From Mount of Olives, we descend to the Kidron Valley enjoying the birds eye panoramic view Jerusalem. On our way, we see the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, in the distance. After visiting sites of several ancient tombs, we enter the Old City through the Zion Gate into the Armenian Quarter and see the Byzantine Cardo. Then we go to the Western Wall. before driving on the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We end our tour with a visit to market areas of the Old City.
Our tour begins at the Mount of Olives. The elevated point offers a panoramic view across the holy city of Jerusalem. We see the ancient Jewish cemetery, the Old City with the shining Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount. The view makes it easy to imagine the Second Temple which once stood on Temple Mount and the bustling ancient city as it would have been almost 2000 years ago.
From here we take the winding road down to the Kidron Valley. The Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested the night before his crucifixion and the Church of All Nations, also called the Basilica of the Agony is visible on the way. In the valley, we visit the ancient burial tombs of Absalom and Jehoshaphat, Benei Hezir, and Zechariah. We enter the Old City through the Zion Gate into the Armenian Quarter and continue on to the Byzantine Cardo. This was the main street through Jerusalem 1,500 years ago. IT remained unused under Moslem rule before becoming an important thoroughfare in the Crusader period. Today after extensive excavations, which are ongoing, specialty stores are open where Crusader stores once stood.
Going through the Jewish Quarter we reach the holiest site of the Jewish faith, the Western Wall. Here Jews from around the world come to pray and put prayer notes between the wall’s stones. This 2,000-year-old wall was part of the outer supporting walls of the Second Temple which was destroyed in AD70.
We continue our drive on to the Via Dolorosa or the Way of Sorrows where Jesus is said to have walked towards his crucifixion. Along the way, we pause at several Stations of the Cross before making a stop at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This basilica is constructed on the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and within the church is his burial tomb. The Byzantine church has been renovated, rebuilt and expanded over the years; today it is a vast and ornate place of worship. We end our tour with a walk through the souvenir shops and the busy markets of the Old City.
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