemane, which isn't even the tiniest fraction of what the Savior suffered for us, is not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. I feel like I have a new-found respect and understanding for the Atonement.
After we finished, we went home and immediately crashed. Well deserved, methinks.
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