The Mount of Olives - 4-6 Hours Tour

The trip begins at the Mt. Scopus desert observation point and ends at David’s city. Highlights include: Mt. of Olives observation point, Mt. Of Olives churches, Absalom lookout point, and a panoramic view of the City of David . Appropriate for the whole family - but involves extensive walking.

Mt. Of Olives churches

The Dominus Flevit Church

According to tradition, this is the site where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and foretold its destruction, as related in the New Testament. Let’s enter the site, and stop just a few steps in, next to a structure on the right. Behind the protective bars you can see several ancient stone boxes. This ancient burial site was uncovered by the local Franciscan monks.

 The small stone caskets are bone boxes, known as “ossuaries,” and were typical of upper-class Jewish burial in the Second Temple period and the early Christian era. The body of the deceased was first laid in a tomb for a year or so, until the flesh had completely decomposed, and the bones were then transferred to an ossuary.

 Some of the ossuaries are decorated with geometric or floral designs. Others have inscriptions that occasionally tell us something about the deceased. On one, for example, there appear the Greek letters XI and RHO , which begin the word “Christos” – “Messiah” in Greek. The Franciscans concluded that this is the oldest Christian burial site ever found in Jerusalem , and evidence of the activity of the followers of Jesus in the area.

 Let us continue toward the church itself, and stand where we can see the building and the panorama of the Old City at the same time. The dominant sight in the Old City is the gold Dome of the Rock. In the days of Jesus, in the early first century CE, the huge Jewish Temple stood on that spot. According to the New Testament, Jesus came to Jerusalem in the last week of his life. His heart was heavy as he looked across at the city, perhaps from this very spot, and wept as he prophesied its coming destruction. Look at the architecture of the church. It was designed to resemble a tear-drop, and even the green flow-marks of rusty water from the copper roof recall the story. The two columns in the courtyard are remnants of the Byzantine church that once stood here.

It is time to enter the church.

Most traditional churches face east, the direction whence cometh the light. Unusual among churches, Dominus Flevit faces west, toward Jerusalem . Through the picture window behind the altar, worshipers have a similar view of the Temple Mount that faced Jesus, and can share his pain as he mourned the bitter fate that awaited it.

The altar includes a mosaic of a hen gathering her chicks, a scriptural reference to the words of Jesus as he bemoaned the city’s refusal to mend its ways.

At the back of the modern church are some remains of the round apse of the Byzantine church, built about 1,500 years ago. It faces east. There are patches of the ancient mosaic on the floor; but outside, to the right of the doorway, is a wonderful Byzantine mosaic floor, decorated with fruit, plants and Greek inscriptions.

Our next stop is the Russian church of Maria Magdalena , distinguished by its gold, onion-shaped domes. Since the church has very limited visiting hours .

Church of Maria Magdalena

The Russian church of Maria Magdalena is one of the most prominent on the Mount of Olives . If you are in the area during the very limited hours the church is open, it is worth a visit.

The gilded onion-shaped domes, typical of Russian churches and monasteries since the 16 th century, have made the building a Jerusalem landmark.

It is said that the rounded domes were designed to reduce the accumulation of snow on the roofs. That was certainly useful in a Russian winter, but here it is a decorative element intended to emphasize the Russian presence in the Holy Land . With the increase in the number of Russian pilgrims to the Holy Land in the mid-19 th century, many religious and public institutions were built in and around Jerusalem , on the initiative of the Russian royal house. The church of Maria Magdalena is regarded as the jewel in its crown. The church was consecrated in 1888, during the visit to Jerusalem of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, one of the sons of Czar Alexander II, and his wife, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodrovna. It is said that when she saw the magnificent church, her eyes filled with tears, and she expressed the wish to be buried in the Holy City .

Sergei was assassinated in the 1905 riots in Russia . Elizabeth , lost and in pain, became a nun, giving away her wealth to charitable causes. In 1918, she was murdered, along with the rest of the family of the Czar. Her wish was fulfilled, however. In 1921, in a complex operation, the remains of the Grand Duchess were smuggled out of Russia via China , and brought to burial in the church you see here. Her embalmed body lies in the church itself.

Other sites of worship are of considerable importance, such as for example, the Pater Noster Church , which is revered by Christians as the place where Jesus taught his disciples the « Lord’s Prayer ».

This text is based on an original article "Mount Of Olives Audio Tour – written material", and is reproduced with permission from the City of Jerusalem , in accordance with copyright law. The complete article may be downloaded at Jerusalem city website.