A Georgia Girl in Germany

One of our first stops in Jerusalem was to Mount Zion and the Cenacle or Coenaculum -- the Upper Last Supper Room. Just about everything in Jerusalem is built upon other structures, hence why our tour guide called this the “Upper” Last Supper Room. This structure is actually a 14th century renovation that marks the site of the Passover feast that Jesus attended with his disciples.

This sculpture of an olive tree is in the room because visitors couldn’t go to the Mount of Olives before the Six Days War since it was under Jordanian control.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you should know by now that I love stained glass windows -- this one had beautiful turquoise glass.

“And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.”
-- Luke 22: 12-13

The room has Gothic windows, Crusaders arches, cross-shaped posts and a statue of a pelican (I learned that pelicans will allow their babies to eat their skin if there’s no food to be had).

As we left the Cenacle, we passed the Dormition Abbey with its black-coned roof. Traditionally, it’s believed that Mary died here. This is also the church where she spent the night with Jesus before he was crucified.

Also in this area -- although we weren’t able to see it -- is the Hall of the Washing of the Feet, a small room where Jesus poured water into a basin and washed the disciples’ feet and that also leads into a hall housing the Tomb of King David. It’s very possible that this isn’t his true grave, but it nonetheless became a hallowed place for pilgrims between 1948 and 1967 when the Western Wall was in Jordanian hands and couldn’t be visited by Jews.



As we headed back to our bus, our tour guide stopped and inspected mustard flowers growing along the side of the road -- no seeds were growing yet.