Mount Zion in Jerusalem
Another great place to see when in Jerusalem is the Mount Zion, which holds Christian and Jewish landmarks and historical sites. This includes a carved out temple and the tombs of David, King Solomon, and various well-known biblical figures.
Mount Zion is known as the highest point in ancient Jerusalem and resides south of the Old City’s Armenian Quarter. Mount Zion is identified by its steep slopes and broad hilltop, which contains the oldest archaeological findings in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount and Western Wall are also located on Mount Zion.
A number of important historical events in the early Christian Church are likely to have taken place on Mount Zion. These include the event of Pentecost, where fifty days after Jesus’ Ascension, his disciples gathered together and shared the Holy Spirit with each other, as well as Jesus’ Last Supper which is thought to have taken place on Mount Zion.
Base on to the Book of Samuel, the renowned mountain in Jerusalem was the place of a Jebusite castle known as the “stronghold of Zion,” which King David captured and subsequently renamed and mostly rebuilt as the “City of David.” There he erected his palace which was later expanded and elevated into what is now know as the Temple Mount.
The mountain is a significant location that contains the popular tourist destinations King David’s Tomb, Dormition Abbey, and the Room of the Last Supper. While the vast majority of scholars and archeologists now do not think that the “David’s Tomb” in Jerusalem is the original burial ground of King David, they all agree on one point: this site is critical to comprehending the history of ancient Israel.
It also hosts the Martef HaShoah, the forerunner of Yad Vashem. There is also a Catholic burial here where the known Holocaust hero and Righteous Gentile, Oskar Schindler, was buried. He was able to rescue 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
The mountain holds a baffling story about the two architects who were beheaded in mid-16th century because they exclude Mount Zion leaving David’s Tomb unprotected. According to the legend, the graves of those architects are located inside the Jaffa Gate, in its inner courtyard.
