Statue of St Anne and the Child, Mary.

Yesterday we visited the Church of St Anne, who was reputedly the mother of Mary (mother of Jesus). This church is in Jerusalem, in the old city. It’s a really lovely Church. I lit a candle for Mum and another for Dad.

I have had the privilege of singing for the group in some of the places we have visited, as it seems to fit the mood – so in this Church I sang ‘Springs of Living Water’ as we were about to go and visit the ancient pool of Bethesda, reputedly the site of one of Jesus’ miracles.

The pools have been excavated and there is little doubt that this is the ancient pool referred to in the New Testament. The site was still used into the Medieval period when the Crusaders had control of the city, and the excavations reveal the many layers of settlement.

The excavations at the pools of Bethesda, an ancient site of healing.

I am finding the archaeology very interesting, though it is difficult to keep it all in the head from one site to the next. We visited the ancient City of David which is outside the walls of the Old City, and the excavations here were interesting too. We went to the Pool of Shiloah which was part of the water system for the ancient city.