Hinnom Valley, which lies to the south of Mount Zion, separates the old part of Jerusalem from today. It is a peaceful green area of ​​the form, but the story of her bad.

Full name of the area - the valley of the son of Hinnom. About Hinnom and his sons do not know anything, you can only assume that the person has left a legacy of local children fertile land. They were used for other purposes. It is believed that there are followers of the pagan cults sacrificed to the gods of their children, burning them alive. In Jeremiah are eloquent and dramatic words of the Lord: "... They have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah; filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke, and that the idea did not occur to me "(Jer 19: 4-5).

So there was the word "Gehenna" as a symbol of hell. According to another version - the word came from the fact that in Roman times there was a city dump, which is constantly burning trash and corpses of executed criminals and dead animals. The excavations have not found evidence to support any of these versions. But be that as it may, it is the valley of Hinnom became the prototype of Gehenna, which in the New Testament times Jesus said, warning of retribution for sin. "It is better for thee one-eyed to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell" (Matthew 18: 9).

In addition, it is assumed that it is here that the chief priests bought the land ("the potter's field") on those same thirty pieces of silver, that they returned repentant Judas Iscariot.

The grim history of the valley does not prevent the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and tourists to enjoy walks in this beautiful area .  Typically lowland down in its northern part, near the Sultan's Pool .  At the top of the hotel remains "Mount Zion" from the cable car museum - the rope coming out of the windows of the museum, will stretch across the valley .  More recently slope, dotted with cyclamen, used for climbing, but now extreme sports are banned .  And without that there is something to admire: flowering trees on terraces, stone ruins of ancient cemeteries (including Karaim and Crusaders) .  At the eastern end of the valley is a Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Onuphrius, dedicated to the famous Egyptian hermit .  Next to the monastery is the Pool of Siloam - archaeologists unearthed the ruins of the times of the Second Temple .  Apparently, it was sent to Jesus healed a blind man He: "And he said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means Sent .  He went and washed, and came seeing "(John 9: 7) .