We spent a day on the Mount of Olives. We started on top, at the Russian Orthodox church of the ascenscion, marking the spot where, according to the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus ascended into heaven. Pictured here is the bell tower and an interior shot of that church.
As you walk down the Mount, the views of Jerusalem are stunning. There are various holy sites marked along the way, such as one commemorating Jesus looking out over Jerusalem and weeping for it, and of course also the Garden of Gesthemene. Some of the olive trees in the Garden, such as the one in the photo above, are thought to be over 2000 years old, dating back to the time of Jesus. The other striking thing about the Mount of Olives is a huge Jewish cemetary, one of the oldest and perhaps most revered Jewish cemetaries in the world, as it is believed to be the site where resurrections will begin at the day of judgment. Jews place small stones on top of the graves as a symbol of having visited them.
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