Mount of Olives, Lookout Point

After leaving the Israeli Museum, we drive all the way up the Mount of Olives, just outside of Jerusalem. From the top, we enjoy a breath-taking view of the whole city, dominated by the golden Dome of the Rock.

According to the Gospel, on Palm Sunday Jesus took a donkey on the mount of Olives and walked through the golden gate of Jerusalem, greeted by local people with palm branches. On Thursday the following week he had the Last Supper with his apostoles and then went to Garden of Getsemani, where he asked his apostoles to pray with him. Instead, they all fell asleep.

A few hours later, the guards of Kaifas (the highest Jewish priest) arrested Jesus and brought him to Kaifas's House. It's here that Peter denied three time of knowing Jesus. As the Jews were not allowed to condemn anybody to death, that's why they brought Jesus to the Palace of Pontius Pilatus, who gave his permission to crucify him. Crucifucation took place on Mount Golgota.

From the terrace we realise how immense the area once hosting the old temple is: the whole plateau built by Herod and surrounded by 4 huge walls (one of which is the Western Wall) represents the major complex in the whole city.
According to Jewish tradition, the first temple was destroyed by Babylonians in the 6th century b.C. On the same site, a second temple was built in 516 b.C. and then destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. after the Great Rebellion. Since then, no other Jewish temple was erected and in 696 the Dome of the Rock was built.Read more