Jerusalem Trips & Jerusalem Meaning--Subscribe to Learn About the Holy City and its Holylands

The Mount of Olives

Located across a valley to the west of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Mount of Olives is one of the most familiar places in Jerusalem. Travelers for Jerusalem Trips come by the tens of thousands here daily to view Jerusalem (the most familiar pictures of Jerusalem are taken from this vantage point). This ridge is important in Judaism and Christianity for many reasons: it is the site from which the ashes of the red heifer were prepared, it is the site of the most important Jewish cemeteries, Yeshua (Jesus) made his triumphal entry from here, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane here, was arrested from here, ascended from here, and will return here. Modern travelers enjoy the view from the Mount of Olives, enjoy camel rides, group photos, and shopping. In addition to shops and Jewish cemeteries, there are many churches built in the ridge commemorating various events in the story of Yeshua.

Temple Mount

There is no Jewish Temple here anymore, not since 70 CE, when the Romans destroyed it. Instead the mount is graced by a beautiful golden dome, originally built in 691 and beautified in several upgrades over the centuries. Visitors must come in the morning, Sunday through Thursday (or one hour in which the mount is opened in the afternoon). A Muslim authority called the Waqf regulates the Temple Mount in an agreement with Israel and the Border Police. Observant Jews usually avoid walking on the Mount and the Muslim authorities forbid Bibles, prayer books, or any form of prayer other than Muslim prayer up here.

The Temple Mount was purchased by King David (1040-970 ), built by Solomon, and enlarged by King Herod. The first Temple stood here from 960 to 586 BCE, when it was destroyed by the Babylonians. The second Temple stood here from 516 BCE to 70 CE, was enlarged by Herod starting in 40 BCE, and was destroyed by the Roman army under the command of Titus. Many Jews and Christians believe the Temple will be rebuilt as part of the events leading up to or following from the coming of Messiah (or the return of Yeshua).

St. Peter’s Gallicanto (Home of Caiphas)

This church is traditionally known as the home of Caiphas, the high priest who held Yeshua (Jesus) prisoner and tried him before bringing him to Pilate. Archaeology gives evidence that this may well have been Caiphas’ house. Visitors can enter the basement where perhaps Yeshua was held overnight for trial. Many Christians come to pray here. The steps outside the home are likely the path along which Yeshua was escorted by soldiers to his trial.

Pool of Siloam

The Gihon Spring’s waters were collected in a lower pool, useful for bathers and watering animals. Yeshua (Jesus) healed a man here, blind from birth (John 9:1-17). The pool was rediscovered and partially uncovered in late 2004. Visitors can walk on the steps leading down to the pool and see the arched entrance to Hezekiah’s Tunnel (Isaiah 22:9).

Garden Tomb

A British General, Charles Gordon, was motivated by archaeological questions, as well as skepticism about the tradition of the Holy Sepulchre, to find another possible site for the death and burial of Yeshua (Jesus). He found a hill with a natural skull image in it (called Gordon’s Calvary) next to a Jewish tomb with cisterns indicating it had also been a garden. Few believe this is the actual spot of the crucifixion and tomb, but the Garden Tomb is preserved in a manner which is much more like the place where Yeshua was buried (unlike the Holy Sepulchre which is an ornate church completely foreign to the Jewish original site). The Garden Tomb is a favorite of Christian tourists because this place is a real Jewish tomb and Gordon’s Calvary looks much like the type of hill on which Yeshua would have been crucified.

Davidson Center (South Wall Excavations)

Excavations in the twentieth century uncovered massive steps as well as original Herodian stones heaped in piles where the Roman soldiers threw them in the destruction of 70 CE. The site is a park today and tourists come to see something of what Jerusalem’s Temple Mount looked like in its heyday. The piles of massive stones remind Christian tourists of Yeshua’s prediction, “Not one stone will remain upon another” (Mark 13:2).

Bethesda Pools

This is the site of a healing miracle of Yeshua (Jesus) as recorded in John 5:1-18. The pools were identified after archaeological digs in 1964. Located next to the famous St. Anne’s Church (Roman Catholic), the Bethesda Pools offer a beautiful view of Jerusalem’s early layers, with examples of Byzantine and Crusader architecture and engineering. The site was believed to be a place of healing in early Jewish as well as later pagan legends. Many see the story in John 5 as meaning that Yeshua’s power was real, whereas the reputed magical healing of the place was a mere myth.

Temple Institute

For a small fee, visitors can come inside and see replicas of Temple furniture and accessories. The Temple Institute’s mission is to be prepared for the rebuilding of the Temple. They have built many real pieces of furniture, tools, and implements, though visitors are usually shown replicas and not originals. Short lectures are available and information about the Temple past and future.

Israel Museum (and Shrine of the Book)

Newly re-opened in 2010, the Israel Museum is home to the famous Shrine of the Book, housing some originals and some replicas of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The newly designed museum features spectacular modern art blended with a journey through the centuries of Israel’s past in the biblical period and beyond. Visitors gain a working knowledge of biblical lifestyle, customs, and artifacts, the history of the land, and the history of the Jewish people.

Temple Dirt Dig

In 1999 and in several later actions, Muslim authorities excavated tons of dirt from the Temple Mount and deposited the remains in garbage dumps. The political issues from these excavations resulted in a complete lack of action by the Israeli government despite the fact that the world’s most valuable archaeological layers were being damaged extensively. Muslim authorities used power equipment to mix the remains with modern garbage, in what appears to be an attempt to further obscure evidence of the existence of the first and second Temples here. Eventually, archaeologists secured to right to remove the debris from the landfills, to bring them to a location in east Jerusalem, and to use a combination of volunteers and students to sift through the remains and make finds. For a small fee, a visitor can participate in hands-on archaeological work and hear about the finds that have been made here.