Israel and Jordon Tour: Day 7

To Mount Zion just outside old city walls to area where Orthodox Jews say is Tomb of David - in fact a European visitor a long time ago asked a guide where the tomb was and the exasperated guide pointed to a rubbish dump and this stuck. Visited synagogue on this site. This area also the church on the site of the upper room in the residential quarter at time of jesus where Phil M read to our tour the biblical passage of the last supper. Entered old city at this point through Zion gate and went through Armenian quarter to museum of history of Jerusalem on old city wall where we climbed and got breathtaking views over city. Bus to Bethlehem for lunch of best vegetarian souvlaki ever eaten but distracted by whether Buddy Franklin will be a good investment for the Swans. To Church of Nativity. At time of census a man and his wife came to Bethlehem and stayed in a cave and in the back of the cave the animals were kept and Mary had privacy to give birth to Jesus; then a church was on that site; church destroyed 135 AD by Hadrian and replaced with Roman temple; then in 335 AD emperor Constantine's mother visited the site and had the temple replaced with a church and we saw part of the tiled floor today; then successive destructions and rebuildings to the current edifice with beamed roof by crusaders but church now largely full of Greek Orthodox icons etc; sang O Little Town of Bethlehem; went next door to Franciscan (Catholic) church with beautiful windows; read some scripture; went 4ks to Shepherds Fields - they at bottom of society, looked after flocks for 2 months at a time away from cropping land, and were often suspected of eating the odd lamb - now a beautiful small Franciscan church with frescos including of aged shepherds and shepherd boy dancing for joy. Drove 15ks odd back to Jerusalem but stopped at basic remains of Herod's Palace overlooked but even more basic remains of his tomb destroyed by Zealots in about 70AD. Drove through West Bank area lost by Jordan to Israel in 1967 and viewed from bus substantial buildings all together being one Jewish Settlement - so controversial.