Mount Olives

The day started on the top of Mount Olives with a stunning view of beautiful Jerusalem. We arrived and SkyNews, a Robert Murdoch production was broadcasting a news piece about the crisis up north. Not only was the view intriguing but so was the immediate surroundings. All in eye’s view were a group of Japanese tourists, African tourists, Hasidim with their fur streimels in the heat and the local Arabs with postcards or camels.
We made our way down the Palm Sunday road which is a steep incline to Dominus Flaevit, the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Adjacent to the church was an ancient Jewish burial site into a cave with shaft graves. Then we walked down to the gardens of Gethsemane or Gat Shmenim/ The Olive Press. Gethsemane holds an important place in the Gospel story, since Jesus spent there the night before his arrest, after eating the Last Supper with his disciples.
In the gardens are olive trees, that are old and wonderfully gnarled and according to legend existed back when Jesus was pesent. On the site is the Church of All Nations was built by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi. The name commemorates the contributions made by many countries to its construction. I was pleasantly surprised by the color scheme and the geometiric stained glass windows in purple and pink creating crosses.
When we left, the Juma prayer was beginning at the same time church bells were ringing and you could hear mass. It was a powerful conjunction that varied between sounding like spiritual noise pollution and spiritual braiding.
On Friday’s security increases due to Muslim prayer required in the Mosque. At the base of the hill there were a dozen soldiers all eating popsicles and holding their guns. It was hard not to see them as little boys, especially one man who was enjoying his popsicle so much. It is hard to see mere boys in uniforms.

To be continued…