Episode 20: "The Mount of Olives, Pt. 1" ( +)

Dr. Pederson took Zuzana, Jeremy and I to the Mount of Olives one weekend during the fall. Here's a brush-up on what all those cool cats look like:

Dr. Pederson.

Jeremy and Zuzana, in that order.

We met up with Dr. P. at Damascus Gate, the usual rendezvous for these trips by now. The original plan was to go straight to the Mount, but Zuzana had an interest in seeing "The Garden Tomb," which, according to some, is where Jesus was buried. An excerpt from the brochure:

"This garden has been carefully preserved as a Christian holy site because many believe it could be the garden of Joseph of Arimathea in which Jesus was buried after his crucifixion. It is maintained by an independent British charitable trust, The Garden Tomb Foundation. You are welcome to tour the Garden and to explore its spiritual significance."

We did just that. The garden was extremely beautiful. The British folks taking care of business over there are doing a heck of a job.

Dr. P. vocalized that she didn't believe this place was really where Jesus was buried (the Church of the Holy Sepulcher claims that tradition as well), but the place was still incredible on account of the amount of veneration given to it. The Garden Tomb was wonderful on the eyes, and filled with people who were really happy to be there. There was a group from Latin America singing Christian songs together in Spanish, which was cool to hear.

We briefly looked at the site nearby that is claimed to be Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Then we waited in line to see the tomb. People were solemnly praying inside. It's always good times to see people that juiced up over their faith.

"Golgotha."

We took an Arab bus to the Mount of Olives. Dr. P. bought us to the front of the Church of the Ascension, where Jesus is said to have been lifted into heaven. It's since been turned into a mosque, as you can see in the picture below (that's no cross at the top).

The Church of the Ascension posing with
the top of my head.

Dr. P. took us to her monastery, where we chilled out in the guest garden.

The garden.

Some doggies.

In the garden with a doggie.


A view of Jerusalem from a rooftop in the garden.

The monastery church.

Dr. P. sat us down, brought out some cookies, and talked with us for a while. It was good times.

After that, we went to the Church of the Pater Noster (the Lord's Prayer). Traditionally, it's where Jesus first taught the prayer. There's a church there, which I briefly saw, but the real treat was the courtyard and corridors outside of it. Along the walls were tiled sections, each dedicated to the Lord's Prayer in a different language. I guarantee you, the Lord's prayer was translated into every conceivable language you know, and then some. It was incredible. There was a cave you could go into to check out where Jesus may have said the prayer, which was cool, but my attention was already pretty well captured by the several translations.

The courtyard.

Standing in front of the Hebrew translation.

The Lord's Prayer in Cherokee. Beat that.
(P.S.--You can't.)

In Braille. Touch your prayer.

We tried to cap off the day by visiting what I believe was a Russian church, but it was closed by the time we got to the grounds. Dr. P. did let us know that we could still catch a view of the Israel/West Bank wall from there.

That gray strip along the middle of the picture.


Jeremy looking at the wall, being iconic.
That or I made him pose for the picture.


Zuz and I, at the same spot.

Afterward, Pederson showed us the way home. It was a simple, sunny excursion that I'm glad I was able to make. There was, however, one thing missing: The Garden of Gethsemane. Although it was on the Mount of Olives, we just didn't fit it in to our schedule that day. When I told my friend Val I'd missed out on that, he promised to take me back soon.

Shalom,
Eric