Today we began with our guide, Samir, at the Mount of Olives from which our Lord began his triumphant ride into Jerusalem. There is a magnificent view of the city from here, white buildings and the golden domes, specifically the Golden Dome, where the original temple stood and is now covered by a mosque.
Another beautiful golden dome on the mount of olives was the Russian Orthodox Convent of Mary Magdalene. The tomb of St. Elizabeth, their benefactor, rests inside. The luxuriant garden of the church is how you might visualize the Garden of Gethsemane, located below this monastery. In the Garden of Gethsemane, which was our next stop, grow only olive trees, now fenced in because of the myriad of visitors to the Garden and the Roman Catholic Church beside it. Some of the trees are probably 3,000 years old, and this is known to be just where Christ prayed to His heavenly Father before He endured His passion before the crucifiction. The Catholic All Nations Church or Agony Church holds a small piece of the rock upon which Christ had been praying. Next, we saw the empty tomb of St. Mary, the Mother of God, at the Greek Orthodox Church and were made to understand it is the correct place of her assumption. Viewing below us, we could see an unusually shaped dome representing the tears He'd shed.
Along this way, we stopped to venerate the footprint of our Lord upon His Ascension.
We also went to Bethany to visit the tomb where Lazarus lay until Christ raised him from the dead. The Greek Orthodox Church of Martha and Mary stands on the place where Mary ran to Jesus to tell Him her brother had died. This is the place where He said, "I am the life and the resurrection." After a delicious lunch in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem, we relaxed and shopped and wandered into more areas of the large bazaar.
