Pool of Bethesda

This post is one in a series of posts about my trip to Israel in March 2011.
For other posts in this series, click here.

Once we left the Lion's Gate, we walked into the city.

First we passed a traditional site for Mary's birthplace.

Aren't those doors gorgeous?  I just loved all the ornate detail.

When we went inside, we saw the pool of Bethesda where Jesus performed a miracle:

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.  

Bethesda ruins

In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

  

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”  

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”  

Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”  At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.  John 5:2-9 NRSV

And here we were right where Jesus performed an incredible miracle of healing.

I was amazed at all the unique architectural details surrounding this space.

Another unusual thing was that cats were everywhere! 

I quickly snapped a pic to remember that as well. 

Next stop St. Anne's church.