Olives (Olives) mountain that separates the Old City from the Judean Desert, took its name from the olive groves, which in ancient times were littered with all its slopes. This is one of the most famous places in the vicinity of Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible. The Mount of Olives is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

For the first time the mountain is mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where King David fled from his rebellious son Absalom. On the western slope, and now stands the monumental tomb of Absalom, reminding them of this tragic story. Nearby is the ancient tombs of Zechariah and Bnei Hezir and around - about 150 thousand graves vast Jewish cemetery, where more than 3 thousand years. Jews have always sought to bury their loved ones on the Mount of Olives, as it is believed that it is here to begin the resurrection of the dead, here is the Messiah comes, "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city" (Ezekiel 11:23 ) "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, a very great valley, and half of the mountain moving north and half of it - to the south "(Zechariah 14: 4).

Among those who found the last peace on the Mount of Olives - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the father of modern Hebrew, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the media mogul Robert Maxwell, a rabbi and a major public figure of the early XX century, Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Shlomo Goren blew the ritual horn shofar at the Western Wall, where Israeli soldiers liberated it during the 1967 Six Day War.

For Christians, the Mount of Olives is associated with a variety of scenes from the New Testament where Jesus taught the people, the future of Jerusalem wept and prayed before his arrest, he met a betrayal of Judas after the resurrection and ascended to heaven.

Ascension of Jesus (which recognize and Muslims) are devoted to interfaith chapel, the Lutheran Church and the Russian Orthodox monastery. In the Garden of Gethsemane are ancient olive trees, descendants of those trees that have seen struggles of Jesus on the night of his arrest. The nearby Catholic Basilica of Striving keeps a piece of the rock where, according to legend, happened Agony in the Garden, and the grotto of Gethsemane, pilgrims remember the kiss of Judas. Nearby the cave is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Eastern Christians it is a place revered as the tomb of the Virgin Mary.

Of course, the tourists get tired of exploring the mountain height of three peaks that ranges from 800 meters (the highest point in the northern part, where is the main campus of the Hebrew University - 826 meters). Tourists are happy to rest on a viewing platform near the hotel "Seven Arches." It offers a magnificent view. Behind Convent Pater Noster remains on the slope seen teardrop-shaped church of the Lord of Tears, burning golden domes of the Russian church of St. Mary Magdalene and the ancient Jewish cemetery, and in front of the Old Town is spread.