Tour of Jerusalem

Welcome to the Holy Land!

I'm going to walk you through the same tour that I took on my first full day in Jerusalem. This page will show you just about all the big touristy sights in the city, and I'll give a tour-guide style caption for each picture. Nifty, huh?

We'll start on the Mount of Olives. From there, we'll walk down the mountain, up a hill, and into the walled Old City. Once inside the Old City, we'll travel along the Via Dolorosa (according to tradition, the path Jesus took to his crucifixion), taking us to see the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Get ready to be amazed!

Click on any picture for a larger version.

For an even more detailed scan, if you have ANY question whatsoever, or to comment on how much you like this page, please email me at erik@eriklove.com!

View from the Mount of Olives

Considered by many to be the best view of the city, I took these spectacular shots at the start of our tour.

The golden Dome of the Rock dominates the view. The office towers in the distance form the Israeli West Jerusalem skyline. You can see the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the left of the close-up photo. Before we get into the Old City, though, let's take a few photos on the Mount of Olives...

The Group

The Great Lakes Jerusalem Program 2000. Simply the most amazing group of people I have ever had the privilege of working with. We spent four months together, and managed to learn a lot about the Middle East despite our forced evacuation of the Holy Land halfway through our trip. I love these people.

First row, left to right: Kristy, Beth, Maddie, Liz, Anna, Morgan, Dana, Jen, and Noah on the far right.

Back row, left to right: Dan, Leah, Kurt, Zac, Heather, Kirtland (hiding), Ayako, Whitney, and myself.

Dr. Len Berkey

Our fearless leader. Len was simply an amazing group leader. He was considerate of student needs, built excellent group rapport, prepared a rigorous and innovative course of study for the semester, and tirelessly worked to rebuild the program after our tumultuous evacuation to Cyprus. The program would not have been successful without the help of this man right here. He rocks.

Cemetery on the Mount of Olives

This is a huge ancient cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Quite a sight. According to tradition, when the messiah comes and the Golden Gate opens, the souls in these tombs will be first in line to move on to eternal heaven.

Mosque of Ascension

Inside and Outside Views

The Mosque of Ascension is built over the spot from where Jesus is believed to have ascended to heaven. The group waiting outside is not ours, but a Spanish tourist group. If you look closely at the plate on the inside of the mosque, you can see an American dollar as a donation.

Gethsemane

This is quite a sight. This garden is where Christians believe Jesus first entered Jerusalem and began his final few hours. What's quite amazing, though, is that some of the olive trees you see in this photo are over 2000 years old. This means that these very olive trees might have been there when Jesus passed through Gethsemane.

The Tomb of Mary

The Tomb of Mary is the spot where Mary, according to tradition, is buried. Mary was the mother of Jesus, and her shrine in this long, candlelit tunnel is absolutely beautiful. The number of tourists here was quite impressive.

Russian Orthodox Church

Here, Jen is seated on a wall overlooking the Russian Orthodox Church's golden domes. This church is a landmark in Jerusalem, and is visible from pretty far away, because of its spot on the Mount of Olives. Jen is also a Jerusalem landmark, and she has a golden dome, too.

City Walls and The Golden Gate

This is a close-up view of the Old City Walls as we made our approach. You can just barely see the top of the Dome of the Rock peeking above the ramparts.

The large gate in the wall is the Golden Gate which would lead to the Noble Sanctuary, but it was filled in back in the day. Legend has it that this gate will open with the coming of the Messiah.

In the foreground, a main road curves around the Old City. It's often lined with tour buses, but right now seems rather clear.