Golan Heights

About this tour

The Mount of Olives stands in an elevated position overlooking the Holy City of Jerusalem. Looking beyond the mount’s slope of the Jewish cemetery we can see the Temple Mount where the second Temple once stood erect, before being destroyed in 70AD.

Taking a drive along the Kidron Valley we can see this ancient cemetery and approach the bottom of the Mount we can take a look at the burial tombs of Absolom, King David’s third son Zechariah, a first Temple priest and the tomb of the sons of Hezir. Also, we can see the Church of all Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Reaching Mount Zion, we can view the Tomb of King David, and within this tomb is David’s cenotaph covered with a velvet cloth complete with embroidered symbols of a lyre and a crown. In this holy Jewish site men and women sit in separate areas reciting prayers while facing the cenotaph.

Our journey proceeds with a tour passing the Zion Gates entering the Jewish Quarter. We take a visit where we see a complex of four Sephadic synogogues dating back to the 17th and 18th century. Being the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue, the Istanbul Synagogue, The Emtsai Synagogue and the Eliahu Ha’Navi Synagogue were found desecrated, burnt and in disrepair as a result of the six day war when the Israelites reclaimed Jerusalem.
Next, we visit the Byzantine Cardo which used to be main street of the city, and as a result of archaeological excavations we can see sections of this Byzantine Cardo. Ancient Crusader stores are now re-occupied and used as a modern shopping area today.

Proceeding along the Jewish quarter we go past excavated foundations of a two thousand seven hundred year old wall which was standing during the reign of King Hezekiah (Is 22:10). Below the streets of today we discover a two thousand year old Herodian mansion. Giving us a clear picture of what it was like in these times, we can see the mosaics and the ritual baths of that ancient period. An opportunity to put a note of prayer between the cracks as we approach the Kotel, the two thousand year old Western Wall. This wall was once a section of the outer walls of the Second Temple which stood on Temple Mount. Most of the temple was destroyed 70AD.

We now leave the Old City behind us and continue by passing and exiting the Dung Gate to visit the City of David, an excavated site. The City of David dates back three thousand years, and be amazed at the resourcefulness of the Canaanites and Hezekiah who built tunnels to bring water to the people in the city. The tunnels are described in (Chronicles II 32:2-4) and in (Kings II 20:20), “…the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and conduit, and brought water into the city…”.