The Mount of Olives holds a special place in the heart of Christians and a must visit when on a tour to the Holy Land, located just east of Jerusalem’s Old City and separating it from the Judean Desert.
The Mount of Olives is a prominent site mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, first as King David’s escape route during the rebellion of his son Absalom, then later in the prophets, but it is most known and referred in the New Testament, where Jesus’ taught his pupils, and where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and where Jesus says "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." (Matthew 26:36-39).
At the foot of the mountain, stands the Church of all Nations, and the Gardens of Gethsemane, where you will also find the Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene, and to the north you will find a compound of churches including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Basilica Eleona, and the convent of Pater Noster, best known for it’s extensive and largest cemetery facing Jerusalem along the western slopes, and believed to be the place from which God will begin to redeem the dead when the Messiah returns.