Mount of Olives from top to bottom

 September 25, 2023  (afternoon)

Leaving the Old City from the Damascus Gate, we were taken by bus to the top of the Mount of Olives.  There we had lunch at "Joe's".   This restaurant had a fantastic view from the top of the Mount of Olives.  

View from top of Mount of Olives

  Just outside this restaurant and up the street was     the Church of the Ascension.    Curiously this   property  is in an Arab owned property, but access   and worship is allowed to the Christian community.

Chruch of the Ascension  (378 AD

Built on the spot where Christ Ascended to heaven.

Next we walked a ways to another church.  This is called the Church of the Our Father.  It is a reference to the Scripture passage when Jesus taught the Apostles how to pray.  This church is under the protection of the French.  The grounds of the church is surrounded by a courtyard that has the Our Father in the text of many different languages.

Church of the Our Father

Our Father in Polish

Our Father in English

Our Father in Maltese

Built in 1875 on the ruins of a 12th century church.

Now we begin our walk down the Mount of Olives by way of the Palm Sunday Road.  On the way down we pass by Jewish graves.  They are like raised crypts made of cement.  We see stones have been placed on them by visitors, family and friends who want to note their attention to their deceased.  On the way we stop in an Olive Grove that has a Church called  "Dominus Flevit".  This relates to the Scripture passage that says Jesus wept over the City of Jerusalem.  

The Palm Sunday Road

      

Jewish Cemetary 

Jewish Cemetary

Dominus Flevit (Weeps) Church

         When we got to the end of the Mount of Olive,  

         entered the Garden of Gethsemani.  It seems                 that these olive trees are from the time of Christ.

            

Garden of Gethsemani

Next to the Garden of Gethsemani is a large church called the Church of All Nations.  It was funded by the major powers of the West (including the U.S.).

The design is another by A. Barluzzi.   The windows are made of alabastor instead of glass to let in less light.  Thus the sadness of the night in Gethsemani is illustrated.

Next our group moved to the Zion Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem to visit the place of the Upper Room.  But it was closed early due to the arrival of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.  So we walked back out of the Zion Gate to the Abbey of the Dormition which was nearby.  This is where the Orthodox believe the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken to heaven in her sleep (dormition) body and soul.  

Abbey of the Dormition

Doorway to the Upper Room

Zion Gate to Old City Jerusalem

Abbey of the Dormition , in the crypt of the church is a statue of the sleeping Blessed Mother.  Our group said one decade of the rosary aloud and sang a Marian Hymn.

Crypt of the Dormition

Church of the Dormition

Our pilgrimage day was done.  We returned to the Grand Court Hotel in Jerusalem.