Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives - February 2018
This view from the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet, looking west over the Old City of Jerusalem, is one of the best vistas in the country. The Mount of Olives is part of the mountain ridge that runs east of and adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City and is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for more than 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves. Several key events in the life of Jesus took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Because of its association with Jesus, the mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and is today a major site of pilgrimage for Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants.