Mount of Olives in Jerusalem: the main shrines and sights

The Mount of Olives in Israel is an object whose importance for world culture is difficult to overestimate. This monument of history and architecture is also a sacred place for representatives of several religions.

Mount of Olives (Israel) and its geography

In terms of orography, it is not even a mountain, but a ridge of hills stretching along the northeast, east and south-eastern extremity of Jerusalem. It consists of three separate peaks, the highest of which reaches an absolute height of 826 meters.

On the south side of the ridge is the Mountain of Chagrin (or death). From the city itself, the Mount of Olives is separated by the Kedron Valley. Below, at the western slopes, there is a place called Gethsemane. It was here, according to the scriptures, that Jesus Christ prayed before his arrest.

These hills have been planted with olive trees since ancient times, so the mountain received its second name - the Olive Tree. The eight oldest olives grow within the Garden of Gethsemane today.

The Sacred Meaning of the Mountain

The Mount of Olives is revered by both Jews and Christians of different rites. In Judaism, it is the place where David worshiped God. It is with the Mount of Olives that the approach of the end of the world is connected with the Jewish prophet Ezekiel.

In Christianity, the Mount of Olives is considered the site of the last prayer of Christ before his arrest. Here he ascended to heaven.

Mentioned in the sacred texts and the Garden of Gethsemane. In particular, the Gospel says that it was here that Jesus often came with his disciples to pray. Here he was betrayed by one of them - Judas.

Mount of Olives (Jerusalem): major sights

On the slopes and three tops of the ridge are concentrated a huge number of architectural monuments, sacred places and attractions. Among them:

• Ancient Jewish cemetery;
• The tomb of the Virgin Mary;
• The cave of the Prophets;
• The temple of all nations;
• The Catholic Church Our Father;
• Ascension Monastery;
• The Church of Mary Magdalene;
• Gethsemane Garden and others.

Ancient Jewish cemetery

If you look at the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, then immediately a huge number of tombstones, which literally dotted its western slopes, will be immediately evident. These are the graves of the ancient Jewish cemetery. There are at least 150,000 of them here!

It is here, according to the book of the prophet Zechariah, the resurrection of the dead will begin at the end of the days of our world. On the mountain is the so-called Cave of the Prophets, in which there are 36 funerary niches. Among them - and the grave of the prophet Zechariah.

The first burials on the Mount of Olives date back to the 9th-10th centuries BC. Now in this place is located the Arab residential quarter Siluan. Later the cemetery began to expand and occupied the slopes of the ridge. In the middle of the twentieth century, when the Mount of Olives belonged to Jordan, many graves and tombstones were destroyed, devastated or desecrated.

Tomb of the Virgin Mary

The tomb of the Most Holy Theotokos (Virgin Mary) is one of the most important Christian shrines. It is located in Gethsemane, above it is built the cave church of the Assumption of the Virgin. Representatives of several faiths have access to worship in this church.

It is here, according to the sacred texts of the apostles, the Virgin Mary, buried by the Christian church as a saint, is buried.

The temple is underground. Having entered into it, the pilgrim gets on a wide ladder, consisting of 48 steps. The coffin of the Virgin Mary is located in a small chapel - a room measuring 2 by 2 meters. The total length of the underground church is 34 meters, and the width is only 6. Immediately behind the chapel, in the pink marble kiot, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God is kept, which is very revered by the Orthodox.

Visit the underground church of the Assumption of the Virgin and Muslims, who also revere the Virgin Mary.

Church of all nations

The Basilica of the Agony of the Lord, or the Church of All Nations - is perhaps the most famous temple on the Mount of Olives. The temple was built in the 1920s on that spot in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus performed his last prayer at large.

The author of the basilica was the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi. The temple was erected on the donations of twelve states of the world. That's why it is decorated with 12 domes.

The temple of all nations is Catholic, but representatives of other faiths can perform their services at the open altar near the church.

Church of Mary Magdalene

Another beautiful temple that adorns the slopes of the Mount of Olives is the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene. It was built in the late XIX century. It houses several relics, in particular the miraculous icon "Odigitria", as well as the relics of Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna and the nun Varvara, who died martyrdom in 1918 at the hands of the Bolsheviks.

The temple, built of white and gray local stone, is a fine example of Russian architecture. The structure has seven domes and a small bell tower. In the interiors of the church, tourists and pilgrims are struck by a beautiful floor made of colored marble, as well as an iconostasis decorated with ornaments of bronze.

Finally...

Thus, the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is a sacred place with a huge number of attractions. Every true believer dreams of visiting it, touching the holy relics of ancient temples.