The Garden of Gethsemane
Just beyond the Old City walls are the shining slopes of the Mount of Olives, where the silvery sheen of olive trees cover the mountainside. This mountain, which is sacred to Jews and Christians alike, is where the Garden of Gethsemane is located—the place where Jesus is said to have experienced anguish the night before his crucifixion. Today, the ancient olive trees, cared for by monks, endure as a peaceful testament to this fateful time in history.
The Garden of Gethsemane, located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, is an essential landmark in Christian tradition. It was in this place that Jesus is said to have spent much time in prayer and contemplation. But the peaceful place was disrupted in various ways, all of which led inexorably toward the crucifixion.
Gethsemane is believed to have been the place where Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to Pontius Pilate. It is also where Jesus experienced anguish the night before his crucifixion, and the place where he prayed with his disciples after the Last Supper.
Today, Gethsemane is surrounded by landmarks to Christianity. One of these landmarks is the Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of Agony. This church was first built in the fourth century, but was destroyed in an earthquake and built anew in the 20th century. Its distinction is that it houses the Rock of Agony, the bedrock beside which Jesus is said to have prayed on the night before his crucifixion.
Other holy sites near Gethesemane include the Church of Mary Magdalene and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, where Catholic Christians believe Mary was buried before her Assumption.
The olive trees that visitors see in Gethsemane are some of the same trees that Jesus himself once saw, though in his day they would have been mere saplings.
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