MOUNT ZION & MOUNT OF OLIVES

Israel/Palestine (765 m, 826 m) – Biblical Hills Surrounding Jerusalem

Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives are two ancient hills which flank the old walled city of Jerusalem to the south and east respectively.  Between them they almost perfectly flank the Temple Mount, the most sacred site in Judaism and also highly revered by both Christians and Muslims as well.  Not surprisingly, these two small mountains pack in a trove of religious sites.

Around 1000 BC, Zion became the seat of the Kingdom of David, and has been the rallying point for Jewish nationalism ever since.  Now located here are King David’s Tomb, the Room of the Last Supper, and the Chamber of the Holocaust.  The Mount Of Olives is also important to Judaism as it once afforded a specatuclar view of the Temple.  Many important Jews were buried there in ancient times.  The Mount of Olives is also beloved of Christians thanks to its association with the final days of the life of Jesus.

Although outside the ancient wall, both sacred hills are within the Jerusalem city limits and are visited by millions every year.  Both Zion and the Mount of Olives are climbed by countless pilgrims who pray and contemplate on the peaks.  Although two other hills in the city are of even greater importance, the Temple Mount and Golgotha, these have long since been leveled on the top and crowned with religious sites and do not truly constitute mountains any more.