Mount of Olives / Garden of Gethsemane / Jewish Cementary

Mount of Olives

Carol reads the Bible story for us. 

(She is squinting 'cause of the sun)

The Mount of Olives is a ridge adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City and was named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. There is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, called the Garden of Gethsemane. It is famous as the place where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept the night before the crucifixion. (Gethsemane in Aramaic means "oil press".)

Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." (Mathew 26:36)

 The Garden of Gethsemane

Ancient olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane

Church of All Nations

Next to the Garden is a Roman Catholic church known as the Church of All Nations or the Basilica of the Agony. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest.

Church of All Nations

The Church was built between 1919 and 1924 using funds donated from many different nations giving the church one of its names - the Church of All Nations. The interior is beautiful.

Church of All Nations

According to Luke 22:43-44, Jesus' anguish on the Mount of Olives was so deep that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground".

Depiction of the rock upon which Jesus' sweat "was as it were drops of blood"

Judas Betrays Jesus

 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.

"Mathew 26: 48

 Judas' kiss of betrayal

Jewish Cemetery

The Mount of Olives has also been a home to a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years. There are approximately 150,000 graves. Jews believe the body should be wrapped in a shroud and buried in the ground on the day of death or within 24 hours if possible. Above ground is the gravestone marker.

 Jewish Cemetery

Flowers are not used to decorate a grave. Stones are placed on a grave as a sign of respect - they will not wilt or fly away. (To make doubly sure that your stone will not fly away, you could use a cinder block...)

Views from the Mount of Olives

The view from the Mount of Olives across to the Old City is spectacular.

 Dome of the Rock

 Al-Aqsa Mosque (above)  and the Dome of the Rock together form the holy site al-Haram al-Šarīf (The Noble Sanctuary). The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.

 Arab Cemetery

The Golden Gate in the wall of the Old City