Passion Week

Our last day in Jerusalem and all of Israel was spent walking the roads and visiting the spots Jesus was at during Passion Week. Many of us had been waiting for the opportunity to see the city from one of the best vantage points, the Mount of Olives. Personally, I was really looking forward to it because Jesus spent so much of His time there. - Spectacular views, beautiful gardens, and ancient olive trees (some possibly dating back to the days of Jesus)

We first stood out on a ridge overlooking the
Old City so we could get the classic view of the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock
now stands. In the picture foreground there is a Jewish cemetery - even thousands of years ago Jewish people wished to be buried facing the Golden Gate, which is now sealed off, because this is where the Messiah is to come into the city. In the middle of the picture you can see the gold top of the Dome of the Rock - the cemetery just below it spanning along the city wall is a Muslim cemetery which is being used to try and prevent Christian and Jewish prophecies about the coming Messiah from coming to pass. The tree line below that is in the middle of the Kidron Valley. The church with the Russian Orthodox-like golden spires is the Church of Mary Madelene, which is off to the right of the valley and the old city. This is the location of her birth.














The following pictures are various angles of the Garden of Gethsemane and the
Church of All Nations. The tree by the gate is the oldest olive tree on the Mount of Olives
and may even have been living when Jesus was here.