The Mount of Olives (Mount of Olives), which separates the Old City from the Judean Desert, takes its name from the olive groves which in ancient times dotted its slopes. It is one of the most famous places in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible. The Mount of Olives is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
The mountain is first mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where King David fled from his rebellious son Absalom. The monumental tomb of Absalom still stands on the western slope, a reminder of this tragic story. Not far away are the ancient tombs of Zechariah and Bnei-Hezir, and around it are about 150 thousand graves of a huge Jewish cemetery, which is more than 3 thousand years old. Jews have always sought to bury their loved ones on the Mount of Olives, as it is believed that this is where the resurrection of the dead will begin, this is where the Messiah will come: "And the glory of the Lord went up out of the midst of the city and stopped over the mountain that is east of the city" (Eze 11: 23), "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before the face of Jerusalem toward the east; and the mount of Olives shall be divided from east to west by a very great valley, and half of the mount shall go northward, and half of it southward" (Zech 14:4).
Among those who have found final rest on the Mount of Olives are Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the father of modern Hebrew, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, media mogul Robert Maxwell, early 20th century rabbi and major public figure Abraham Yitzhak Kook, and Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who blew a ritual shofar horn at the Wailing Wall when Israeli soldiers liberated it during the 1967 Six Day War.
For Christians, the Mount of Olives is associated with many episodes from the New Testament: here Jesus taught the people, wept for the future of Jerusalem, prayed before his arrest, faced Judas' betrayal and ascended to heaven after his resurrection.
An interfaith chapel, a Lutheran church and a Russian Orthodox monastery are dedicated to Jesus' Ascension (which is also recognised by Muslims). In the Garden of Gethsemane stand ancient olive trees, descendants of the trees that saw Jesus struggling on the night of his arrest. The nearby Catholic Basilica of Struggle preserves a piece of rock on which, according to legend, the prayer of the cup took place, and in the Grotto of Gethsemane pilgrims remember the kiss of Judas. Not far away in the cave is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Eastern Christians revere this place as the tomb of the Virgin Mary.
Of course, tourists get tired of walking around the mountain, the height of the three peaks of which varies within 800 metres (the highest point in the northern part, where the main campus of the Hebrew University is located, is 826 metres). Excursionists enjoy relaxing on the observation deck near the Seven Arches Hotel. The view from here is magnificent. Behind the back remains the monastery Pater Noster, on the slope can be seen drop-shaped church of the Tears of God, burning gold domes of the Russian church of St. Mary Magdalene and the ancient Jewish cemetery, and ahead stretches the Old City.
