Explore The Israel Museum

Besides the religious sights in Old Jerusalem, a visit to the Israel Museum, located in West Jerusalem is worth your time. We explored the museum first thing in the morning as it is quite a big museum spread out in a large area. There are modern art sculptures all around the park from the works of Spanish Joan Miro to French Sculptor Auguste Rodin. The park is also surrounded by huge rosemary bushes and olive trees that both smelled so fragrant in the desert heat. Surprisingly, the Israel Museum has a variety of large collections from the Jewish Ancient Art to the Fine Arts Wing, featuring paintings from Peter Paul Rubens, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Pablo Picasso and modern American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others. There is also the Archaeology wing which showed the history of the Jews including the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls which are exhibited on the white water jar like building above. Visiting the Israel Museum was fascinating as it has a vast collection of art from the ancient to the modern times plus a vast history about mankind which is truly important to learn and preserve.

Behind me is the Shrine of the Book, shaped like the water jug where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found many centuries ago by a Bedouin shepherd in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea. Inside is a vault like interior where the Dead Sea scrolls are on display. These scrolls were believed to be written by St John the Baptist when he lived as a hermit in the Qumran caves. The scrolls is about the story of Armageddon, the battle between the Children of Light and the Children of Darkness.

On display inside is the Aleppo Codex, named after the city of Aleppo in Syria, where the ancient Hebrew Bible and Torah were first written. We learnt the importance of Syria as the place where religion and civilisation first started. That's why it is very important for the World to save Syria as they are one of the ancient people in the World.