A Hike to Hell and Back

This Shabbat, I joined a couple of friends on a walk around Jerusalem. Our original destination was Yemin Moshe, a century-old neighborhood just outside the Old City. To get there, I successfully navigated our group through the Arab neighborhoods around the Old City, where we made our first pit stop--at the Garden Tomb.

The Garden Tomb, according to many (mostly Protestant) Christians who doubt the authenticity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is one possible location for Christ's death and burial/resurrection. The major argument for the authenticity of the Garden Tomb is the curious, skull-like formation in the cliff face ("Golgatha" = Place of the Skull, see picture below). Comically (though unfortunately), however, this would put Jesus' crucifixion site in what is currently the Arab central bus station (pictured below). The site does contain a 1st-century cave/tomb and wine press. As a Protestant shrine, tomb itself was characteristically unadorned, so that even if the Garden Tomb's claim to historicity is less strong than that of the Holy Sepulcher, the Garden Tomb felt more real.





We proceeded then to Yemin Moshe. This neighborhood was the first to be built outside of the Old City walls in the late 1800s. Today it is a beautiful upscale neighborhood and artist colony; the main landmark of the area is the iconic windmill (pictured below). The second picture shows the stone architecture of the houses, along with their amazing view of the Armenian Quarter.






From Yemin Moshe, we proceeded southward, to the summit of Mount Zion. Zion is the hill to the south of the Old City, though in biblical times, Zion came to refer to the city of Jerusalem (hence the Temple Mount is often called Mount Zion), or the entire land of Israel. It is easy to see why--look at the view! FYI--the blue-green dome at the right edge of the picture is El Aqsa Mosque. The hill just above it is the Mount of Olives. The small tower in the top-middle is the Hebrew University campus.



Somewhat disoriented, we hiked the dangerously-steep slope downward into the valley that separates Mount Zion from the Old City. The area is called the Valley of Hinnom, but in biblical times, it was called Gehenna. In this location, sinful Israelites sacrificed their children to idols by making the children "pass through fire." The valley's association with judgment and damnation made Gehenna synonymous with Hell (who knew Hell would be so pretty?). Perhaps for this reason, the area is still completely undeveloped.



Notice, in this second picture, the pile of ash that somebody leftover from a recent bonfire. How appropriate/morbid.



We proceeded up the other side and met the south wall of the Old City. There, we happened to stumble across (though nobody had planned this) two important religious sites, both pictured below. The first is the Church of the Last Supper, built where Jesus and his disciples ate before Jesus' betrayal and capture (and the birthplace of the Eucharist!). The second is the Tomb of David. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside (but I took a picture of the sign, below).





Our sightseeing hike concluded at the Abbey of the Dormition, a Benedictine monastery commemorating the death of the Virgin Mary. To answer a question I asked in my Mount of Olives post--in Catholic tradition, Mary DID undergo physical death, but was resurrected and assumed into heaven. Though mass was going on, I snapped a picture (below) of the church's unique light fixture.