In a separate room, the Center features a computerized three-dimensional model of the Temple Mount in Herodian times, but it must be booked prior to arrival. Another offering at the Davidson Center is a film on Jewish to Jerusalem during Second Temple times, on the Jewish “Sukkot” holiday. Just a short walk from the Old City, Mt. Zion (which until the 16th century was enclosed by the city walls), is a site of two landmarks of importance to Christian visitors. Dormition Abbey has been built on the site traditionally considered the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, departed her earthly form. Nearby is the coenaculum, which tradition pinpoints as being the site of the Last Supper. A Path down the Mount of Olives One fascinating walking tour in Jerusalem begins atop the Mount of Olives and takes pilgrims in the footsteps of Jesus as He entered the city for what was to be the last time. Begin near the summit of the Mount, where a tiny building is open to the public. It has been in Muslim hands for many years, but centuries ago it was a Christian chapel built by the Crusaders. In chronological terms, it marks the very end of the gospel stories about Jesus, as it is the traditional site of the Ascension. There is little to see there, but it is a point of importance in the tradition of holy places in Jerusalem. Also notice the topography. As one scholar has noted, the fact that Jesus continued down the Mount of Olives on His way to Jerusalem and to His death instead of returning easily in the direction of Bethany, where He would have been safe, is a very clear indication of His acceptance of His divine role and fate. Just down the road from the Chapel of the Ascension is the Church of the Pater Noster, associated with Luke’s account of the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-4). The church contains over eighty versions of the Lord’s Prayer in different languages. Further down the Mount the beautifully located Church of Dominus Flevit is located, commemorating the point at which Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The church itself is built in the shape of a teardrop! The Garden of Gethsemane, located by the Kidron Brook at the summit of the Mount, on the natural walking route between Bethany and Jerusalem, is where Jesus prayed before His arrest. As with the other traditional sites, we cannot be sure where exactly this happened, but the area in question is really very small, and pilgrims visiting modern-day Gethsemane can be certain that they are within a stone’s throw of the place where Jesus went through such agony before His arrest. Gethsemane means “olive press,” and very ancient olive trees still grow in the garden.
verses about relevant events in Jesus’ life. Entitled “Bookends of the Gospels,” the tour, for groups, includes access to the southern part of Jerusalem’s historical moat that surrounds the Citadel, where excavations of archeological remains have revealed an ancient quarry, a ritual bath from the Second Temple, a hewn water channel, secret passageways and a giant stone staircase and pools from the Hasmonean and Herodian eras. The moat also includes passage to the Kishle, the Ottoman Prison which was excavated over the last decade and contains remains detailing the history of Jerusalem from the First Temple period to the establishment of the State of Israel. The Christian Information Center, situated at Jaffa Gate near the museum, provides a wealth of specific information on Christian activities and sites in Jerusalem - and throughout Israel. Christian visitors to Jerusalem also will want to experience the sites sanctified by their being a part of the early history of their faith, and exploring the Western Wall area, including the Temple compound in which Jesus preached, and spending time wandering around the Second Temple Archeological Garden, a part of the Davidson Center, and treading on the original stones where Jesus stepped, at the corner under Robinson’s Arch, is a good way to begin. The money lenders He upbraided sat there, and the markings separating the different stalls are still visible. Visitors may climb up the steps leading to Hulda Gate, which Jesus would have used to enter the Temple.
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