Jerusalem

Sites to visit:

• Mount of Olives: one of the holy mountains in the region, overlooking Jerusalem Old City. It was named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes and it is location of several key events in Jesus’ life
• Bethany: Located on the eastern side of Mount of Olives. Bethany is the town of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The Tomb of Lazarus can still be visited here. (John11:18)
• Bethpage: the place where Jesus started his journey into the city of Jerusalem, riding a donkey. It is the beginning of the traditional Palm Sunday procession.
• The Chapel of the Ascension: where the first church to commemorate the ascension was built (Luke 51-24:50; Acts 11-1:9)
• Pater Noster Church: the place where Jesus taught his disciples to pray The Lord’s Prayer. A beautiful Carmelite Church displays plaques of the Lord’s Prayer in more than 60 languages. (Luke 4-11:1; Matthew 13-6:9; Luke 21:37)
• Dominus Flevit: the place where Jesus wept over the fate of Jerusalem (Luke 44-19:37; Luke 13:34)
• Garden of Gethsemane: the spot where Jesus came to pray with his disciples after the last supper, it contains several ancient olive trees. Next to the garden, you will find the Church of All Nations; an amazing church built around the olive press where Jesus prayed that night. (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:22; Luke 44- 19:37; John 3- 18:1)
• Mary’s Tomb- the Assumption: run by the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian. It is believed to be the place where the body of Mary was laid before it was taken by the angels to heaven
• Kidron Valley: full of graveyards and ancient tombs. One of them is believed to be the tomb of Absalom, the son of King David.
• The Walls of Jerusalem: were built by Suleiman the magnificent in 1538. These ancient walls contain eight gates into Jerusalem, one of them was closed off, it is the Golden Gate of Eastern Gate and the locals call it the Gate of Mercy.
• Pool of the Bethesda: a major water reservoir for the city of Jerusalem. It is believed to be the place where Jesus healed a man that was sick for 38 years. (John9-5:1; Isaiah 7, 3)
• Church of St. Ann: the traditional site where Mary, Jesus’ Mother was born. It is an example of an amazing crusader church from the 12th century.
• Via Dolorosa: “the Way of the Cross”, starts from the site were Antonia Fortress was standing and ends in the place where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate.
  Fist Station of the Cross: Church of Condemnation and the Church of the Flagellation. Some remains from Antonia Fortress can still be found here. (John 19:16)
• Ecce Homo: located in the Sisters of Zion Convent. The old pavement of the street is believed to be a part of the pavement of Antonia Fortress. Inside, one of the tiles has carving of the “Game of the King” that Roman Soldiers played to humiliate Jesus before he was taken to be crucified. (John 19:14; 19:5)
• Pool of the Station: located underneath the Lithostrotos, was a major water cistern in Jerusalem and later for the Antoine Fortress.
• Prison of Christ: a Greek Orthodox Church was built above ancient cells that were used by Romans as a prison for Criminals and rebels.
• Church of the Holy Sepulcher: the first church to be built in the Holy Land and was destroyed several times. The current church structure is mainly from the Crusader era. Inside the church you can find the Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and also the empty tomb. There are numerous alters and icons that were added by the five Christian denominations that are associated with the church. It is believed to be the place of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. ( Mathew 60-27:33,35,59; Mark15:22,46; Luke23:33,53; John41-40, 19:17)
• Mosque of Omar: located opposite to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is the site where Caliph Omar Bin El Khattab prayed when he came to Jerusalem.
  Church of the Redeemer. A Lutheran Church that was built in the end of the 19th Century. ( Galatians 3:13)
• Church of St. Mark: is a Syrian Orthodox Church, believed of be the site of the Last Supper and the Pentecost. Inside the church is a painting believed to be Mary, the Mother of Jesus, holding baby Jesus in her hands. Tradition says it was painter by St. Luke face to face with Mary.
• St. James: is located in the Armenian Quarter. ( Acts 12:2)
  Tower of David: an ancient fortress where Herod built his palace tow thousand years ago. Today it contains a museum displaying the history of Jerusalem (Psalms 48:12)
• The Western Wall : it is considered the holiest place for the Jews in all of Jerusalem
  Southern Wall Excavations and the Teachings Steps: the Teaching Steps are located on the south side of Al Aqsa Mountain, with remains to the ancient steps that lead up to the Mount. Next to it, there are many old Mekvis; and remains from palaces from the first Islamic era in Jerusalem.
• On the Western side, you find the ancient first century street which is one of the few known places where Jesus actually walked.
• Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock: considered the holiest site for Muslims in Jerusalem and the third holiest site for Muslims in the world. it was built at the end of the 7th century by the Umayyad. It is believed to be the place where Prophet Mohammad prayed during the night of Al Isra’ wal Miraj. This is the night journey that Prophet Mohammad took during a single night around the year 621. In the journey, Prophet Mohammad traveled on the steed Buraq to the farthest mosque, where he leads other prophets in prayer. He then ascends to heaven where he spoke to God, who gave Prophet Mohammad instructions to take back to the Faithful regarding the details of prayer. It is also referred to as Mount Moriah, the very mountain where it is believed that Abraham brought his son Isaac to sacrifice to the Lord
• The Upper Room: a Crusader building that represents the upper room where the last supper took place. ( Mark 26-14:12; Matthew 36-25:17; Acts 4,29-2:1)
• Tomb of King David: the traditional site where King David was buried. (1King 2:9; Nehemiah2:16 ; Acts 2:29)
• Church of the Dormition: another site related to assumption of Mary. According to the Catholic faith, Mary mother of Jesus did not die, but slept and the angel took her to heaven.
• Jebusite’s Jerusalem: is located in the Palestinian town of silwan. It has remains from the ancient city of Or Salem and David occupied it later on. Two tunnels were found here; the Canaanite tunnel; which is a dry tunnel, and Hezekiah’s tunnel, which connects the water of the Gihon spring with the Pool of Siloam. ( Joshua 18:1,8)
• Pool of Siloam: was uncovered recently. It is considered to be the place where Jesus told the blind man to wash his eyes from the mud that he used to heal them. ( John 9)
• St. Peter is Gallicantu Church: was built at the location of the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Gallicantu means “Cock’s Crow” in Latin, in remembrance of Peter’s three rejections of Christ. It also holds the dungeon where Jesus was held for a night and in the next morning was dragged to Pontius Pilate. ( Mark 72-14:26; Luke 61-27:34)
• Ein Karem: The town of Elizabeth and Joachim. ( Luke 56-1:39)
  The Church of Visitation: were Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth when both were pregnant. ( Luke56-1:39) Church of St. John the Baptist: the birthplace of St. John. ( Matthew 12-3:1 ; Matthew 17-3:13; John 3:28)
• Israeli Museum: where you can find a model of Jerusalem from the second temple period and the Shrine of the Book were the Dead Sea scrolls are on display.
  Emmaus, abu Ghosh: one of the three sites identified as the possible location of Emmaus, where Jesus walked with the two disciples on the day of His resurrection. ( Luke 35-24:13)