Hey, I was tired of studying, it was a beautiful sunny gorgeous day, and Chelsea and Liz asked me to go with them to the Mount of Olives this afternoon....what would you say?? Right...I said "I'm in!"
We took an Arab bus for 5 shekels (about $1.25) to the top of the Mount of Olives, and went to a place called Augusta Victoria, which is a Christian church with a tower (in pic), an Arabic hospital, and a coffee shop. The tower was closed, or we would have climbed it for an even greater view.
We can't climb the tower, but we can surely go to the coffee shop!
Iced coffee....mmmmm, so good on a sunny day on the Mount of Olives:)
View of the Northern end of the Mount of Olives
Looking the other direction, to the southeast...I know it's hard to see, but thats the Dead Sea in the far distance!
After the coffee, we went for a walk along the streets.The Mount of Olives is almost entirely Palestinian (Arabs), since it is East Jerusalem. (West Jerusalem is mostly Jewish.)
Saw this little girl playing on her balcony as we walked past.
Some graffitti, with a Palestinian flag spray painted on the wall.
Surprisingly, we saw this Israeli flag just around the corner.
Finally, this is what we were trying to find, the Lookout with the awesome view of the Old City of Jerusalem.
I could never get tired of this view. We are looking at the Eastern wall of the Old City, directly onto the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock. You see the Golden or Eastern Gate to the right of the Dome, an elevation in the wall. In the foreground is the Jewish cemetary. The Jews are buried on the Mount of Olives, and Muslims buried on the opposite side of the Kidron Valley, next to the city walls.
Started to walk down the Mount of Olives on the Palm Sunday Road, we got behind lots of Japanese tourists.
Now we're alone on the same road, that's Liz and Chelsea ahead of me, taking pictures of some flowers on the wall.
And there they are.....pretty!!
At the base of the Mount of Olives, is what is called the Garden of Gethsemane. Of course we don't know exactly where Jesus was praying with His disciples when He got arrested, but it was definitely near here. Gethsemane means 'Olive Press', so it was a place with lots of Olive trees and a press. This tree here is very very old, they just seem to get thicker as they get older.
The whiter shorter thing you see here is what's left of a very ancient Olive Tree which probably did exist in Jesus' day.
Here's what the entry to the Church of All Nations looks like, which is the church at the Garden of Gethsemane.
We walked inside the church and they were having a service in there. The white-appearing floor you see in front of the Priest is a huge rock, that many believe may have been the rock that Jesus leaned on when He was in travail and prayer in the garden, while His disciples slept nearby.
More Olive trees in the garden. There's a timeless beauty about these trees that produce a fruit which has been so central to Israel's economy and sustenance for millenia
The Church of All Nations exterior.
Speaking of olive trees, they are everywhere!! Here amidst a muslim cemetary, beneath the Old City walls.
Across the street from the church, we are looking down into the Kidron valley at hundreds of olive trees. The Eastern Gate (Golden Gate) is above us, a well-recognized landmark on the eastern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. This is the gate (which has been closed for centuries) that Jesus, the Messiah,will enter the city through when He returns, as He begins His Millenial reign in Jerusalem.
The Kidron Valley which runs right between the Mount of Olives (left) and the Temple Mount/Old City (right). The conical structure you see in the center is a huge old tomb, called Absalom's pillar, but it really has nothing to do with Absalom and is dated from way after he lived.
Walking back up the hill to return to school, we see a small flock of goats grazing right next to the Old City Wall. Some things never change. My next post will include pictures of the Temple Mount...I finally had a chance to go up there and see the Dome of the Rock, see the other side of the Eastern Gate, and see the place where the Temple once stood...so as soon as I can get to it:)
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