MOUNT OF OLIVES

To the east of the old town, the Mount of Olives (808 m) is a very important site for the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions. According to tradition, this mountain is associated with the end of time, which explains the presence of cemeteries on its slopes since ancient times. It is home to the oldest and largest Jewish cemetery in the world on its western side. The 150,000 tombs that cover this part of the mountain give it its white colour. According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah, who will bring the resurrection of the dead, will first pass through the Mount of Olives before entering Jerusalem.

Located at the foot of the mountain, the tomb of the Virgin Mary, is the first Christian site you will encounter from Derech Yerikho. The chapel was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century, on the site of an older building.

Next to it, and still at the level of Derech Yerikho, are successively the Garden of Gethsemane, or Garden of Olives, and the Basilica of the Agony. It was in the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus gathered the night before his arrest. Eight olive trees planted more than 2,000 years ago are carefully preserved. The Basilica of the Agony (Basilica Agoniæ Domini), which dates from 1924, succeeded three other buildings. It reminds us of Jesus' prayer and his suffering to the point of blood. The name Church of All Nations also pays tribute to the many countries that financed its construction.

The start of the ascent to the top via the nearby street passes by the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene with its golden domes, built in 1886 by Tsar Alexander III.

Immediately above it is the Dominus Flevit Chapel. Built in 1955, it is located where Jesus would have wept before entering Jerusalem, predicting its destruction; hence its name, which in Latin means "the Lord wept".

At the end of the street, before the flight of stairs that leads to the top of the mountain, you can visit the tombs of the prophets (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) in an underground cavity indicated on your right.

The Pater Noster Church or Eleona (from the Greek eliaon, meaning "olive grove") was built in 1106 by the Crusaders on the site where Jesus is said to have taught the prayer of the "Our Father" to his disciples. Together with the Church of Saint Anne, the Tomb of the Kings and the Benedictine Abbey of Abu Gosh, it is part of the four French territories of Jerusalem.

Continuing in the first part of the Arab village of at-Tur you will reach the church (now mosque) of Ascension. This building, originally built in Byzantine times, on the site where Jesus is said to have ascended to heaven, was rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century. It was during the Ottoman period that the church was converted into the Ascension Mosque and a minaret was added. In the building, we can see a trace preserved on the ground; according to a legend, it is the imprint of a step that Jesus left before ascending to heaven.

Returning to the stairs that brought you to the top of the Mount of Olives and walking a hundred meters, you can admire the city from the viewpoint named after the Israeli minister Rehava'am Ze'evi who was assassinated in Jerusalem in 2001.