Jerusalem; the most important midpoint of the 3 great religions. It is where everything began and will end. It is the emigration of Abraham, the meeting of Moses with his beloved. It is the brightest pearl of Solomon’s estate. It wittnessed to the devotion of Mary and the martyrdom of Yahya. It is a great city that Jesus revived with his invitation, and Muhammad (sav) ascended to the heaven. Jerusalem is a holy city where all prophets set foot in and some of them sacrificed their lives.
This is why it is still the magical land that whole world is staring at even today.
If you are ready, let’s start our journey to Palestine and Israel from our first stop, Mount of Olive.
The most impressive view I’ve ever seen from Mount Olives. The splendor of the Dome of the Rock, the shudder of the Jewish tombs on the outskirts of the Old City, the story of the Kidron Valley… They all share a mysterious common past.
Jerusalem was conquested and occupied by armies coming from this hill. Religions have always existed on this mountain. Today, Mount of Olives is part of East Jerusalem.
There are tombs of important names in Islamic history such as Selmani Farisi and Rabiatul Adewiye on Mount of Olive.
Rabia-tul Adevviye : The famous woman from Basra, Rabia was born in 752 to a poor family. She was given this name as she was the fourth child of the family. Rabia, who had lost her parents at a young age, was sold as a slave. She tried to escape several times, but failed. In her last attempt, she wounded in her hand. His master, saw her covered in blood, took pity on her and released. Rabia’s teachings of divine love, who was among the first period Sufi poets, had a significant impact on the following Sufis. Rabia is known as the ‘lioness’ because of her rightful stance against what she experienced.
Jerusalem is historically important for us as well. Ottoman Empire ruled this holy land for 400 years. It was the most peaceful period of Jerusalem,even the entire history of Palestine.
Cemal Pasha established the headquarters of the 4th Army, which he commanded in the 1st World War, at the place where divine voices were whispered.
Book recommendation: Falih Rıfkı Atay – Zeytindagi
You can go up to the tower right next to the Agusto Victoria Hospital and see Jerusalem through Falih Rıfkı Atay’s eyes. There is also a church and an exhibition area where impressive paintings are exhibited.
The Mount of Olive is also extremely important for Christianity. Since Jesus spent all his life in this land, there are many artifacts representing the Christian world.
The name of this mountain, which is full of olive trees and Jesus states that he often goes to pray, appears many times in the Bible.
According to chapter 19 of the Gospel of Luke; As Jesus rides towards the city of Jerusalem, he is astonished by the beauty of the Second Temple and sees its future destruction and weeps for the diaspora of the Jewish people. Dominus Flevit, translated from Latin as “The Lord Wept”, was designed as teardrop to symbolize the tears of Christ.
During the excavations made during the construction of Dominus Flevit, a mosaic floor dating from the early 7th century was found.
With every step I take on Mount of Olive, I feel that I travel to thousands of years of history.
They used the Ottoman language as a Turkish translation. We conveyed our reproaches and requested for a Turkish translation and left.
The death and ascension of Mary, one of the important figures of the Christianity, are described in two main sources, ‘Golden Legend’ and ‘Transitus Mariae’. The Golden Legend was written by Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century. It was accepted with a dogma by Pope XII. Pius in 1950 that the Virgin Mary ascended to the heaven with her soul, and it started to be celebrated by the church on August 15 every year.
In the Bible, Mary is mentioned in the parts of the prophecy of the birth of Jesus, the visit to Elizabeth and the birth of Jesus. Apart from this, information about Meryem’s family and life is not included in the canonical gospels. Therefore, the ‘Golden Legend’ has taken its place in the literature as the most important source we have. According to the Golden Legend; Mary was informed by an angel that she would die in 3 days. In addition, the angel who gave the news brought a palm branch. “Hail Blessed Mary. Look, I brought you a palm tree branch from heaven. You will have to carry this with you before you die. Because Holy Mother, your son is waiting for you.”
Jesus had his last supper at the house of one of his disciples in Mount of Olives. He knew that Judas, one of his apostles, would betray him for 30 gold coins. He says that one one of them will betray him. Everyone then starts talking to each other, and Judas asks “Is it me?” Jesus replies, ‘You said it with your own mouth’. And that night, Jesus captured in Kidron Valley which is located between Mount of Olives and the old city walls
He was caught here and brought to the church called Church of All Nations today. Church of All Nations and Getsemane Garden are structures located side by side. Prophet Jesus said his last prayer here.
From here, Jesus is taken to the to be crucified, which is Christian pilgrimage route called ‘Via Dolorosa’ . I will discuss Via Dolorosa in a separate post.
Movie recommendation : The Passion of the Christ
Movie reccomendation: Mary Magdalene
Church of Mary Magdelene:It is a Russian – Orthodox church. It is located next to the Garden of Getsemani. It was built in 1886, and dedicated to Mary Magdalene, one of the followers of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is a woman who was persecuted a lot by the society. Jesus saved her and then she became a follower of Jesus.
After Jesus was crucified and breathed his last, a great storm broke out. Everyone was afraid and ran away. Only Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Salome remained. They take Jesus down from the cross, wrap his body, and put him in a big pit and close the pit with a stone and leave from there. After a while, Mary Magdalene comes to the pit where they put him to apply scented oils, but the body is not inside. Suddenly an angel appears and the angel Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene comes to the place where you will see the picture below, trembling and sees Jesus here under a beam of light, she falls at her feet and starts to cry. Bible Matthew 27,28; Mark 15,16; Luke 23,24
The Mount of Olives is extremely important for the Jews as well. It is belived that on the Day of Judgment, the Savior Messiah, who is heralded in Jewish texts, will come to Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives. For this reason, the slopes of the mountain are filled with hundreds of thousands of Jewish cemeteries,including the tombs of Zechariah and Absalom.
We are in the Kidron Valley, also known as the pit of hell.
Zechariah’s mausoleum (on the right)
We are now in the house of a Palestinian family at the top of the Mount of Olives. We will visit the tomb of the prophets, which were discovered in their garden many years ago. It’s quite creepy because this cemetery has a history of 2500 years. We go down the stairs leading to the bottom of the ground. There are about 50 graves inside. It is believed that this tomb belongs to the prophet Zechariah.
Many take care in choosing the stone to put. By the way, it is appropriate to bring the stone from a place he loved when he was alive, or if the stone has a special meaning for him.
Like Christians and Muslims, Jews believe that the apocalypse will come here.
When you sit down to breathe and watch Mount of Olive from afar on , it starts to tell you about itself. Secrets are whispering in your ear. If you want to listen there are many stories. I hope you enjoyed our journey in this land that has made its way towards its destiny 💛
Warmly Regards…
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