No Sunrise Resurrection Service

If the Way of the Cross had been a disappointment (see yesterday's post for Friday), my sunrise service at the Garden Tomb, where Christ was allegedly buried, would redeem it. So I checked what time to arrive (5:00 a.m. for a 6:30 service), made sure I could get a taxi at 4:30 and went to sleep, reminding myself not to expect so much this time.

Pitter patter patter pitter - my sun-rise service was a rain-fall service. My last great spiritual experience, rained out. Sigh. Dejected look. Pout. But oh well, what can you do? It probably would have been a crowded mess of people singing and chanting in a language I can't read or understand anyway, and besides I got to sleep more than two hours.*

I figured I'd hold on to the rest of my plan - the Temple Mount and an archaeological museum I'd spent a couple hours searching for another day, only to stumble on the Wailing Wall instead. I was thrilled to stumble on that actually, I posted that separately somewhere. Unfortunately the taxi driver said the Temple Mount was closed for Pesach, Passover. (I'm not sure why since the Moslems are in charge of the Temple Mount. Isn't that sad? It's the holiest place in Judaism.) Okay, fine, maybe I could see it tomorrow. I would get my archaeological museum. And this time, I would find it. I had four hours.

10 minutes later I found it, and no surprise, it was closed. I stared at the chained door pathetically, then sat on a stone wall and watched the Passover celebration going on in the square. If you haven't figured out from reading Friday's post, I can be kinda stubborn, and I was determined to get something out of the day, so I sat there writing about it - who knows, maybe some day it will help me write about the wedding party at Cana or something. It was kinda fun actually, but I do wish I'd gotten to see the other stuff, especially the Temple Mount and the Garden Tomb. I spent months researching the Temple, and it would have been really cool, but oh well.

3 plans and 3 down the drain, but what can you do? That's traveling for you. I think I saw another place Christ was buried while I drank Coke #2 in a tomb Friday, so I'll just use that. I doubt He was buried in an alleyway, but I'll find a garden somewhere or something. Actually no one was buried in the Garden Tomb for centuries on either side of Christ's death, so it's irrelevant. More likely He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where there is a long line to see a gold-encrusted tomb. I ditched that entirely.

Finally I got a taxi back to the hotel - I've getting some nerve. I yelled at some taxi drivers for not setting the meter. One told me to get out, but I was halfway out the door anyway. They rip you off like crazy, usually offering you an off-the-meter price that's about double the meter price. When I pitched a fit at his offer of 40 shekels he went down to 30 - I got mine for 14.30 on the meter. I must be figuring some things out around here, because I estimated it would be 17. Pretty good, if I do say so myself.

So finally I made it back to the hotel and started typing this. Darned if I won't get something done today!


*Post-script from after I got home - It wasn't rained out, apparently 1400 people attended the sunrise service, which was "amazing." Perhaps I missed my great spiritual experience, but I doubt it. I imagine it would have been hard to hear a thing with 1400 people around, and sitting around waiting for an hour and a half would have annoyed me. I am kinda bummed that I missed it though. Another year!